Name: My Parents are Getting Divorced Social Story
SKU: 65803cf62e5d9f0012c53eff
Price: 39.99 USD
Availability: InStock

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Divorce can be an extremely confusing and emotional time for children. This social story resource aims to clearly explain what divorce means and what to expect in a reassuring way to help ease a child’s worries. The story uses direct, simple language and visual supports.

The social story defines divorce in concrete terms as parents living in separate homes without being married anymore. It emphasizes that divorce is between the parents, not the child, and that both parents still love the child and will take care of them, even though they don’t live together. Common changes like moving between two homes and having different routines are covered. The story validates the difficult emotions the child might experience like sadness, anger, or confusion. It outlines how to verbalize feelings and who to talk to if needing support during this transition.

The story has a reassuring tone throughout, communicating the consistency and care the child can rely on. Visual supports reinforce the narrative. The direct explanations and matter-of-fact delivery help take some of the uncertainty and abstractness out of divorce. Knowing what to expect reduces anxiety. This social story resource thereby facilitates comprehension and adaptation for children on the spectrum facing the complex life change of parental divorce. It teaches the social-emotional skills these children require to navigate this challenge.

These books should be used over and over to reinforce the point so I would suggest either putting the pages into a display book or laminating and binding them.

Clipart images courtesy of Kari Bolt Clip Art

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Understand what divorce means in concrete terms — parents will not be married anymore and will live in separate homes
Recognize that the divorce is not the child's fault and that both parents still love them
Anticipate practical changes such as a parent moving out or having two houses to call home
Identify feelings like sadness and anger as normal and acceptable responses
Choose a coping strategy — talking to someone, writing or drawing feelings, time with friends, or a hug

Teaching tips

Select only the living-arrangement pages that match the child's actual situation before printing; the author's note invites you to leave out pages that do not apply
Follow the included tips page: read the story with the child twice initially, then revisit it regularly — repetition is what makes a social story effective
Build the story into the child's daily schedule rather than saving it for difficult moments, and keep every reading a positive, praise-rich experience
The contributor suggests laminating and binding the pages or using a display book, since the story is designed to be read over and over
Pick the spelling edition that matches your classroom — the same story ships with both "mom" and "mum" wording

Skills covered

Understanding family change — the story defines divorce concretely and previews changes such as a parent moving to a new home.
Emotional literacy — pages name sadness and anger explicitly and state that both feelings are OK to have.
Coping strategies — four concrete options are modelled: speaking to someone, writing or drawing feelings, time with friends, and hugging a parent.
Self-reassurance — repeated statements such as "My parents getting divorced is not my fault" give the child language to counter self-blame.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Why does the story include several pages that say almost the same thing about where the child will live?

They are alternatives, not a sequence. Separate pages cover living with mom, living with dad, and splitting time between both homes, and the author's opening note says to pick the pages that make sense for the specific child's situation — with an invitation to request further custom pages by email.

How is the story meant to be shared with a child?

One-to-one and without distractions, read through twice at first and then revisited regularly — the included tips page stresses that repetition over time, built into the child's daily schedule and kept positive, is what makes a social story work.

Does the story only explain the divorce, or does it also help the child respond to it?

Both. After explaining what divorce means and where the child will live, it validates sad and angry feelings as OK, and then offers four ways to respond: talking to someone, writing or drawing feelings, spending time with friends, or giving a parent a hug.