Interrupting People Social Story – Conversation Skills

A first-person social story walks a student through the urge to interrupt, the need to wait for a turn to speak, and the reward of people being happy to talk once the wait is over.
Pages
6
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Sep 27, 2026

Subject
Social Skills, Special Resources
Topic
Social Story, Autism
Preparation
Print ready

From the author

About this resource

This illustrated social story describes feeling excited to speak, noticing when someone is already talking and waiting for a turn. Use the five story pages for a short discussion and supported practice in everyday conversations.

The seven-page PDF includes a cover and credits. Pages can be placed in a display book or laminated and bound for repeated reading. Illustrations are credited to Kari Bolt.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Students recognise the urge to interrupt as a normal feeling ('sometimes I get excited... I feel like I can't wait to say it') rather than something to feel ashamed of.

  • Students learn the concrete rule to wait when someone else is already speaking.

  • Students explain how waiting can give another person space to finish speaking; a positive response is not guaranteed.

Teaching tips

  • Read the story repeatedly rather than once, since its short, repeated-phrase structure (the waiting rule appears with similar wording on two consecutive pages) is built for reinforcement over time.

  • Pair the story with a real practice moment right after reading, such as a group conversation, so the student can immediately apply the 'wait for my turn' rule while it's fresh.

Skills covered

  • Turn-taking in conversation — the story's core rule is waiting until the other person finishes speaking before talking.

  • Impulse recognition — the story names the internal feeling of wanting to interrupt before addressing the fix, helping a student recognise the urge itself.

  • Social reasoning — students discuss how waiting supports turn-taking while recognising that other people’s responses can vary.

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