How to Use Social Stories
Using social stories is a strategy for reaching children with autism through stories that focus on daily skills and situations. The stories open a door for students with autism by helping them make sense of a challenging or confusing concept. According to Jason M. Wallin, the stories focus on "the important social cues, the events and reactions the individual might expect to occur in the situation, the actions and reactions that might be expected of him, and why. The goal of the story is to increase the individual's understanding of, make him more comfortable in, and possibly suggest some appropriate responses for the situation in question."
Instructions
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How to Use Social Stories
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Identify a specific skill or difficult situation to serve as the focus of the story. Examples of these could include riding the bus, sharing, eating lunch, writing the student's name, being a good friend, cleaning up or any other challenging situation the student will benefit from learning about.
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Write a list of key concepts that are associated with the chosen skill or situation. For example, if the main topic is walking in the hallways, then the key concepts could include staying on the right side, being quiet, walking not running and not touching artwork on the walls.
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Put these key concepts into words at a level at which the student can understand. Use appropriate vocabulary that the student likely would use.
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Outline a structure for the story that includes a logical sequence.
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Ask the student to help write the story if he is capable. If the student cannot write the story with assistance, involve him in illustrating or drawing symbols to represent the main idea.
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Write the story from the first-person point of view. The voice of the story should be a child the same age as the student.
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Share the story with several colleagues or members of the school community who are directly involved with that student. Ask them to edit and give feedback.
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Review their feedback and make any changes you think enhance the story.
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Have the student give final copies to those colleagues and his parents. Ask them to refer back to the story when the skill or situation presents itself.
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Read the story with or to the student regularly, and as needed. Monitor whether the story or parts of the story are effective or ineffective. Again, make changes as needed. The goal is to make the story relevant to the student so he can relate and react positively in the same situation.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't make the story too long. The story should be concise but provide enough information for the student to make sense of and handle the situation. The story should include sentences that describe the situation. They also should point out other students' perspectives about what is going on or what they might be thinking or doing. Including sentences that give the student direction about how to handle the situation will clarify what behavior is expected. A fun mnemonic device or song can help the student remember the story.
References
- Photo Credit http://mrg.bz/Nk0uP7
