SOCIAL STORIES Social stories are a relatively new intervention designed for children with autism that can be used to address “a range of social excesses or deficits” (Scattone, Wilczynski, Edwards, & Rabian, 2002, p. 535). Social stories were originally developed by Carol Gray for use with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (http://www.thegraycenter.org/socialstories.asp?catID=3). A social story is a short story that is written in a child-specific format describing a social situation, person, skill, event, or concept in terms of relevant cues and appropriate social responses (Scattone et al., 2002). Each social story is designed to teach children with autism how to manage their own behaviour during a given social situation by describing where the activity will take place, when it will occur, what will happen, who is participating, and why the child should behave in a particular manner. AUTISM AND SOCIAL STORIES Social Stories can benefit children with autism in the following areas of language and communication: RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL STORIES As social stories are presented in a visual format and written from a child’s perspective, they can improve the child’s understanding of verbal information. BEHAVIOUR AND SOCIAL SKILLS AND SOCIAL STORIES Social stories can help enhance a child’s understanding of a given situation and teach them how to respond in a socially appropriate manner. IMPLEMENTATION OF SOCIAL STORIES Access to materials to produce books is essential for writing a social story. Gray’s specific guidelines for development of social stories include the following: Write social stories from the perspective of the individual with autism. Use a combination of descriptive, perspective, and directive sentences. Descriptive sentences : Describe what people do in a given social situation, why they are doing it, when and where the event will take place, and who will be involved. Perspective sentences : Describe the thoughts and feelings of other individuals. These sentences may be related to consequences because they describe how another individual may react when the individual with autism engages in the behaviour. Directive sentences : State the goals of the story by listing the responses the child is expected to provide during a given situation. Employ the social story ratio: one directive sentence for every two to five descriptive and/or perspective sentences. Source: (Scattone et al., 2002). An Example of a Social Story: PLAYING TOGETHER A book for playing together. Hello, my name is …….. and I am an awesome person. Part of being an awesome person is learning to play with other children. Many children play with toys. When they play with toys they have fun. It may be fun to play with other children. Sometimes I will play the games I like. At other times I will play the games other children like. Playing the games other children like can be fun. Playing the games I like is also fun. When I play I will always try to have fun. Source: (Groom, C. & Launonen, A., 2005, Personal communication). PROFESSIONAL TRAINING No specific training is required to implement Social Stories with children with autism. RESOURCES The following resources may be required to implement Social Stories: Illustrations Book binding materials ADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL STORIES There are numerous advantages to using Social Stories, these include: Social stories may draw on a unique quality of children with autism. As these children often prefer to adhere to routines, the social story may serve to establish a routine or rule that the child may then apply to the social situation (Scattone et al., 2002). Social stories provide a less intrusive format than other treatments targeting social skill deficits. As the instructions are presented in the form of a story, with writing and pictures accompanying each part of the story, the child may be more likely to benefit from the instruction. DISADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL STORIES The disadvantages of Social Stories include: Reduced comprehension of the child may require an extended implementation time. This means that some children with autism may require the story to be read to them numerous times before they learn about the content in the story. Social stories require generalisation, as it is not practical nor is it possible to use them in every situation and for every behavioural or social problem the child encounters. EFFICACY OF SOCIAL STORIES Few studies have been conducted on Social Stories and their efficacy in the treatment of the disruptive behaviours that may be seen in children with autism. Some researchers have found that all participants demonstrated a reduction in their disruptive behaviours following the introduction of Social Stories, while others have noted a reduction in pre-tantrum behaviours through the use of Social Stories (Scattone et al., 2002). In a multiple baseline design study by Scattone et al., (2002), the researchers found that all three children with autism showed a reduction in their disruptive behaviours after the introduction of a child specific Social Story. This provides an evidence level of III.1 (Refer to the Evidence Table) to support the use of this treatment method with children with autism. Although there are currently few studies about the efficacy of Social Stories in the treatment of behavioural problems, clinical experience has indicated that they may be used successfully with children who have autism (level IV).