Social Stories

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have trouble interpreting social situations. Social stories are developmentally appropriate short stories, typically written for a specific individual with ASD, that provide them with the means to understand and respond to various social situations. Because individuals with ASD are primarily visual learners, social stories allow them to learn social behaviors that they would otherwise struggle to understand.

Why use social stories?

• To teach basic social skills (ex. sharing, asking a friend to play, etc.)
• To teach understanding, interpretation, and appropriate response in social situations (ex. predicting outcomes, preparing for change, coping, problem-solving, etc.)

How to create a social story

• Have the individual with autism be the main character.
• Personalize the story so that the individual with autism feels at home.
• Be specific about the setting(s) in the story.
• Be specific in describing other characters in the story.
• Write actual, realistic dialog appropriate to the ability of the individual with autism.
• Repeat the important points in the story.
• Involve the individual with autism when you write the story.
• Have the individual with autism illustrate the story with drawings or use photographs or icons.
• When using social stories for learning, expose the individual with autism to the story frequently.

Use the four sentence types

(Carole Gray recommends two to five descriptive or control sentences for every directive sentence in the story.)

• Descriptive: provides information about the child/adolescent, the environment, and what will take place in the social situation.
• Directive: describes how the child/adolescent should respond in the social situation.
• Perspective: identifies the feelings or reactions of others in the social situation.
• Control: provides analogies of similar situations using nonhuman references.

Example

When school is over, the bell rings. This always makes me smile.

I like to put my paper and pencils in my bag, and say goodbye to my teacher.

When I walk down the hall, I like to stop and talk to the people I see. I do not have a lot of time so I will try to just wave.

When I leave the building, I will get on the bus and sit in my assigned seat. Now I am on my way home!

Additional resources

Articles

Crozier, S. & Sileo, N. (2005). Encouraging Positive Behavior With Social Stories: An Intervention For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Teaching Exceptional Children, 37(6), 26-31.
Swaggart, B.L., Gagnon, E., Bock, S.J., Earles, T.L., Quinn, C., Myles, B.S., & Simpson, R.L. (1995). Using social stories to teach social and Behavioral skills to children with autism. Focus on Autistic Behavior, 10(1), 1-15.

Books

Gray, C. (2000) The New Social Story Book. Future Horizons: Arlington, TX
Baker, J. (2001) The Social Skills Picture Book. Future Horizons: Arlington, TX

Web sites

The Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding