Social stories

A social story introduces appropriate social knowledge in the form of a story that provides a visual support for the pupil. It explains the hows and whys of a social situation. The different types of sentences within a social story give the pupil information about a situation and provide clear guidance on possible ways to respond.

The stories are written by professionals or parents, to describe social situations that the child with autism is finding difficult, or to describe a successful outcome. According to Attwood (1997), it would appear that this technique is proving to be very effective, in enabling individuals with autism to understand cues for specific social situations.

Social stories are usually written in the first person, as though the pupil is describing the event, and Gray (1994) suggests that they should contain three types of sentence:

■ Descriptive sentences that describe what happens, where the situation occurs, who is involved and what they are doing and why.

■ Perspective sentences that describe the reactions and responses of others in the target situation and sometimes the reasons for those responses. They may also describe the feelings of others.

■ Directive sentences that describe the possible responses to the social situation.

Gray recommends a ratio of between two to five descriptive sentences to every directive sentence.

Discussion

Why do you think this ratio is recommended?

The answer is that we are not writing a script to be followed in a rote fashion but are trying to enable the learner’s understanding.

The following is a social story helping a learner with ASD to understand what is involved in getting ready for PE.

How to get ready for PE

When my teacher tells me that I am going to be doing PE, some children from my class will go and get the PE bags.

They give them out to each table.

I will try to get changed quickly and quietly.

Sometimes we will go to the hall. Sometimes we will go into the playground or into the field.

I like to play the different games and activities.

I can join in with the other children.

When PE has finished, I will go back to my class quietly with the other children.

I will try to get changed as quickly and quietly as possible.

I take off my shorts and T shirt and put them into my PE bag.

I then hang up my bag on my peg.

I will try to sit quietly until everyone is ready

The story is composed in consultation with the learner and is read to the learner before the activity. Once the learner understands and has developed a way of managing the situation, the story can be used less often.