Free Social Stories About Death and Funerals

A collection of free social stories about death and going to a funeral. These free printable social stories are a great tool for helping your child understand and cope with the death of someone they know.

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While a heavy topic to discuss, it is an important one to bring up because many kids struggle to understand what death means and struggle to cope with the loss of someone they know.

Using a social story to explain death and funerals is a great tool for autistic children.

I know we have relied on them over the years and they have been so helpful for both of my boys. Social stories explained to them who died, where the funeral was being held, what was expected of them at the funeral, etc. They were incredibly helpful!

I hope you find these free social stories about death and going to a funeral as helpful for your children as they have been for our family over the years.

Tips on Writing Social Stories About Death

Death can be a difficult concept for many kids to grasp, especially autistic kids. It is best to be concrete when describing the death of someone to your child. Keep the language simple and avoid metaphors.

I have outlined how to write social stories in general, but writing about grief and loss may require extra sensitivity and consideration. Here is a great list of tips on how to write social stories related to illness or death from Car Autism Roadmap. The video below also has lots of great tips on writing social stories on this difficult topic.

Free Printable Social Stories About Death and Social Stories About Going to a Funeral

The social stories below are a great starting point for helping your child understand and cope with someone's death.

However, every situation is different and may need special tweaks to the story. For example, you may have to travel for the funeral or you might be participating in the funeral in some way (like speaking, saying the eulogy, etc.). If that is the case, then use these free printable social stories as a starting point to create your own unique story.

1. Social Story for Dealing with the Death of a Grandparent from Megan Maguire on Teachers Pay Teachers

2. Mommy Loves Me: Editable Social Story About Death and Dying from The Gift of Gab on Teachers Pay Teachers

3. Going to a Memorial or Funeral Social Story from Autism Homeschool Mama

4. Funeral Social Story for Autism from Evan Autism Resources on Teachers Pay Teachers

5. Going to a Funeral Social Story from One Place for Special Needs

6. Going to a Wake Social Story from One Place for Special Needs

7. How to Behave at a Wake or Funeral Social Story from One Place for Special Needs

Video Social Story About Death

The video social story below is specific to the death of a grandma, but the words might be helpful for you if you need to adapt it to the death of a different family member.

Other Social Story Resources You'll Love

Where to Find Free Social Stories

How to Write Social Stories

Free Social Story Templates