Social Stories™

Introduction

Underlying Theory

Theory of the Mind

Applying Social Stories

Example

Evidence of Effectiveness

Social Stories at the Autism Project

Additional Resources

References

Introduction

A Social Story™ describes a situation, skill, or concept in terms of relevant social cues, perspectives, and common responses in a specifically defined style and format.  Written from a child’s perspective, Social Stories give the student words and actions that will produce success in everyday social situations that he or she typically finds challenging.  An adult rehearses the story with the child ahead of time, and when the situation actually happens, the child can use the story to help guide his or her behavior.

Social Stories™ can help a child prepare for upcoming changes in routine, de-mystify social interactions, and relate academic skills to real-life experiences (2).  

What is the theory behind it?

One of the main characteristics of autism is impairment in reciprocal social interaction, which may be a result of unusual activation of certain areas of the brain that are used for social skills (5).  (DSM-IV, 1994).  Experts believe that individuals with autism experience difficulty understanding the beliefs and knowledge  of others, a deficit referred to as the theory of mind deficit in autism (6).

Social Stories™ were first defined in 1991 by Carol Gray, an internationally-recognized author and presenter and a former ASD consultant, to give children with autism simple and clear descriptions of social cues and appropriate behaviors.

The underlying assumption of this treatment is that the child with ASD acts strangely because of a knowledge deficit, but if we fill in the missing information, the child's behavior will come around.  This approach does not aim to correct behavior; rather than teaching a child how to act, it presents the child with access to the big picture so he or she can understand why they should behave certain ways in certain situations.

Social Stories & Theory of the Mind

Social Stories™ may help to improve a child’s theory of mind in several ways:

1. By giving examples of specific social cues and behaviors, Social Stories™ may improve social problem-solving in general

2. Help organize social ideas and cues that were previously disorganized

3. By using print, audio, or video to replace in-person teaching, Social Stories™ may decrease some of the anxiety of social relationships, allowing children with autism to concentrate on what is being said rather than their relationships with the people speaking.

Applying Social Stories

Social stories are written in the first person, in the present tense, and from the child's point of view. The parent, teacher, therapist or counselor should use their knowledge and understanding of the child for whom (and with whom) they are writing the story, and adjust vocabulary, perspective, length, and content to suit the child’s comprehension level, interests, and abilities.

Social Stories are defined by a specific format and guidelines that objectively describe a:

• Person
• Skill
• Event
• Concept
• Social situation

Four Basic Sentences
Social stories are comprised of four basic types of sentences:

1. Descriptive

2. Perspective

3. Directive

4. Affirmative

Descriptive- describes in a concrete manner what is happening.

Examples:

• I eat lunch in the cafeteria.
• I play basketball on Monday
• Sometimes children have math problems they cannot figure out.

Perspective Sentences- give the student information on what the other person is feeling and thinking in any given situation.

Examples

• The other children in the cafeteria must wait in line to buy their lunch too.
• The children on my basket ball team are happy when I play following the rules of the game.
• My teacher knows a lot about math.

Directive Sentences-  tells the child what is expected of them as a response to a given situation, i.g. “I will try…” or “ I will work on…”

Examples:

• I will try to stay calm and relax as I wait in the lunch line.
• I will try to follow the rules when I play basketball.
• I will try ask my math teacher for help when I am confused about a math problem.

Affirmative Sentences- Refers to a law, rule, or reassures the student about what they are doing and/ or why they are doing it.

Examples:

• I will try to stay calm and relax as I wait in the lunch line.  This is a good idea.
• I will try to follow the rules when I play basketball.  This will make everyone happy.
• I will try ask my math teacher for help when I am confused about a math problem.  This will help me learn how to do the math problems.

Goals of a Social Story

1. Teach social understanding over rote compliance
2. Describe a social situation in terms of relevant social cues, perspectives of others and common responses.
3. Teach student what to say and do in a particular social interaction (Central Coherence)
4. Explain how someone else may feel, think and act (Theory of mind)

Guidelines for developing a Social Story™

• Give the Social Story a title. This will help determine the goal of the story.  Each story should have only one goal which will be the focus of the story.
• Answer the following questions when writing a social story:

1. What information does the student need to be successful in the social situation?
2. What skill deficits are interfering with the student’s success?
3. What are the identified expectations in the situation?

• Write in 1st or 3rd person.
• Use POSITIVE LANGUAGE!!! Give the student the expected expectations of the situation. Do not explain what the student shouldn’t be doing.
• Remember the student’s literal interpretation
• Use words and language matching the child’s cognitive abilities
• Utilize a style and format that is motivating to the child.
• Introduce a social story in a calm, positive setting.
• Do not use Social Stories as a consequence or to change a behavior because the student will begin to only associate social stories in a negative manner

• Example

Evidence of Effectiveness
Current research studies show that Social Stories can help reduce problem behaviors, increase social awareness, and/or teach new skills (4, 7-9). In some cases, the new behaviors were maintained and generalized to other situations, even after the story was faded out.   However, these studies were based on very small numbers of children (one to five children per study). A review article found that social stories were shown to be significantly effective on average, but not in every case (3). Social stories are most useful for children who have basic language skills (2).  Although social stories in picture-book form are available for children with hearing impairments, there is no research to date on whether social stories have the same effectiveness if communicated with sign language.

More research is needed to understand what factors make Social Stories™ effective in some cases and not in others (10, 11).
 
There are no known negative effects of Social Stories™. Among physicians, there is a belief that social stories may train children with autism to learn only one response to a given situation. As a result, some physicians recommend RDI, Relationship Development Intervention, which seeks to teach children how to have appropriate responses in any situation. However, to date there are no studies of the effectiveness of RDI.
 

Social Stories at The Autism Project

Trainings for Parents & Professionals:

              A Starting Point

              Cognitive Learning Strategies class at Johnson & Wales University

A Starting Point

A Starting Point is a nine-week training program designed to introduce The Autism Project’s model of supports to parents of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder and the professionals who work with them. The main purposes of this program are to increase participants’ knowledge of related terminology and to introduce theories of practice and relevant solutions and additional resources.

Social Stories are among the topics covered during this training.  In addition to gaining a deeper understanding of the theory behind Social Stories and their many uses, participants are taught how to use this tool to encourage appropriate behavior and help individuals with ASD learn the social rules of home, school, and the community.

More info on A Starting Point training program

Cognitive Learning Strategies class offered at Johnson & Wales University

 Semester Credit Hours: 3 credits

 Contact Hours: 25 classroom hours and 20 field experience hours

This course encompasses promising practices that teach skills needed for successful social interactions, including Social Stories (Gray, 2000), social thinking (Garcia-Winners, 2005), and cognitive behavior therapy (Attwood, 2006)

Students will acquire the ability to relate social cognitive deficits to challenging social behaviors and apply the principles of cognitive learning strategies to teach skills necessary for successful social interactions in a variety of settings.

More info on university courses offered on autism spectrum disorders

Additional Resouces

The Gray Center (www.theGrayCenter.org) works to improve social understanding in autistic children, and provides details about the social stories approach.
Natural Learning Concepts (http://www.nlconcepts.com/) offers communication tools, including illustrated social stories, audio, and videotapes for children with autism.
The New Social Story Book by Carol Gray (Future Horizons, 2000) includes basic illustrated social stories as well as a kit detailing how you can write your own social stories.
Comic Strip Conversations by Carol Gray (Future Horizons, 1994) includes more social stories.

References

Gray, C.A., and J.D. Garand. 1993. "Social Stories: Improving responses of students with autism with accurate social information ." Focus on Autistic Behavior 8(1):1-10.

Del Valle, P.R., et al. 2001. "Using Social Stories with Autistic Children." Journal of Poetry Therapy 14(4):187-197.
Reynhout, G., and M. Carter. 2006. "Social Stories for children with disabilities." J Autism Dev Disord. 36(4):445-469.

Rowe, C. 1999. "Do Social Stories Benefit Children with Autism in Mainstream Primary Schools?" British Journal of Special Education 26:12-14.

Iacoboni, M. 2006. "Failure to deactivate in autism: the co-constitution of self and other." Trends Cogn Sci. 10(10):431-433.

Leekam, SR, and J. Perner. 1991. "Does the autistic child have a metarepresentational deficit?" Cognition 40(3):203-218.

Scattone, D, et al. 2002. "Decreasing disruptive behaviors of children with autism using social stories." J Autism Dev Disord. 32(6):535-543.

Thiemann, K.S., and H. Goldstein. 2001. "Social stories, written text cues, and video feedback: effects on social communication of children with autism." J Appl Behav Anal. 34(4):425-446.

Kuoch, H., and P. Mirenda. 2003. "Social Story Interventions for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders." Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities 18(4):219-227.

Rogers, S. 2000. "Interventions That Facilitate Socialization in Children with Autism." Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 30(4):399-409.

McConnell, S.R. 2002. "Interventions to facilitate social interaction for young children with autism: review of available research and recommendations for educational intervention and future research." J Autism Dev Disord. 32(5):351-372.

*From: autism.healingthresholds.com/therapy/social-stories