1. ASD Workshop Social Stories
NZRTLB Association Behaviour Kit Annette MacDonald & Margaret Chatfield

2. Social stories provide a ‘visitors’ guide to our social culture, by explaining social conventions, their rationale and what is expected for those exploring ‘unfamiliar territory’.

3. Social stories identify which details to attend to and what they mean.

4. Social stories correct false assumptions, provide logical connections and enable the student to see the big picture.

5. Social stories - overview
Who are they for?
Determining the focus
The formula
How do I write one?
Comic Strips
Implementing social stories

6. Who are Social Stories for?
Students who:
seem confused in social situations
have difficulty understanding expectations and rules
misinterpret the feelings and intentions of others
have autistic spectrum disorders
are highly anxious
have difficulty making sense of their
environment
have difficulty relating to others

7. Determining the focus for a Social Story
Reinforce a behaviour you want to see more of
Target and observe a situation that is difficult for the student, or a positive behaviour you wish to reinforce
Record what you see and hear
Consider possible variations to the situation
Try to see things from the student’s perspective
Translate observed behaviours into understandable goals or desired behaviours you want to see more of
This will determine the focus of the story

8. Sentence Types Descriptive - what, where, who, when
Perspective - reactions and
feelings of others
Control - strategies to aide
recall of the story

9. Title Should reinforce the most important elements of the story
Can be stated as a question
e.g.
“What happens when a reliever is in our class?”

10. descriptive / perspective sentences
Ratio
3 - 5
descriptive / perspective sentences 1
directive sentence

11. Guidelines for Writing Social Stories
Avoid absolutes
e.g. “I will try to …” not “I will ….”
“Usually we ….” not “We always …”
Beware of rigid statements that could be taken literally
e.g. “Pull your socks up.”

12. Guidelines Contd
Keep vocabulary, comprehension, length and print size at student’s level
Tape recorders, photos and illustrations can assist non-readers - be aware of difficulties with generalisation
Usually write in the first person, present tense

13. Implementing Social Stories
When introducing social stories for the first time, choose a quiet place without distractions
The aim is to place the student in direct contact with the story. Sit at the student’s side, slightly back to minimise teacher/parent involvement.

14. Implementing Social Stories
Verification - on first reading, check with the student that they agree with the statements in the story
Amend if necessary
Read frequently at first
Read just prior to target situation
Make a copy for home reading

15. Implementing Social Stories
When the student has become familiar with the story, it can be added to the class library, kept by the student for future reference or shared with the class.
Careful observation will indicate when the story can be faded, or if parts need to be rewritten.

16. References Carol Gray, The Social Stories Book (1991)
Carol Gray, The New Social Stories Book (1994)
Margaret Chatfield & Annette MacDonald, Workshop presented to the NZRTLB Conference, Hamilton, 2001