Social Stories
Shannon’s social story about
Social Stories.
Where do social stories come from?
• Social stories were first defined in 1991
by Carol Gray. Carol Gray had been
a consultant to students with autism
spectrum disorders (ASD). She is also
an author and presenter that is
internationally-recognized.
• “Social stories (often capitalized as Social
Stories) interventions attempt to improve
the social skills of children with autism
spectrum disorders (ASD) by using
individualized short stories to help them
interpret challenging or confusing social
situations.” – Wikipedia definition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_stories
OK
Sometimes people feel
mad.
It is OK to feel mad.
I am
mad
It is not OK to hit
other people.
I will say, “I am mad.”
• A social story is a way I can teach social skills to
my students that have developmental
disabilities. In my classroom these are used
most with my students that have Autism.
• When my student is in a situation that is difficult
and/or confusing a social story can be used to
accurately introduce information about that
situation. The situation is presented to the
student with lots of detail. It is also presented in
a story format and at a level that the student
understands and when possible should be read
by the student.
Sometimes I feel _________.
When I feel _________ I can use my
words to let someone know how I feel.
• Some things I need to remember
when writing social stories are:
– I need to remember the
importance of addressing the
social cues. Often my students
have a hard time understanding
social cues. Social stories can
offer examples of social skills in
the situation being addressed.
• Next I need to be sure to include the
event being addressed and how
others (adults or classmates) might
react in such a situation.
Sometimes my class visits
the library.
When we are in the library
my friends sit quietly and
do not talk.
• Finally I need to address the actions and/or
reactions that might be expected of my
student in such a situation. I also need to
add why these actions/reactions might be
expected.
When I scream in the
library my teacher and
my friends are very sad. I
may be asked to leave
before my class is finished.
Advantages:
• Social Stories can help
establish a routine so that
the student can apply the
story to the social situation.
• The stories are presented in
a story format with leveled
text and pictures to
accompany. This make
the instruction less intrusive.
Disadvanteges:
• It may take several
presentations/reading of
the story before the
student begins to learn it.
• Social Stories require the
student to generalize to
other situations which can
be very difficult for children
with ASD.
Example for the three levels:
• Primary – a Social Story can be used to
introduce new situations/events to a class
as a whole so that they know what is
expected of them.
• Secondary – For students that may have
behavior problems the story can be read
again just before going/doing the new
activity.
• Tertiary – The students that are at this level
need to have the story introduced earlier
than the rest of the class and read daily
for several days leading up to the activity
and also just before going/doing the new
activity.
Social Stories can be used to
address many different situations.
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Going to the Bathroom
Tying Shoes
Playing Basketball
Playing Soccer
Feeding Myself
Brushing My Teeth
Calendars
Clean Hands
Saying Excuse Me
Recess
When Wind Blows
When Other Children
Get Upset
My Teacher Talks to
Others
Mainstream
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Saying Hi
Getting Dressed
When I Feel Angry
Who's the Boss?
What Is Lying?
The Rule Police
Sharing With Mom &
Dad
Asking Other Kids to
Play
Kidding Around
Tone of Voice
What is a Wake?
Drawing My Thoughts
Bus Evacuation Drill
Internet resources:
• http://www.polyxo.com/socialstories/i
ntroduction.html#whatare
• http://www.frsd.k12.nj.us/autistic/Soci
al%20Stories/social_stories.htm
• http://www.region2library.org/SocialSt
ories.htm
• http://www.thegraycenter.org/store/i
ndex.cfm?fuseaction=page.display&
page_id=30