Social Stories is a supplemental tool (to be used in conjunction with another treatment) designed to help children with autism learn about particular social situations through a story format. These stories are usually fairly short (often three to five sentences) and are designed to give enough information to the child so that he/she could know how to handle himself in what was a difficult situation for the child. The stories are told as if the child is the star of it. The stories are straightforward and not fantastical in any way. One example is a story about going to the bathroom in school, and how it’s okay for the child to use any of the bathrooms in the school. The stories advise what the appropriate responses would be in these situations, as well as help the child to feel more familiar when these situations take place.
First Developed:
1991, by Carol Gray
Overall Philosophy:
A social story is defined by a specific format and guidelines and objectively describes a person, skill, event, concept or social situation. The goal is to share relevant information, including where and when a situation takes place, who is involved, what is occurring and why.
Popularity:
Popularity of social stories has grown over the past decade, with more children enrolling into this therapy with the purchase of the books.
Time required for treatment:
Depends on the severity of the disorder.
Treatment cost:
Social stories books cost between $19and $35.
Who directs the treatment?
Social stories can be written by anyone, a parent, teacher, or even a child, and are customized to the individual needs of the child.
Where does the treatment take place?
Home, school, any setting where a story can be read to the autistic child.
Training material needed:
Social stories may be accompanied by pictures, photographs or music. All these materials can be purchased from their website.
How success is defined?
Social stories are typically prepared in response to troubling situations, but they might arise prior to the incident. For example, if a class is planning a trip, perhaps rules for bus behavior could be the basis for a social story. If the autistic child responds well to the bus trip in this example, then this would be one successful example of using this method.
Biggest success story:
Several studies have been published utilizing this intervention as an antecedent behavior management strategy, all of which reported that social stories were effective in improving targeted behavior.
Web sites:
www.thegraycenter.org
www.socialstories.com/
Main concern:
The treatment assumes an understanding and a willingness to listen to the story for it to be effective.