Social stories
Social stories are a wonderful creation, which were the brainchild of Carol Grey in 1991.
Autism.org.uk describes social stories as “short descriptions of a particular situation, even or activity, which as specific information about what to expect in that situation and why.”
I have used social stories a lot in my work with children with SEND and I’ve also used them a lot at home with my own son. The name story might make it seem like they are long diatribe explaining a situation. But the key to them is that they are short, to the point and Visual.
They are used mainly with children with ASD, but I have used them with neuro-typical children too. They really come into their own to explain situations that cause the child difficulty or to help explain expectations of a situation coming up.
Situations could be:
– Social situations – to help explain what is expected of our behaviour or how we should respond.
– Changes to routine – Something new is happening that doesn’t normally happen or the the routine is changing. Social stories can help.
– How to cope with different emotions – Some children find it very difficult to understand their emotions or know what to do when they feel like they do. Social stories can be used to explain what they can do when they feel angry or upset.
The stories themselves don’t have to be wonderful works of art. You can either use photos or draw the images you want in your story. The story below was written very quickly before a trip to the shops.
There arn’t even any words in this social story just pictures. And we talked it through before the trip and throughout the trip too. It explains what will happen and what the expectations of behaviour will be.
The story above, was something I made as my son kept waking us up before 6.30am (he is a bit older). So I put this up next to his bed and talked it through the night before and he could read it when he woke up in the morning, or if he didn’t follow it we could go through it again with him.
The benefit of them being so visual is that the information seems to stick more. Having it down on paper means you can refer back to it regularly. You can also make smaller versions of them, laminate and keep with at all times if there is a more ongoing issue.
Please get in touch if there is a particular situation that you are struggling with at home or school and I can make a social story to help.