WHAT ARE THE BEST PRACTICES IN INTEGRATING SOCIAL STORIES TO
PROMOTE SOCIALLY APPROPRIATE BEHAVIORS IN CHILDREN WITH
AUTISM AT SCHOOL?
By
Amanda Marie Moitoso
A Project Presented to
The Faculty of Humboldt State University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts in Education
Dr. Eric Van Duzer, Committee Chair
Dr. David Ellerd, Committee Member
Dr. Eric Van Duzer, Graduate Coordinator
December 2015
Abstract
WHAT ARE THE BEST PRACTICES IN INTEGRATING SOCIAL STORIES TO PROMOTE SOCIALLY APPROPRIATE BEHAVIORS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM AT SCHOOL?
Amanda Marie Moitoso
Today students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder are often included in general education settings however it is difficult for teachers to support them best when they lack an understanding of successful interventions that they can use. This project examines the best practices involved in implementing a Story-based Intervention, specifically Social
Stories, to promote socially appropriate behaviors in children with autism at school. For teachers to be able to access this information to utilize in their classrooms, a manual based on Carol Gray’s criteria for creating a well balanced Social Story was created for teachers to use when developing Social Stories for their students. Included in the manual are descriptions of the criteria for creating a well balanced Social Story, a template to use when collecting information to develop a Social Story from, and examples of Social
Stories that were developed by following the included template.
Keywords: Children with Autism, Social Stories, Socially Appropriate Behaviors
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Acknowledgements
Throughout the process of creating my Master’s project there have been so many people who have kept my head up and my focus straight with endearing encouragement on my goal of completing my Master’s degree.
I would first like to thank my husband, Danny, who kept our house clean, meals thought out, animals fed, put up with my already busy work schedule in addition to my busy school schedule, and most importantly kept our toddler son, Jason, occupied, entertained, and happy. As we all know, toddlers are constantly busy, and Danny kept up with him 7days a week throughout my Master’s process. Just as our vows said, “two hearts, one love.”
I would also like to thank my son, Jason, for offering his constant, sweet smiles and picking me up when I was feeling down on myself. Ever since you were born you have had a way of brightening my day with your smile. I appreciate you “helping” me with my work at the kitchen table by taking your “notes” in your notebook. I will cherish those memories forever.
I also want to thank my parents, Anne and David Green, who have encouraged me to do my best since day one. I appreciate you both more than you will ever know and I am so lucky to be your daughter. I hope that I can be the supportive, fun, happy, hard working parent model that you have been for me over the years for my son over our future years together. I also appreciate your financial support as well as our editing phone
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calls throughout the last couple months. Your input has made my Master’s project sparkle!
Another support I owe thanks to is my coworkers at Trumpet Behavioral Health.
The support I feel there from everyone is an amazing gift that I am so thankful for every day I walk into our office. Not only did the financial support help me accomplish this goal but the emotional support was also an important part of my success. Whether I was happy, stressed, sad, goofy everyone was always right there with me.
Last but not least, I want to thank my thesis chair, Dr.Eric Van Duzer. I appreciate your guidance and encouragement throughout this process. I have also always been grateful for your push to get me to think outside of my box. I also want to thank my thesis committee member, Dr.David Ellerd for your input during the final stages of my project.
“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.”-Earl Nightingale
.
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Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ...... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... iii
LIST OF APPENDICES ...... vi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...... 1
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 4
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ...... 20
CHAPTER 4: CONTENT...... 23
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS ...... 24
REFERENCES ...... 26
APPENDICES ...... 34
v
List of Appendices
Guidelines for Teacher to Write Social Stories: Process Creates the Product………...... 34
vi
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Chapter 1:
Introduction
Students who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are increasingly being educated in general education classroom settings. It can be difficult for general education teachers to know how to best support their students with ASD as many do not have the tools or resources available to assist with the needed level of support.
Without proper supports in many of these classrooms teachers are faced with the issue of trying to manage challenging behavioral issues from students with ASD in addition to their traditional classroom duties. General Education teachers can feel frustrated with these students interpreting their behavior as defiance when truly there are important social cues and information that many of these students do not understand or notice that lead to the problematic behavior.
Children who are able to participate appropriately within social settings are more likely to be accepted by their peers, teachers, and others around them and can function more independently in their daily lives. Typically individuals diagnosed with ASD have impairments in the areas of verbal and non-verbal communications and social interactions which can result in challenging behaviors. They also tend to have restricted interests and/or engage in repetitive behaviors which are not socially appropriate causing others to view them as different.
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An intervention referred to as Social Stories, which is a subcategory of story interventions, has become increasingly popular since its creation in 1990 by Carol Gray.
Carol Gray created Social Stories to help individuals with ASD understand situations that are difficult for them. Social Stories are short stories that are meant to demystify a situation for the individual by describing the event in detail and providing a few positive directions to help the individual understand how and why they are supposed to act appropriately. The idea behind Social Stories is if more information is given to the individual about the situation such as what they need to do, why they need to do it, when they need to do it, how to do it, and who will be involved this will lead to the desired behavior.
Social Stories can be used for a variety of purposes in a classroom setting. They can be used to promote wanted behaviors during an event (e.g. sitting during circle time, raising your hand when you need the teacher during work time, sharing toys with peers), to learn a daily living skills routine (e.g. hand washing), a morning routine (e.g. put backpack away, get workbook from cubby, sharpen pencil, sit at desk, begin working in workbook), or decreasing maladaptive behaviors such as fear, aggression, and/or obsessions (e.g. being scared of fire alarm, how to calm down when angry).
The current research about the use of Social Stories in school settings indicates that Social Stories are most effective when used with other social skill interventions, such as prompting (e.g. Swaggart et al., 1995; Scattone et al., 2002), video modeling (Banda,
Matuszny, & Turkan, 2007), positive reinforcement (e.g. Swaggart et al., 1995; Kuttler et al., 1998), and self-evaluation (e.g. Thiemann & Goldstein, 2001). Most of these other
3 intervention methods are natural built-in supports resulting from the Social Story so it is hard to isolate just Social Story intervention research by itself. For example, when a student begins to display the appropriate behavior described in the Social Story, naturally the teacher will praise the student or reward the student with a reinforcer (e.g. snack, special toy, computer time) with the idea that this will motivate the student to continue the desired behavior. When creating and implementing Social Stories, researchers have found most success when following Carol Gray’s guidelines (2014) and criteria (2014).
The goal of this project is to create a user friendly manual to guide educators through the process of creating individualized Social Stories for their students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The manual guides teachers through the important steps to follow when creating a Social Story, criteria for success using the steps, followed by a template with examples to clarify the process. At the end of the manual there is a blank template for readers to use for their own story development as well as tips to remember when creating their individualized Social Story. Chapter 2 examines the existing literature about Social Stories and how they are effectively developed for children with ASD. Chapter 3 describes the method used to create the teacher’s manual. Chapter 4 presents the teacher’s manual “Guidelines for Teachers to
Write Social Stories: Process Creates the Product” developed for this project. Chapter 5 summarizes the project’s approach to Social Story intervention for children with autism and describes further research needed.
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Chapter 2:
Literature Review
Autism
“Autism is a neurological disorder. It’s not caused by bad parenting. It’s caused by, you know, abnormal development in the brain. The emotional circuits in the brain are abnormal. And there also are differences in the white matter, which is the brain’s computer cables that hook up the different brain departments,” (Temple Grandin, 2006).
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a group of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by repetitive and characteristic patterns of behavior and emotional difficulties with verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction (National
Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke [NINDS], 2015; Koegel & Koegel, 1995).
It is best described as a spectrum of disorders since there is a large range in the severity and types of deficit an individual may have, which include autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and Asperger syndrome
(Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015; Gillberg & Coleman, 2000;
Quill, 1995). The symptoms are present from early childhood and affect daily functioning
(NINDS, 2015). About one in 68 children are identified with autism spectrum disorder
(ASD) according to estimates from CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities
Monitoring (ADDM) Network (CDC, 2015; Baio, 2000). Usually there is nothing about how people with ASD appear that sets them apart from other people however they may
5 communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people (CDC, 2015). The thinking, learning, and problem-solving skills of individuals with ASD can vary from gifted to severely challenged (CDC, 2015). Those with ASD may require significant assistance in their daily lives (e.g. help with bathing, cooking, toileting) while others need less assistance and can do many tasks on their own (CDC,
2015).
Autism Spectrum Disorder impairments
One area of typical impairment in individuals with ASD is communication (CDC,
2015). A few typical communication related issues include repeating words or phrases over and over (which is called echolalia), improper use of pronouns (e.g. says “you” instead of “I”), uses and/or understands few or no gestures (e.g., does not point or wave or understand what it means without a verbal statement), and the inability to carry on a conversation with another person (CDC, 2015).
The second area of impairment in individuals with this development disorder is lack of interest and/or lack of appropriate social interaction with others (CDC, 2015).
Children with ASD often display social deficits including decreased eye contact with others, poor play skills and an inability to appropriately interact with peers and form friendships, poor understanding of social cues, and socially inappropriate behaviors such as restricted and stereotyped actions (CDC, 2015). In fact as defined by Leo Kanner
(1943), the word “autism” means “within oneself.” While typically developing children may obtain appropriate social skills by observing others, individuals with autism often have difficulty in engaging in and sustaining social interactions (Ozdemir, 2008). Lorna
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Wing (1988) classified the social interaction difficulties of individuals with autism into three categories. The first category was social recognition, which is described as a lack of interest in others, the second was social communication, which means difficulty expressing one’s self and having an inadequate understanding of body language displayed by others, and the third category was social imitation and understanding, which includes an inability to recognize the thoughts or feelings of others or to take part in imaginative play.
The third area of impairment can be described as deficits in the areas of communication development and social interaction which can also be accompanied by challenging behaviors. Individuals with ASD may display challenging behaviors such as screaming, crying, noncompliance, aggression towards others or property, self-injurious behaviors, and temper tantrums (CDC, 2015). They may also engage in repetitive behaviors that may seem strange to other children and adults, such as hand-flapping or clapping, walking on their toes, or an obsession with a certain object or a particular topic of interest (CDC, 2015). While these repetitive behaviors may seem to be the norm for individuals with ASD, engaging in these behaviors may further differentiate them from typically developing peers (Sansoti, et. al., 2004). Interventions that concentrate on improving social interactions and behaviors may focus on teaching socially acceptable behaviors and responses that promote inclusion (Sansoti, et al., 2004).
