During our recent Culture Week celebration, a special tradition where we reaffirm our commitment to our mission, vision, values, and the clients and families we serve, we encouraged our team members to express their individual interpretations of our core values by painting onto river stones with paint markers. Each stone became a symbol of the solid foundation that we continue to build together at Cultivate Behavioral Health & Education—much like stones forming a path that leads to greater unity, purpose, and support. This fun, sensory craft activity not only embodies our culture but also can serve as a valuable creative tool for autism support.
What Are Story Stones?
These story stones, often smooth and flat, can be customized to represent different characters, actions, emotions, or even themes. The idea is that each stone can be used to tell a story, whether it’s about a favorite activity, a special meaning, or even as a lesson learned during aba therapy.
When used in the context of ABA services, story stones can help support various goals, such as improving communication, developing social skills, and reinforcing positive behavior. In this blog, we’ll explore the benefits of creating story stones as a sensory craft and how they can be incorporated into autism support services.
The Benefits of Story Stones for Autism Support
1. Enhanced Communication Skills
One of the more common challenges with autism is communication. Whether it’s verbal or non-verbal communication, finding ways to express thoughts, emotions, and ideas can be difficult. Story stones offer a creative outlet for expression. Story stones can be used to improve communication skills by describing the designs on the stones or even create their own narratives.
By combining sensory interaction with creative storytelling, story stones can become an engaging way to practice asking and answering questions, making connections between words and visuals, and expanding their vocabulary—all of which are key components in ABA therapy.
2. Building Social Skills
Creating and using story stones encourages children with autism to engage in collaborative activities. Whether they’re making up stories with a peer, caregiver, or therapist, the act of sharing stones and creating narratives together promotes turn-taking, cooperation, and social interaction. These interactions can be particularly helpful for children with autism, who may struggle with social skills and understanding social cues.
ABA therapists can incorporate story stones into group sessions, helping children practice important social behaviors such as initiating conversation, taking turns, and offering empathy.
3. Promoting Emotional Regulation
The sensory nature of story stones—their tactile feel, smooth surfaces, and the act of painting them—can be soothing and help with emotional regulation. For children with autism, who may experience heightened sensory sensitivities or struggle with emotional outbursts, engaging in a calming craft can be a way to self-soothe and express feelings in a manageable way.
By associating specific stones with particular emotions (e.g., a blue stone representing calm, a red stone for anger), children can begin to identify and communicate their emotions more effectively, which is a vital aspect of autism behavior support.
4. Encouraging Problem-Solving and Cognitive Development
The creative process involved in making story stones stimulates problem-solving skills. Children can think critically about what images or symbols to paint on their stones, how to connect them in a narrative, and how to create a cohesive story. These exercises encourage cognitive development by strengthening memory, sequencing, and logical thinking.
For example, children might be asked to place their story stones in a particular order to create a sequence, which helps with understanding cause and effect.
5. Fostering a Sense of Achievement and Self-Esteem
Completing a craft project like painting story stones provides a tangible sense of accomplishment. The colorful stones they create can be proudly displayed or used in storytelling sessions, fostering a sense of pride and enhancing self-esteem. This is especially important for individuals who may face challenges with self-confidence. As children work on their story stones, they can receive positive reinforcement and encouragement, further reinforcing their sense of success.
How to Make Your Own Story Stones
Making story stones is a simple and fun craft that can be done with just a few supplies. Here’s how you can create your own set:
Materials Needed:
Smooth, flat river stones (or any small, flat stones)
Paint markers or acrylic paint
Paintbrushes
Optional: Clear varnish for finishing
Steps:
Prepare Your Stones: Start by cleaning the stones to remove any dirt or debris. Make sure the stones are completely dry before beginning to paint.
Choose Your Designs: Decide what images or symbols you want to paint on your stones. These can be anything from animals, people, and objects to abstract symbols, emotions, or nature scenes.
Paint Your Stones: Use paint markers or acrylic paint to decorate the stones. Allow the paint to dry completely before moving on to the next step.
Seal the Stones (Optional): For added durability, you can apply a clear varnish to seal the stones and protect the designs.
Use the Story Stones: Once the stones are dry and ready, start using them to tell stories! Lay them out in a sequence, mix them up, or ask the child to select a few stones and come up with a story on the spot.
Incorporating Story Stones into ABA Therapy
ABA therapy focuses on using positive reinforcement to encourage desired behaviors. Story stones can be integrated into ABA services as an interactive tool to reinforce skills such as communication, social interaction, and emotional regulation. For example, an ABA therapist might use story stones to:
Encourage the child to label emotions or actions (e.g., “What does the blue stone mean?”)
Promote turn-taking and shared storytelling in group therapy settings
Practice sequencing by arranging the stones in a logical order
Reinforce social behavior through cooperative play with peers
Story stones are more than just a craft; they are a sensory-rich tool that can enhance autism behavior support in meaningful ways. Through storytelling, children with autism can improve communication, develop social skills, regulate emotions, and build cognitive abilities—all while engaging in a calming, creative activity.
At Cultivate Behavioral Health & Education, we recognize the importance of creative expression as part of autism support. As we continue to cultivate a solid foundation for our team, we also strive to provide innovative tools that foster growth and development for the families that we serve. Story stones are just one of many ways that can be used to support children on their autism journey.
Looking for more sensory-friendly activities or ideas to enhance your autism behavior support strategies? Be sure to explore our other craft tutorials like Sensory Sound Bottles, DIY Sensory Ball, and Fidget Keychains.
