How to Use Social Stories to Teach Social Behaviors
Social stories are used by instructors, speech pathologists and paraprofessional educators to modify the social behavior of a child who has yet to master common social skills. Autistic children or children who exhibit other developmental disabilities are likely to benefit from social skills training methods. These stories increase a child's understanding of behavior that is most acceptable in challenging situations.
Instructions
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Target simple behaviors or processes as subject-matter for social stories. Simplicity is key when creating social stories. While a child's instructors and his parents may desire to change his behaviors, social stories should focus on discrete behavior patterns that are in need of change. Such stories are designed to simplify processes that overwhelm a child, as opposed to making a child more receptive to instructions provided by an adult.
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Root social stories in realistic situations that are commonly experienced by listeners. In the book Quirky Kids, authors Perri Klass and Eileen Costello observe that social stories "can help a child process an event that she may have found disturbing or plan for an event in the future at which certain behaviors are expected (such as a birthday or wedding)." Thus, social stories that are created by a child's caregivers serve as vital instruments of social skills training, permitting a child to negotiate challenging events that occur in life.
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Use a chronological structure in each story that you share with listeners. Flashbacks, changes of setting or extensive reflections are counter-intuitive to listeners of social stories. Such advanced storytelling devices kill a story's momentum and confuse a child as opposed to amusing him. Instead, let a story's action progress in a logical, sequential order.
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Frame social stories in the first-person narrative mode to facilitate listener comprehension. Listeners of social stories may be challenged to identify with a story's central character unless cued to do so by the story's use of the first-person narrative mode. On a subliminal level, a child models her behavior based on concepts and phrases that are included in a story. Using this particular narrative mode will usually increase a child's sense of self-efficacy, permitting her to approach real world challenges with a positive attitude.
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Clearly state desirable social behavior. Listeners of social stories are not responsive to ambiguous narrative nuances, such as dry humor and wit. Rather, they respond to literal descriptions and straightforward directives. Thus, if you wish to use these stories as behavior modification instruments, you must not be shy of stating directives in simple, bold terms.
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Tips & Warnings
For easy reference, social stories can be printed in booklets comprised of laminated sheets of construction paper and bound together with key rings.
Simply reading a social story may not be sufficient to alter a listener's behavior patterns. You may wish to supplement such stories with active demonstrations of behaviors described in the stories.