Autism Spectrum Disorder strengths
Along with the impairments many individuals with ASD display, there are also strengths these individuals possess. Individuals with ASD often have strengths in
7 memory and the skill to use visual information around them, such as picture prompts, photographic activity schedules, visual schedules, checklists, and videotape modeling
(Janzen, 2003). Researchers have investigated the use of visual support systems to improve the functioning of children with ASD with communication skills and social skills and many researchers found the use of visual information to be helpful when learning the skill (Charlop & Milstein, 1989; Gray & Garand, 1993; Krantz, MacDuff &
McClannahan, 1993; Pierce & Schreibman, 1994). Therefore, a social skill intervention that uses visually cued interventions may support individuals with autism to acquire social skills (Ozdemir, 2008).
Interventions
There are many interventions available that support learning and attend to the needs of students with ASD however there is no one intervention or method that is effective for all individuals with ASD. When selecting the most appropriate intervention for an individual, the following factors should influence the selection: the evidence of the interventions effectiveness, professional judgment and data-based clinical decision making, the values and preferences of the individual as well as the individual’s family, and the capacity to accurately implement an intervention (The National Autism Center,
2015). As described in The National Standards Project, there are 14 established interventions for children, adolescents, and young adults (under 22 years of age) identified as successful interventions (The National Autism Center, 2015). These interventions include Behavioral Interventions; Cognitive Behavioral Intervention
Package; Comprehensive Behavioral Treatment for Young Children; Language Training
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(Production); Modeling; Natural Teaching Strategies; Parent Training; Peer Training
Package; Pivotal Response Training; Schedules; Scripting; Self-Management; Social
Skills Package, and Story-based Intervention. Many of these interventions can be used concurrently to promote the individual’s success with the targeted behavior(s) (Spencer,
Simpson & Lynch, 2008). A large portion of the research that has been done on Social
Stories has combined the Social Story method with other interventions such as verbal prompting (Crozier & Tincani, 2005), visual schedules, prompting, token economies
(Kuttler, Myles, & Carlson, 1998), videotaped clips (Hagiwara & Myles, 1999), brainstorming appropriate behavior (Norris & Dattilo, 1999), social skills training
(Swaggart et al., 1995), and videotaped feedback to teach social skills (Theimann &
Goldstein, 2001). The follow section of this literature review will be focusing on Story-
Based Interventions, specifically the subcategory called Social Stories.
Social Stories
A Social Story is a short story written specifically for an individual that can be used during an intervention to help an individual with ASD to understand difficult or confusing social situations (Gray, 1997). Social stories (which are a subcategory of Story- based Interventions) are not typically used in isolation because they are not designed to deal with all the behavioral needs of the child with ASD, but they can be put into practice as part of the child’s educational plan (Spencer, Simpson & Lynch, 2008). Social Stories are similar to other interventions, including self-management (K.L. Pierce & Schreibman,
1994) and scripting (Krantz & McClannahan, 1993, 1998) because they identify essential parts of a given social situation in a written format (Scattone, Tingstrom, and Wilczynski,
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2006). In addition, like self-management and scripting, Social Stories transfer stimulus control from the teacher and peers straight to the individual (Scattone, Tingstrom, and
Wilczynski, 2006). Also, Social Stories share some resemblance with priming strategies
(Zanolli, Daggett, &Adams, 1996) because they “prime” the appropriate responses to a given social situation just before the social situation takes place (Scattone, Tingstrom, and Wilczynski, 2006). Social stories are not to be used as the sole intervention strategy and they are not intended to deal with all the behavioral needs of the child with ASD, however they can be used as part of the child’s intervention plan (Spencer, Simpson &
Lynch, 2008)
Carol Gray, a special education teacher, developed Social Stories to give individuals with autism the opportunity to “Read, interpret, and respond effectively to their social world” (Gray, 1994, p. 5). Since their beginning, social stories have been used in several situations to teach children with mild to moderate Autism and Asperger syndrome the cues to look out for and appropriate behaviors to display in order to appropriately interact with others (Kuttler, Myles, & Carlson, 1998; Norris & Dattilo,
1999; Swaggert et al., 1995).
Social Stories are based on the common consensus among researchers that children with ASD have an inability to “read” and understand social cues and situations, the perspectives of others, as well as difficulties with coming up with appropriate responses to social events (Attwood, 2000; Baron-Cohen, 1995; Gray & Garand, 1993;
Mundy & Stella, 2001). These Social Stories then help them understand how to properly act in the situation in a way that will be socially appropriate (Gray, 1997). The emphasis
10 of these stories is on describing and explaining the cues in that situation as well as teaching socially appropriate responses (Scattone, Tingstrom, & Wilczynski, 2006). Each social story is designed to teach children with autism how to handle their own behavior during a given social situation by describing where the activity will take place, when it will occur, what will happen when it occurs, who is participating, and why the child should behave in a given manner (Gray, 1998). They focus on describing and explaining the cues in that situation as well as teaching appropriate responses. Social Stories have been used to decrease fear, aggression, and obsessions; introduce a change in routine; teach academic skills; and teach appropriate social behavior (Gray, 1998).
Social Stories are considered to be effective because they concentrate on particular behaviors that individuals with autism lack, such as initiating and responding to conversation, changing a routine, understanding how other people may feel or think, and responding appropriately in a social situation (Scheider & Goldstein, 2010). While typically developing children may naturally identify what is appropriate behavior in different social situations, children with ASD often find social situations confusing and appear secluded and unaware to the outside world (Lord and Magill-Evans, 1995;
Sigmon and Ruskin, 1999; Kuoch and Mirenda, 2003; Reynhout and Carter, 2006). One advantage of using Social Stories with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder are that the Social Stories may help to create a routine or a rule that the child may then apply independently to the social situation (Scattone, Wilczynski, Edwards,&Rabian, 2002).
