Crying Social Story
- Year groups
- Not year specific
- File type
- Preparation
- Print ready
- Subject
- Social Skills, Special Resources
- Topic
- Social Story, Coping With Crying
- Preparation
- Print ready
From the author
About this resource
Social stories use a patient and reassuring tone to teach children about social situations in a way that can be easily understood. Social stories are particularly useful for children on the autistic spectrum for whom social cues can be challenging and who often suffer anxiety if they do not know what to expect from a situation however social stories can also be useful for any child who is struggling to understand a situation or concept or needs help to understand a social skill or social cue, expectations, perspectives, common responses or is troubled about an upcoming event.
This social story is to support children who get particularly distressed when they see others crying.
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.
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In the classroom
Teaching tips & learning objectives
Learning objectives
Identify several reasons a classmate might be crying (being hurt, feeling sad, feeling unwell).
Practice a specific comforting response to use with a crying classmate.
Select a calming strategy (ear defenders, deep breaths, or moving to a quieter space) when the situation feels uncomfortable.
Teaching tips
Read the story before an incident happens in class, then revisit the specific relevant page calmly if a real crying episode occurs.
Introduce the two hands-on coping tools the story names — ear defenders and deep breathing — so both are familiar before a student needs them.
Rehearse the story's exact scripted phrase ('What is wrong? Are you OK?') so the student has a ready response rather than having to invent one in the moment.
Skills covered
Emotional-cause recognition — the student identifies that crying can stem from being hurt, feeling sad, or feeling unwell.
Scripted social response — the student practices a specific comforting phrase for a crying classmate.
Self-regulation strategy selection — the student is offered concrete coping tools (ear defenders, deep breathing, requesting a quieter space) for noise or emotional discomfort.
Good to know
Questions teachers ask about this resource
What coping options does the story offer if the noise feels like too much?
Three specific ones: putting on ear defenders, taking some deep breaths, or asking the teacher for a quieter place to continue working.
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Resource details
Concepts & topics
Core concepts
Core concepts
Social story
Emotional regulation
Coping strategies
Empathy
Topics
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