Staying Near an Adult Social Story Kit

Help children with autism and other developmental needs understand the importance of staying near a trusted adult in homes, schools, and community settings. This social story kit uses simple language, visual supports, positive reinforcement, and clear expectations to help children learn how to stay close to an adult and practice safe behaviors. This resource can be especially helpful for children who wander, run ahead, have difficulty staying close to caregivers, or need reminders to remain near an adult for safety.

What’s Included:

• Staying Near an Adult Social Story – A simple, child-friendly story explaining why it is important to stay near an adult and what the child can do to stay safe.
• I Stayed Near an Adult Celebratory Story – A positive story that celebrates the child’s success with staying near an adult.
• Visual Supports – Easy-to-use visuals that can be printed and placed in the child’s environment or carried with the child as reminders.
• I.D Bracelet – To adhere to the child’s arm, wrist, belt loop in the case they get lost.
• First/Then Board – Helps children understand expectations and what will happen after they successfully stay near an adult.
• Sticker Chart – A simple reinforcement system for recognizing and rewarding successful behavior.
• Stickers – Use the stickers with the reward chart to provide positive reinforcement.
• Stickers – That the child can wear to identify that they have autism in the case they get lost.
• Incentive/Reward Pictures – Visual choices that can be used to help motivate the child.
• Implementation Guide – Step-by-step suggestions for introducing and using the social story, visuals, and reinforcement system.
• Parent/Caregiver Tips – Practical strategies for helping children practice staying near an adult and increasing success over time.

Great For:

✔️ Children with autism

✔️ Children who wander or run away from adults

✔️ Elopement prevention and safety instruction

✔️ Staying close to parents and caregivers

✔️ Staying near teachers and other trusted adults

✔️ Community outings

✔️ Stores, parks, and public places

✔️ New or unfamiliar environments

✔️ Teaching personal safety skills

✔️ Visual learners

✔️ Parents and caregivers

How This Kit Helps:

The combination of social stories, visual supports, and positive reinforcement gives children multiple ways to understand and practice an important safety skill. The materials can be introduced at home and practiced before going into the community. The goal is to help children understand what staying near an adult looks like, why it is important, and how they can be successful while providing adults with practical tools to reinforce the skill.

All Positively Prepared stories are written using positive language and simple illustrations/words to reduce visual clutter and increase understanding.

Social Story™ and Social Stories™ are trademarks of Carol Gray. This product is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or created by Carol Gray.