These stories are visual, which is typically a preferred learning method for children with
ASD, they are permanent which allows the child to access the story repeatedly, they
11 focus on what people are thinking and doing, and they are written in a predictable format using a specific formula (Smith, 2001). In addition to these benefits of using Social
Stories, the format of the social story may be less intrusive than alternative treatments for teaching social skills in children with ASD (Scattone, Wilczynski, Edwards,&Rabian,
2002).
How to create a Social Story
There are several considerations that need to be considered when writing a Social
Story for an individual. The author must take on and maintain the point of view of the child for whom the story is written (Ozdemir, 2008). The story should be written within the student’s comprehension level and clearly presented using language and print size that are appropriate for the student (Ozdemir, 2008). Responses the child should display in their behavior in the situation should be stated in positive terms, for example using “I will use my quiet voice” instead of “I will not yell,” (Ozdemir, 2008). Gray (1995, 1998) and Gray and Garand (1993) outlined several basic steps necessary for developing a
Social Story intervention. First, development of a Social Story involves focusing on a specific challenging social situation that the Social Story will have as its focus (Gray,
1995, 1998; Gray and Garand, 1993). This target situation can be a particular social skill or situation that has continued to be hard for a child even with previous interventions
(Gray, 1995). Second step, identifying the significant elements of the situation or setting
(e.g., where a situation occurs, who is involved, how long it lasts, how it begins and ends, what occurs) (Gray, 1995). To do this, information is gathered that relates to the function and/or continuing elements of the inappropriate, or nonexistent, behavior(s) through
12 direct observations and interviews with caregivers and teachers (Gray, 1995). In addition, information is gathered regarding the child’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as his or her point of view on the targeted situation (Gray, 1995). It is important to note that this second step is a data-collection phase and is important to establish the frequency of behavior(s), as well as provide a baseline for comparing the individual’s behavior during and following the Social Story intervention (Gray, 1995). Without this component, evidence-based outcomes are hard to evaluate (Gray, 1995). The third step is to adapt the information gathered during observations and interviews to generate a Social Story using a set of guidelines (Gray, 1995). The fourth step is once the Social Story Intervention process and Social Story product have been created, it is time to implement the Social
Story with the individual (Gray, 2014).
Guidelines to creating a Successful Social Story
There is an important set of steps to refer to when creating the most appropriate and effective Social Story for an individual (Gray, 2014). First, it is important to understand that the process of creating the Social Story is often more important than the product as the process is where the writer discovers the disconnect for the individual which is causing misunderstanding about how to be appropriate in the situation (Gray,
2014). Second, it is important to first gather information via observations of the event, conversations with those involved in the event, and sometimes even asking the individual about what is going on for them during the event may be useful (Gray, 2014). Third, for the Social Story to flow, it will need an introduction, body, conclusion, and a title that will make the reader feel comfortable and welcomed to the story (Gray, 2014). Fourth,
13 the Social Story format should take into account the abilities of the individual, the attention span of the individual, the learning style of the individual, and the talents and/or interest of the individual (Gray, 2014). Fifth, the Social Stories “voice” and vocabulary used throughout the story should contribute to the characteristic patient and reassuring quality of a Social Story (such as using first or third person perspective, appropriate type of tense , accurate information, etc) (Gray, 2014). Sixth, ensuring that the “wh” questions (what, where, when, why, who, how) have been answered and information gathered about the situation (Gray, 2014). Seventh, ensuring that the appropriate types of sentences will be used (Gray, 2014). Eighth, ensuring that the appropriate ratio of sentences will be used depending on if the writer is going to use the
Basic Social Story ratio or the Complete Social Story ratio (see next paragraph for more information) (Gray, 2014). Ninth, share the Social Story with the individual’s team to make sure that everyone is “on board” with what is said in the Social Story as well as check to make sure the information is accurate (Gray, 2014). Lastly, the tenth guideline is to plan out the intervention process so that the individual can move towards independence of implementing strategies successfully when they are showing signs of independence which leads towards fading the use of the Social Story (Gray, 2014).
Types of sentences used to create Social Stories
Carol Gray originally identified four types of sentences that can be used to write
Social Stories which are descriptive, directive, perspective, and control sentences, to explain abstract situations, often through the use of analogies (Gray, 1997). Descriptive sentences identify who is involved, where the situation takes place, what is happening,
14 what is expected, and why it is taking place (Ozdemir, 2008). Directive sentences provide an explanation to the child as to what is expected of them and how to react to the situation, by using “I will try…” statements (Ozdemir, 2008). Perspective sentences explain what other people may be feeling or thinking about the event or the individual the story is written for (Ozdemir, 2008). Finally, control sentences are used to help the child identify or remember the story better by providing personal strategies to recall and apply personal information to the situation, making it more relatable for the individual
(Ozdemir, 2008). In 2003, Gray suggested two other types of sentences to add which were affirmative sentences and cooperative sentences. Affirmative sentences boost the meaning of the other sentences in the Social Story, often communicating a frequently shared value or opinion within a given culture (Gray, 2003). Cooperative sentences are used to explain what others in the individual’s environment will do to assist the student in the situation (Gray, 2003). Once the story has been implemented and a comprehension check is ready to occur, partial sentences can be placed throughout the Social Story
(Gray, 2003). Partial sentences are taken from the already written Social Story and a selected portion of the sentence is replaced with a blank space which encourages the individual to retrieve the answer from their memory (Gray, 2003). Gray (1995, 2003) suggested using a balanced ratio of sentences throughout a Social Story. She outlined two
Social Story ratios for two types of Social Stories. The Basic Social Story ratio includes two to five descriptive, perspective, and/or affirmative sentences for every directive sentence in the story. The Complete Social Story ratio is similar to the basic ratio but it also incorporates control and cooperative sentences.
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Appearance of Social Stories
Another consideration to be made when creating social stories is the physical appearance of the Social Story. Gray and Gerand (1993) suggested that a Social Story can be shown on a single page for students with mild disabilities and Asperger syndrome, whereas Swaggart et al. (1995) suggested using a booklet with one sentence per page for students with moderate to severe autism. Originally the use of illustrations was not generally recommended because “…they may be distracting, or a student may make an inaccurate interpretation of the situation based on the illustrations” (Gray & Garrand,
1993, p.4). This recommendation was later revised and now takes into consideration the age and individual learning uniqueness of the person with ASD when deciding to use illustrations or not (Gray 2003). However, the use of pictures may be viewed as consistent with other research on visual supports for children with autism (Dettmer,
Simpson, Myles, & Ganz, 2000). Pictures can be simple line drawings, clip art, or actual photographs. The type of picture used is dependent on the child’s ability to differentiate between the different types of pictures (e.g., line drawings versus actual photographs) and the level at which the child understands semi-concrete (e.g. pictures) ideas (Mirenda &
Locke, 1989).
When to use Social Stories
Social Stories are taught using repetition, as priming before the event, as opportunities to practice the skill, and corrective feedback/guidance after the event occurs where the skill was needed (Wilde et al., 1992). When using Social Stories as part of the individual’s intervention, it is necessary to first think about the preferred outcome of the
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Social Story and then consider the parts of the daily routine in which the preferred outcome would occur (Spencer, Simpson & Lynch, 2008). The Social Story should be presented to the individual on a regular basis and should be reviewed by using priming with the individual before entering a situation in which he or she can practice the targeted skill (Wilde et al., 1992). It is important to find times directly before or during the event to review (not introduce) the social story (Spencer, Simpson & Lynch, 2008). For example, if the Social Story is about how to appropriately walk in the hallway at school, reviewing the Social Story is obviously not appropriate while walking in the hall; however, using a visual cue to remind the individual of his or her expected actions is appropriate (Spencer, Simpson & Lynch, 2008). Or another example, if the target skill is looking at people when talking to them, pointing toward your eyes can remind an individual that when he or she greets an adult, he or she should begin by looking at the adult, as mentioned in the control statement of the social story (Spencer, Simpson &
Lynch, 2008).
Use of Social Stories at school
Social Stories provide a wide variety of purposes such as increasing appropriate behaviors and decreasing maladaptive behaviors (Gray & Garand, 1993). Social Stories are also helpful in making the inclusion of students with ASD in mainstreamed classrooms possible (Gray & Garand, 1993).Educating students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in mainstreamed classroom settings has been increasing over the past decade, which has required many classroom teachers to manage some challenging behavioral issues in their classrooms (Spencer, Simpson & Lynch, 2008). This increase,
17 combined with the increases in referrals for special educational services, requires the education research community to establish evidence-based practices for educating individuals with ASD (Sansoti, Powell-Smith, & Kincaid, 2004). However, many successful interventions for children with ASD are complex and involve specialized training for teachers, require low student-teacher ratios within the classroom, and many hours of intervention (Machalicek, O’Reilly, Beretvas, Sigafoos, & Lancioni, 2007;
Scheuermann, Webber, Boutot, & Goodwin, 2003). In school settings where time and financial resources are limited, these interventions may be difficult to implement and maintain (Machalicek, O’Reilly, Beretvas, Sigafoos, & Lancioni, 2007).
Interventions need to be focused on increasing the social communication skills of children with ASD while decreasing behavioral concerns (Sansoti, Powell-Smith, &
Kincaid, 2004). As a part of the class and as part of a school, children are expected to be involved in many typical social activities, such as greeting friends, following group instructions, playing, during centers, cleaning up, and taking turns (Spencer, Simpson &
Lynch, 2008). In a survey of school staff, parents, and caretakers who had been trained in the Social Story approach, the majority reported it to be enjoyable, convenient, and successful (Reynhout & Carter, 2006).Before educators create a social story for a student they need to attempt to collect all the information regarding the environmental perspective of the social situations, the purpose of the target child’s behavior(s), and the responses of others around them in the environment (Sansoti, Powell-Smith, & Kincaid,
2004). Once all of this important information has been gathered a direct link is created
18 between an individual’s behavior and the intervention taking place (Sansoti, Powell-
Smith, & Kincaid, 2004).
Social Story implementation
A Social Story intervention can be put into practice in one of three ways and the approach is always going to be dependent upon the specific needs and abilities of the child (Gray and Garand, 1993). If the child is able to read, the teacher can, in the beginning, read the Social Story with the child, and the child thereafter can read the story on their own (Reynhout & Carter, 2006). If the child is unable to read, the story can be recorded on cassette or CD and the child taught to use the audio player and cued to turn the page when prompted by an auditory signal while the cassette or CD plays and by doing this the non-reader can “read” the story independently (Reynhout & Carter, 2006).
The third method involves video modeling which is when the social story is recorded onto videotape and sequences showing the social situation and desired, appropriate behaviors are matched to the story (Reynhout & Carter, 2006). Regardless of how the
Social Story is presented, it is important for the comprehension of the story to be tested
(Sansoti, Powell-Smith, & Kincaid, 2004). There are two suggested ways to test that the individual understands the social story (Gray & Garand, 1993). One way is to have the individual complete a checklist or answer questions in writing after reading the Social
Story or the second way is to have the individual practice via role play to demonstrate what he or she will do the next time the situation occurs (Gray & Garand, 1993). After checking for comprehension, a fade out schedule should be created (Gray, 1998). Fading a Social Story can be accomplished by extending the time periods between readings, or
19 by rewriting the social story and leaving out or modifying selected sentences (called partial sentences) (Reynhout & Carter, 2006). In summary, it is important to monitor the student’s progress once the social story has been introduced because once the individual understands and has put the concept into practice the social story should be faded out to promote the individual’s independence (Sansoti, Powell-Smith, & Kincaid, 2004).
Conclusion
Children with ASD can be positively impacted by the utilization of Social Stories.
The Social Stories Approach developed by Carol Gray appears to be effective when addressing challenging behaviors and/or teaching a skill to children with ASD. The literature supports using Social Stories alone or in conjunction with another mode of intervention (e.g. picture prompts, video modeling) to assist children with ASD to become more aware of their environment and how to appropriately interact and be successful in their environment. In the following chapter, I will discuss the methods I used to create a manual for teachers that describe best practices when creating Social
Stories for children with ASD.
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Chapter 3:
Methodology
The inspiration to research and complete a thesis project on Social Stories developed during my years of working with children with developmental disabilities.
Working at an agency that provides mostly in-home based services to individuals with developmental disabilities, primarily autism, I often hear about clients having difficulty with certain aspects of school. Whether it is engaging in appropriate behaviors with peers (such as sharing, turn taking) or engaging appropriately during activities (such as circle time, work time, lunch time) these students often struggle. Although the agency I work for is beginning to be contracted more to help with intervention in the schools for our clients, many schools are not able to afford our behavioral support services. Instead schools attempt to find 1:1 aides to work with these students. However, the aides often do not have proper training on successful intervention strategies. I started thinking about how these students could receive more effective support even if the school was unable to hire staff trained in intervention strategies due to the financial burden. One intervention that aides and classroom teachers can employ is the use of social stories as a way of helping students develop more effective strategies and enhance learning. This project will develop a user friendly, condensed manual for teachers to guide them on best practices when creating social stories for students. Included are what social stories are, how to
21 create one with proper sentence ratios and visuals, how to properly implement them and then when and how to fade the use of them.
The ERIC and OmniFile databases were searched using the key words: autism, social stories, children, socially appropriate behavior, school, and implementation to find literature relevant to the understanding of best practices when creating and utilizing social stories to support children with autism. The literature review explored the impairments and strengths of individuals with autism and how those strengths (memory and learning from visual cues) could be used when creating social stories to overcome the student’s impairments in communication, social interaction, and behavioral regulation.
Carol Gray is recognized as the authority in the development and use of social stories. For this thesis project, I created a manual based on best practices outlined by
Carol Gray for teachers to utilize when creating personalized social stories for their students and included a few sample social stories of topics that are typically difficult for individuals with autism at school. These sample social stories should not be used as is; social stories should be tailored to fit the individual who will be using the social story.
While I created the manual, I refer to “The New Social Story Book” by Carol Gray in
2010 as well as her website: http://carolgraysocialstories.com/ for ongoing updates. In her book, as well as her website, she outlines the 10 criteria to follow when creating a Social
Story which I use as the backbone to create a manual that is modified to make the process more accessible to educators. After the section explaining the criteria for an effective
Social Story, a template is included for the reader to assist in the process of creating an individualized Social Story. The template will guide the creator through the process
22 including identifying the general goal, observing the situation the student needs assistance with, identifying the who, what, where, when, why, how of the situation, developing proper sentence ratios to ensure the Social Story describes more than it directs, reviewing it with the student’s team players, and then creating an implementation plan to introduce and then properly fade the Social Story.
23
Chapter 4:
Content
The following is the manual (found in the appendices) for educators designed to assist them in creating social stories for their students based on the best practices outlined by Carol Gray’s guidelines. Along with the manual is a template that educators can follow to assist them in the Social Story creation process. Also attached to the manual is a set of example social stories that illustrate a variety of ways to meet the guidelines in the manual using the provided template.
24
Chapter 5:
Conclusions
This project was focused on the use of Social Stories with children on the Autism
Spectrum to promote socially appropriate behaviors while at school. Individuals on the
Autism Spectrum often have difficulty decoding social situations and then understanding what the appropriate responses are in the social situation. In order to be understood and accepted by other individuals around them, learning socially appropriate responses is a skill they have to work at acquiring. The Social Stories intervention was created by Carol
Gray in 1990 who found that it taught her students to “read, interpret, and respond effectively to their social world” (Gray, 1994, p.5). Social Stories give the individual a detailed description of the situation as well as some direction as to what the appropriate response should look like. However it is important to remember that these Social Stories are designed to describe rather than direct, as the idea is the more the individual understands the situation the more comfortable they will feel and in turn the more socially appropriate behaviors they will display.
When Social Stories are being implemented in a classroom setting it is important for educators to remember that Social Stories are not the only social skills intervention that should be used. Social skills intervention should include multiple levels of other supports along with the Social Stories such as prompting, modeling, positive reinforcement, and self-evaluation for example. Educators should also be sure to develop
Social Stories using Carol Gray’s guidelines, specifically gathering information regarding
25 the environment, the function of the student’s behavior, and the reactions from others.
