Asking for help

Asking for help is something we do when we want someone to help us.

When we need help from someone there are rules for how we should ask. These rules depend of who we want help from, where we are and what we are doing. Here are some examples:

In class, to get attention, the rule is that we put up a hand and wait until the teacher is ready. We may have to wait a while but this is OK.

When the person we want is already talking we should wait until they stop.

Sometimes we need to wait in queue and wait for our turn to ask for help.

If is a real emergency where we need to get help immediately we can shout, wave or use any safe way to get someone's attention.

Unless it is an emergency we should wait our turn to speak and use a normal voice.

I can ask for help

In school there are lots of times when I need help.

Asking an adult when I need help is important so that I don't get upset or angry.

In lessons I can put my hand up to show an adult that I need help.

At playtime I can walk over to an adult and ask them to help me.

Sometimes the adult may be busy and I have to wait for them to help me. This is OK.

While I am waiting I can try and think of things that can help me.

Asking for help is OK. I can ask an adult before I get upset or angry.

Use the above examples to help you create your own social story matched to your child's needs. You may want to modify some of the language for very young children but try to avoid losing precise meaning when using more accessible vocabulary. Creating social stories with photos or picture can often help too. These example are available in a printable PDF format below.

Asking for help

A print out version of the Asking For Help social story example above.

I can ask for help

A print out version of the I Can Ask For Help social story example above.

You may also be interested in the following pages: