Social Stories

Social Stories were devised as a tool to help individuals on the autism spectrum better understand the nuances of interpersonal communication so that they could interact in an effective and appropriate manner. Although the prescribed format was meant for high functioning people with basic communication skills, the format was adapted substantially to suit individuals with poor communication skills and low level functioning. The evidence shows that there has been minimal improvement in social interaction skills. However, it is difficult to assess whether the concept would have been successful if it had been carried out as designed.

Social stories are being used, though, in targeted ways to prepare individuals for social interaction and to prepare individuals with autism for public events.

Overview

Social Stories are a concept devised by Carol Gray in 1991 to improve the social skills of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).[1] Social stories are used to educate and as praise. Social stories model appropriate social interaction by describing a situation with relevant social cues, other's perspectives, and a suggested appropriate response. About one half of the time, the stories are used to acknowledge and praise successful completion of an accomplishment.[2][3][4]

Detail

Individuals with an ASD have significant impairments in the social domain as defined by the nature of the diagnosis as cited in the DSM-IV. The social impairment may include, but is not limited to, the use of body language, play skills, understanding emotions, and social communication ability.[5] There is a great emphasis placed on the importance of teaching social skills to individuals with an ASD as it has been identified as one of the best indicators of positive long-term outcomes.[6]

A Social Story is an individualized short story that describes social relevant cues in any given situation. It breaks down a challenging social situation into understandable steps by omitting irrelevant information and by being highly descriptive to help an individual with an ASD understand the entirety of a situation. It includes answers to questions such as who, what, when, where, and why in social situations through the use of visuals and written text.[7] Social Stories are used to teach particular social skills,[8] such as identifying important cues in a given situation; taking another’s point of view; understanding rules, routines, situations, upcoming events or abstract concepts; and understanding expectations.[9]

The goal of a Social Story is to reveal accurate social information in a clear and reassuring manner that is easily understood by the individual with an ASD. The improved understanding of the events and expectations may lead to a change in behavior, although it is suggested that the goal of a Social Story should not be to change individual behavior.[8]

Social Stories use a specifically defined style and format.[10][11] In the initial version, four types of sentences were used (descriptive, perspective, directive, affirmative), along with a basic sentence type ratio. Control, co-operative and partial sentences types have been added to the model.[12]

While the primary mode of presentation of Social Stories remains written text, other formats have been trialled with younger children and people with intellectual disabilities. Such formats have included singing,[13] apron story-telling,[14] and computer-based presentations.[9][15]

Types of sentences

There are seven sentence types that may be used in a Social Story.[10]

Social Story ratio: Two to five cooperative, descriptive, perspective, and/or affirmative sentences for every directive or control sentence.[12]

Research

Population

It was suggested originally that this method should be used with only higher functioning individuals who possess basic language ability;[11] however, these guidelines were expanded to include children with more severe learning disabilities.[16] To accommodate differences in ability, one sentence per page paired with pictures could help individuals concentrate on one concept at a time while the pictures enhance the meaning of the text. The addition of pictorial representation or visual is supported by claims that many individuals with an ASD learn visually.[5][17] The efficacy of using Social Stories with other populations of individuals, other than those with an ASD, has not yet been sufficiently studied.[18]

Evaluating research

Although Social Stories have been recommended as an effective intervention for children with ASD since the early 1990s, the research on their effectiveness is still limited.[4]

The American Psychological Association has identified two levels of criteria which are used to consider an intervention "empirically supported".[19] An intervention is considered well established if it meets the following criteria:

An intervention is considered probably efficacious if it meets the above criteria for greater than three single-case studies.

Social Stories are neither considered well established, nor considered probably efficacious, due to the limitations of the current body of research.[18]

Effectiveness

Reviews of the use of Social Stories have found that the reported effects were highly inconsistent,[4][8][18][20] that allows for stimulus control to be transferred from teachers and peers directly to the student with an ASD.[7] and there was substantial variation in the delivery of the intervention.[4] Changes in target behavior were generally modest.[4][8] A 2006 review found Social Stories to be in the non-effective range in interventions or at very best, in the low end of the mildly effective range.[20] It was often hard to attribute success to the Social Story technique since there were multiple interventions used simultaneously.[4][8][21][22] Specifically, many of the studies used prompting methods such as verbal, visual or physical prompts and/or positive reinforcement. Two reviews suggested that continual implementation may be required; children should reread their Social Stories with some frequency to continue to benefit from their desired effects.[4][12]

Targeted use of social stories

Preparation for social interaction

Social stories can be used to communicate ways in which an autistic person can prepare themselves for social interaction.[23] Comic strip conversations, a complimentary technique developed by Carol Gray, are "visual representations" of conversations and social interactions that aim to help an individual understand social processes and increase their comprehension of other peoples thoughts and actions.[24]

Theatre

Social stories are used as part of Theatre Development Fund (TDF) Autism Theatre Initiative to "make theatre accessible to children and adults on the autism spectrum". Social stories, which explain loud noises, needing a break and moving through a crowd, were made available prior to the performance.[25][26]

References

  1. ↑ Autism and Social Stories. Speech-language Resources. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  2. ↑ Goldberg Edelson M (1995). "Social Stories". Autism Collaboration. Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  3. ↑ Gray C (2003). Social Stories 10.0. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sansosti FJ, Powell-Smith KA, Kincaid D (Winter 2004). "A research synthesis of Social Story intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder" (– Scholar search). Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities. 19 (4): 194–204. doi:10.1177/10883576040190040101.
  5. 1 2 Quill KA (1995). Teaching Children with Autism: Strategies to Enhance Communication and Socialization. New York: Delmar Publishers. ISBN 0-8273-6269-2.
  6. ↑ Strain PS (November 2001). "Empirically based social skill intervention: a case for quality-of-life improvement" (ZIP). Behavioral Disorders. 27 (1): 30–36. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  7. 1 2 Scattone D, Wilczynski SM, Edwards RP, Rabian B (December 2002). "Decreasing disruptive behaviors of children with autism using Social Stories". Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 32 (6): 535–43. doi:10.1023/A:1021250813367. PMID 12553590.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ali S, Frederickson N (December 2006). "Investigating the evidence base of Social Stories". Educational Psychology in Practice. 22 (4): 355–77. doi:10.1080/02667360600999500.
  9. 1 2 Chatwin, I. (2007). 'Why do you do that?Stories to support social understanding for people with ASD' in B. Carpenter & J. Egerton (eds) New Horizons in Special Education. Stourbridge: Sunfield ISBN 0-9550568-2-9.
  10. 1 2 Gray C (2000). The New Social Story Book. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons. ISBN 1-885477-66-X.
  11. 1 2 Gray CA, Garand JD (1993). "Social Stories: improving responses of students with autism with accurate social information". Focus on Autistic Behavior. 8 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1177/108835769300800101.
  12. 1 2 3 Crozier S, Tincani M (2007). "Effects of Social Stories on prosocial behavior of preschool children with autism spectrum disorders". J Autism Dev Disord. 37 (9): 1803–14. doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0315-7. PMID 17165149.
  13. ↑ Brownell M (2002). "Musically adapted Social Stories to modify behaviors in students with autism: four case studies". Journal of Music Therapy. 39 (2): 117–144. doi:10.1093/jmt/39.2.117.
  14. ↑ Haggerty, N., Black, R. & Smith, G. (2005). "Increasing self-managed coping skills through Social Stories and apron storytelling". Teaching Exceptional Children. 37 (4): 40–47.
  15. ↑ Hagiwara T & Myles B (1999). "A multimedia Social Story intervention: teaching skills to children with autism". Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities. 14 (1): 82–95. doi:10.1177/108835769901400203.
  16. ↑ Swaggert BL, et al. (April 1995). "Using Social Stories to teach social and behavioral skills to children with autism". Focus on Autistic Behavior. 10 (1): 1–16.
  17. ↑ Grandin T (1996). Thinking in Pictures. New York: Vintage Books, Random House. ISBN 0-679-77289-8.
  18. 1 2 3 Nichols SL, Hupp SD, Jewell JD, Zeigler CS (2005). "Review of Social Story interventions for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders". Journal for Evidence-Based Practices for Schools. 6 (1): 90–120.
  19. ↑ American Psychological Association (1995). "Training in and dissemination of empirically-validated treatments: Report and recommendations". Clinical Psychologist. 48: 3–24. doi:10.1037/e554972011-003.
  20. 1 2 Reynhout G, Carter M (2006). "Social Stories for children with disabilities". J Autism Dev Disord. 36 (4): 445–69. doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0086-1. PMID 16755384.
  21. ↑ Rust J, Smith A (March 2006). "How should the effectiveness of Social Stories to modify the behaviour of children on the autistic spectrum be tested? Lessons from the literature". Autism. 10 (2): 125–38. doi:10.1177/1362361306062019. PMID 16613863.
  22. ↑ Reynhout G, Carter M (2007). "Social Story efficacy for a child with autism spectrum disorder and moderate intellectual disability" (PDF). Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities. 22 (3): 173–82. doi:10.1177/10883576070220030401.
  23. ↑ Social stories: their uses and benefits. The National Autistic Society. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  24. ↑ Comic strip conversations. The National Autistic Society. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  25. ↑ Piepenberg, Erik. (August 31, 2011). "Program Hopes to Make Broadway Friendlier to Those With Autism." The New York Times. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  26. ↑ Moving through crowds. Theatre Development Fund. Retrieved September 8, 2012.

External links

Examples of targeted use of social stories
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