Without this information, the Social Story will lack true descriptive information about the situation and the reader will not be properly directed.
Further research is needed to develop more knowledge about Social Story interventions. Many studies have focused on individuals with ASD as well as some other developmental disabilities, however research could also be done on typically developing individuals who might benefit from a better understanding of the situation. Further research could also look illustration usage regarding the optimal number of sentences on a single page. Lastly, further research is needed about the maintenance and generalization of the goal described in the Social Story. After the fading process has begun how well the individual maintains the level of desired behaviors is unclear in the current literature.
“The focus should be teaching people with autism to adapt to the social world around
them, while still retaining the essence of who they are, including their autism.” –Dr.
Temple Grandin
“I am different, but not less.”- Dr. Temple Grandin, 1981
26
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34
Appendices
The following is the manual, example filled out template, and blank template which educators can print out to use for their Social Story creation process.
35
Guidelines for Teachers to Write Social Stories:
Process Creates the Product
By: Amanda Moitoso
(based off of Carol Gray’s Criteria 10.2 and Social Story Guidelines, 2014)
Created: December 2015
36
Table of Contents
Introduction
What is a Social Story?
Why use a Social Story?
Why use Social Stories in school to support your students?
Who can use a Social Story?
What skills could be taught by using Social Stories?
The Social Story Process: Using Carol Gray’s Guidelines
Example filled out Template
Template to assist with writing a Social Story
Tips for Success
References
37
Raising my hand My name is Jacob and I am in Mrs. Green’s class at Lincoln Elementary School. Sometimes I can feel frustrated when I can’t do my school work but that is ok, it just means that I can ask for help. During work time, Mrs. Green has many students to help and Mrs. Green can only help one student at a time.
I will try to stay at my desk and raise my hand while keeping my mouth quiet while I wait for Mrs. Green to come help me. My classmates will be happy to get their turn and will learn new things when they get help from Mrs. Green. Just like my classmates will be happy when I get time with Mrs. Green, I
will work on being happy when my classmates get time with her too.
Sample Social Story
Introduction
We all have a way in which we learn best and teaching a classroom full of students who learn in many different ways can be difficult. This is particularly true for students on the Autism Spectrum who tend to have unique needs when it comes to learning, social skills, and communication.
Because of these challenges, teaching children with disabilities is sometimes a frustrating process of repeatedly reminding them of the appropriate way to interact in the classroom. After the twentieth time you have instructed a
38 child to raise their hand rather than blurt out the answer, the problem may be that they both don’t understand what to do or why they should do it.
Once these students know more about the situation, such as what they need to do, when to do it, how to do it, where to do it, and why they need to do it, research and experience suggests that they are more willing to do what is being asked of them. Not because they are being told to, but because they understand the context and reasoning behind the request.
This is the key to the Social Stories approach. It rests on the belief that children want to succeed and be praiseworthy, but those with ASD lack sufficient understanding about how to achieve that. Chances are that before the Social Story intervention was introduced, the student was already told over and over what the appropriate behavior was (being directed) however these directions failed to change the behavior because the student did not fully appreciate the reasons the desired behavior was called for and therefore failed to generalize the desired behavior to similar situations . By describing situations that create understanding and comfort, the student will naturally be directed to do the appropriate thing.
Therefore there is an emphasis on explaining/describing over providing direction.
Social Stories, which are a Story-based Intervention created by Carol
Gray, are a great tool to use in classrooms because they allow the teacher and student to break down difficult situations and helps the student to understand it more fully. This manual was created to help assist in the process of creating a Social Story (the product).
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What is a Social Story?
A Social Story is a short story written for a specific student to provide support in understanding confusing situations they find difficult to navigate.
Think about your own personal experiences, when you know ahead of time what to expect in a situation and what is expected of you, you tend to feel more comfortable and confident that you know how the situation will go and it doesn’t seem so daunting anymore. Students on the Autism Spectrum often have difficulties knowing the socially appropriate way to communicate with others, understanding the perspectives of others, understanding routines (especially new ones, whether they are completely new or they have just changed a little bit), or how to cope with their feelings. A Social Story can be written for any topic that a student may be having difficulties with.
The point of Social Stories is to provide the student with more descriptive information about the situation so that they understand both what to do and why, making them feel comfortable and supported in changing their behaviors.
40
Why use a Social Story?
Social Stories are a wonderful tool to use with individuals with ASD because it aims to help the individual understand more about the situation in order to promote appropriate behaviors from the individual when that situation arises.
Students with ASD often have strengths using visual information (for example, signs with reminders, schedules, checklists) as well as maintaining routines and memory. However, because it is sometimes difficult for these students to understand how to be socially appropriate their social anxieties can cause their memory of the appropriate behavior to get foggy. The use of visual reminders accompanying a Social Story intervention can help them remember what they are supposed to do (for example, a visual card on the desk that has a picture of a person raising their hand in class to help the individual remember to raise their hand before blurting out). Social Stories provide students with a detailed explanation about situations to help them understand how to act and react in a socially appropriate manner. Social
Stories provide step-by-step explanations for the student to assist them in picking up on social cues that they may otherwise misunderstand. Since students with ASD often have strengths using visual information, illustrations throughout a social story can help them interpret the text even further. When the social story is not being read, a visual from the Social
Story could be available for the student to see as a reminder to the student of what is appropriate to do in the situation. For example, if the student is having a difficult time remaining seated at circle time, there could be a
41 picture on the page of the Social Story of a student sitting in circle time and then when the student is in circle time, he/she could have a smaller version of that picture with the text “Sit” underneath it as a reminder that they should stay seated at circle time.
