The Scientific Theory Behind Social Stories

Social stories are very short stories intended to help children with Autism, and similar disabilities. These stories help the autistic individual cope with various social scenarios by making him more familiar with, and showing him, the successful outcome of a social situation.

Social Impairment

• Scientifically speaking, qualitative social impairment is a defining factor of autism. Social Stories directly address this by helping the autistic individual increase his social skills.

Mechanism of Action

• By demonstrating how the autistic child might handle a given situation, including actions, reactions, possibles conflicts, and a positive resolution, a social story helps himl enter a situation. It's important that the story be written from a child's perspective in order to most clearly communicate with him.

Three Types

• Before writing a social story, it's important to first determine which type of impairment the story will address. The three major types are social avoidance, social indifference, and social awkwardness.

Monitor Effectiveness

• When administering social stories, it's important to make a regular schedule to monitor the effectiveness on the individual. If no change is noticed, or the change is very little, the story should be reworked.

New Stories

• If the individual appears to have "mastered" the situation presented in the social story, it may be slowly faded out by having less frequent review sessions. Meanwhile, it may be important to fade in a new story - or an altered one - to meet the individual's changing social needs.