Gender Pronoun Social Stories, Social Scripts & Classroom Toolkit

This is a useful resource for teachers, club advisors, student leaders, and others looking to make their classroom, club, or learning space more inclusive and supportive of gender expansive pronoun use.

Created for 11-21 year olds with significant disabilities who participate in alternate assessment, particularly students with autism, intellectual disabilities, or multiple disabilities, but appropriate for ALL AGES & ABILITIES.

Gender Pronoun Social Script resource includes:

• 7 Gender Pronoun social stories:
  • What are gender pronouns?
  • Sharing gender pronouns
  • Changing gender pronouns
  • Using the right pronouns
  • When you use the wrong gender pronoun
  • If someone calls you the wrong gender pronoun
  • Being a good friend about gender pronouns
• A differentiated social script activity for students to practice asking pronouns and using the right pronouns.

7 Printable Pronoun/Name Tag sheets include:

• Blank Name Tags
• Blank Pronoun Tags
• Pronoun Tags with 3 forms (she/her/hers; he/him/his; they/them/theirs; blank)
• Pronoun Tags with 2 forms (she/her; he/him; they/them; blank)
• Pronoun Tags with 1 form (she; he; they; blank)
• Gender Expansive Pronoun Tags (ze/hir/hirs; xe/xem/xer; ve/ver/vis; ey/em/er; per/pers; fae/faer/faers; he/she/they; no pronouns (name only))
• Blank Name & Pronoun Tags
• "She" Pronoun Tags (she/her/hers; she/her; she)
• "He" Pronoun Tags (he/him/his; he/him; he)
• "They" Pronoun Tags (they/them/their; they/them; they)

Also includes a "how to use this resource" page with suggestions about what to print them on and how to decide which tags to print for which group.

• Compatible with Avery Adhesive Name Badges (25395), which can be purchased online here or in stores.
• The dimensions are 2-1/3 X 3-3/8, with 8 badges per sheet if you want to look for a compatible label from another brand
• It’s important to print a variety of pronoun options to ensure students have an option, however in most settings, most students will use he or she with a few students using they, so you will probably want to print more of the ones you think will be more popular
• I’ve included stickers that have 3 forms of the pronouns (ex. She/her/hers), 2 forms (she/her), and just one form (she) and would use different options with different groups of students. In most cases, I would default to the one with 2 forms.
• I really only use the 3 forms if I want to teach it academically.
• I use the 1 form for students who get limited answer choices. For these students, I usually also limit it to he, she, they, and a blank one to avoid confusion.
• I included all 3 forms for all of the gender expansive pronouns because they’re less known

Most students (and adults) are a bit awkward or uncomfortable with gender pronouns if it’s a new concept, so I incorporate them a lot and make it a routine to share pronoun every time we introduce our names. Gender pronoun social stories and social scripts are one tool for practicing getting pronouns right and plan for any challenges that might come up.

Social stories are a learning tool used to help students on the autistic spectrum understand social situations and norms, helping them anticipate what to expect and plan how to respond in a variety of situations. For individuals who learn best through explicit instruction and need some extra support to feel comfortable and/or behave appropriately in a social situation they can be incredibly helpful. Because using a variety of gender pronouns are a new concept for many of us, social stories may be a helpful tool for a variety of students, not just those on the autistic spectrum.

Social scripts are a tool I learned from some of the great speech therapists I work with and I love using them to support students on the autistic spectrum and students with echolalia become more confident and independent in their speech, but they are also great for students with all types of disabilities (intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, emotional disabilities, speech & language disabilities, learning disabilities, etc.) as well as typically developing individuals who need to improve confidence. I particularly like social scripts with LGBTQ content and specifically gender pronouns, as talking about gender pronouns in an expansive way and changing the pronouns we use for someone who is transitioning can be new and challenging for a lot of people. Scripting out and practicing some of the scenarios and challenges that can come up while learning to be respectful of gender expansive pronouns can help students increase their comfort and empathy.

If you use any part of this in another resource, please credit Adapted InclusABILITY.

Thank you for including LGBTQ-affirming curriculum in your classroom!

If you are interested in more LGBTQ+ special education activities & resources, please follow my store. If you have any questions about starting a GSA for students with disabilities or teaching LGBTQ content in a special education setting, don't hesitate to reach out!

Keywords: pronouns; gender pronouns; social scripts; social stories; autism; echolalia; pronoun badges; pronoun tags; printable pronoun tags; name tags; GSA; gender and sexuality alliance; gay straight alliance; transgender; non-binary; trans; special education; lgbtq; lgbtq+; lgbt; glbt; queer; questioning; cisgender; gender; grammar; all ages; introduction; icebreaker; pride; gay; lesbian; bi; ally; gender; homophobia; transphobia; cisgender; GSA; pronouns; gender pronouns; gender expansive; 1ueer; 1uestioning; alternate assessment; all ages; intellectual disability; Emotional disability; multiple disabilities; learning disability; SANDI/FAST; speech therapy