Social Story
AI-generated Social Story (Carol Gray format) for a specific situation, using your child's name, motivators, and what calms them.
When to use this
Use Social Story when your kid is going into something new or hard and you need them to know what will happen, in their language, before it happens. Pick the situation (dentist, haircut, fire drill, first day of school), the age band, and Beacon writes a 5-7 scene story using your child's name. Each scene has a descriptive sentence, a directive sentence, and a perspective sentence. Print it. Read it 3 nights before the event.
How it works
Pick the situation
10 common chips: dentist, first day of school, haircut, doctor visit, fire drill, new babysitter, plane ride, family party, grocery store, starting a new therapy. Or type your own.
Age range
Under 4, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, or Teen. Changes the vocabulary, sentence length, and concrete-vs-abstract framing of the story.
Add specifics (optional)
Free-text for the things only you know. 'She gets scared of the drill sound. Last time we gave up after 5 minutes.' Beacon weaves these into the right scene.
5-7 scene story + plain print version
Each scene = short heading + 3-4 sentence body + 1-line 'why it works' for the parent. Plain-text version included for printing or pasting into a visual schedule.
What Beacon stores when you use it
generator_uses: Shared with all Workshop tools. tool_type = 'social-story'. content holds the structured story.
| Column | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| id | UUID | 5e2b... Auto-generated. |
| user_id | UUID | your-user-id RLS-locked. |
| tool_type | text | social-story Fixed. |
| inputs_json | jsonb | { "situation": "Going to the dentist", "age": "4-6", "extraContext": "..." } Replayable. |
| content | jsonb | { "title": "...", "cards": [{ heading, body, whyItWorks }], "plainText": "..." } Structured story + print copy. |
| used_at | timestamp | 2026-05-16T13:02:00Z Quota counter. |
A real example
Maya's 5yo Avery has a first dentist visit Friday. Avery is scared of the drill sound; last attempt aborted after 5 min.
| Scene | Body | WhyItWorks |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Meeting Dr. Lin | On Friday, Avery is going to see Dr. Lin. Dr. Lin is a dentist who helps keep teeth healthy. Avery can say hi or wave when she meets Dr. Lin. | Names the person; gives Avery a low-cost first action. |
| 2. The big chair | Dr. Lin has a big chair that goes up and down like an elevator. Avery can ask the chair to stop if it feels too high. Mom will be right next to the chair. | Pre-names the chair sensation; gives Avery an exit. |
| 3. The buzzy toothbrush | Dr. Lin will use a special toothbrush that buzzes. The buzz can feel loud. Avery can wear her headphones if the buzz is too much. | Pre-names the drill sound (rebranded as 'buzzy toothbrush'); offers headphones as a regulator. |
| 4. All done | When the buzzy toothbrush is done, Dr. Lin will say 'all done.' Avery gets to pick a sticker. Then we go home. | Closure cue + reward + concrete next step. |
| 5. Mom is proud | Avery is going to be brave on Friday. Mom is going to be proud no matter what. Avery is brave even if she needs a break. | Validates that bravery includes asking for breaks; removes the 'all or nothing' pressure. |
What Beacon auto-knows
- Every story you've generated + the situation each one covered.
- Your child's name, motivator, regulator (auto-injected into the story).
- Cross-reference: did the situation appear in Behaviors logs after the story was used?
What Discuss with Beacon adds
- Discuss attaches the story. 'Make this shorter, 3 scenes only' or 'rewrite scene 3 for non-speaking, add picture cues'.
- Or chain: 'Turn this into a visual schedule.' (SU Visual Schedule Creator picks up the scene headings.)
Try these with Beacon
“Shorten this to 3 scenes for a 3-year-old.”
Reads the 5-scene story. Returns 3 scenes preserving the open / hard-part / close arc with simpler vocabulary and 1-2 sentences per scene.
“Rewrite this for a non-speaking child. Suggest AAC vocab they'd need.”
Switches directive sentences to use AAC-likely vocabulary ('I want break', 'help'). Returns a 6-symbol AAC vocab list at the end so the parent can program it on the device.
“Avery hated this story. The dentist part was too scary. Soften.”
Reads the story. Reframes scene 3 (the drill) with less sensory detail and more agency: 'Avery decides when the buzzy toothbrush starts.' Returns the rewritten story.
“Translate this to Spanish.”
Returns the Spanish version preserving Avery's name and the scene structure. Useful for bilingual households or for sharing with extended family.