Prompt card that says:
Sit Sit
42
Why use Social Stories in school to support your students?
Social Stories are a great tool to use in an intervention because once they are implemented the individual will start to develop a greater understanding of the situation often leading to positive behavioral changes. Social Stories are also nice because after they are created there is a product that can be used in the future as a reminder to the individual.
Teachers often describe challenges in attending to the diverse needs of individual students as well as appropriately managing the challenging behaviors that may occur. It can be especially difficult and frustrating when you have an individual who requires more attention than others because that individual just does not understand how to raise their hand in class, stay in their seat during a lesson, walk in line on the way to the library, share toys with their classmates during free time, or ask a classmate to play. The social challenges confronting students with ASD make empathy a particular challenge. Social stories can help students with ASD understand and accept when another student does not want to play right now by helping them identify with the other student’s feelings and motivations. Social stories can help students master the routines and events that most individuals understand intuitively; the desired behavior may seem like common sense but for the individual with ASD may be very difficult.
43
Like I already told you, raise your But I needed help so hand and I’ll come I asked…what’s the to you when I am problem? ready!
44
Who can use a Social Story?
Social Stories can be beneficial to individuals with mild to severe disabilities, especially students diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum.
Students with ASD specifically benefit from the use of Social
Stories. As mentioned above, they often have strengths using visual information (for example, signs with reminders, schedules, checklists) as well as maintaining routines and memory. Social Stories are each modified to suit the developmental level of the student it is intended for.
There are some prerequisite skills which are beneficial for your students to have to make Social Story implementation more successful such as receptive language skills, imitation skills, and motivation. Receptive language skills mean that the student is able to understand language that is heard. For example, if the teacher tells the student “raise your hand,” the student understands that means to “put their hand in the air” is raising their hand. Imitation skills are showing the student an action and they can copy
(imitate) you. For example, if you say “raise your hand,” and then raise your hand to show the student what you want them to do, the student looks at your action of raising your hand and then raises their hand. Motivation is important during Social Story intervention because the student needs to be motivated to follow the embedded directions in the Social Story while
45 understanding the descriptions of the situation as well. Motivation will be different for every individual but motivation could range from making their teacher proud (e.g. verbal praise, high 5’s), to getting access to a desired item (e.g. special toy, snack), or to getting access to a desired activity (e.g. computer time, free play time).
46
What skills can be taught by using Social Stories?
Many areas can be addressed using Social Stories, some of which include reducing fear, aggression, and obsessions, introducing a change in routine, and cultivating appropriate social behavior. Social Stories are typically written in response to a difficult situation for the individual with ASD in order to help them be more comfortable, feel safe, and understand how to react effectively and act appropriately in the difficult situation.
It is important to note that these Social Stories are not designed to highlight or even mention what the individual is doing wrong. Instead they are to help focus the individual on the details of the situation in a way that will lead to an improved understanding and ultimately to the desired behaviors. The individual with ASD may have been told repeatedly that what they are doing is inappropriate. However, lacking an essential understanding of the situation they may be repeating the same behavior which sometimes may even have become worse because of all the attention they have received for the inappropriate behavior. Somewhere in the situation, the individual does not understand what is expected, when it is expected, how it is expected, where it is expected, and/or why it is expected which leads to
47 those around the individual and the individual themselves being frustrated because they don’t understand how to make things right.
Sharing toys
Raising my hand Waiting in line
48
The Social Story Process Using Carol Gray’s criteria
When creating a Social Story there is a process which begins with careful observations of the individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to identify what is making the situation challenging as well as successful. The writer of the Social Story needs to understand the what, where, when, why, and how of the situation (which is the process) to create the Social Story
(which is the product) that will ultimately be introduced to the individual with ASD.
According to Carol Gray (2014) when creating a Social Story, there are 10 criteria that are important to follow to ensure the Social Story will be supportive and successful for the individual it is created for. Here are the
10 steps to success!
1) Goal Process to create the Product:
What is the goal of the social story? The overarching goal is to identify and share accurate information with the individual about the event
(the what, why, when, who, how). It is not about telling the individual what they are doing wrong or even just what they need to do. It’s about getting the individual to understand why they need to do what is being asked of them. With an improved understanding of the event and the expectations of the individuals involved, an improvement of the individual’s behavior can often be facilitated.
49
2) Collect information:
Before identifying the specific behavior being targeted, it is important to first collect information via observations of representative events and conversations with those involved in the event. By not identifying a specific, focused topic a priori, the writer of the story stays open to a range of possibilities and avoids prematurely limiting the search for information.
The information gathered from observations will consist of where and when the situation occurs, who is involved, how events are sequenced before, during, and after the situation, what occurs, and why. It’s important to experience the event from the perspective of the student with ASD to try and determine what the event may feel like, sound like, or look like to the individual the story is being written for. At least two observations should be conducted when gathering information. The first observation is to literally observe the situation from a third-person point of view. The second
50 observation is to experience the situation first hand to get the perspective of the individual the story is being written for.
It is also important to gather information about the targeted situation, concept, or skill from all the people involved (e.g. parents, teachers, friends, family members, community member, etc.). Each person involved is likely to have different and valuable perspectives and information about the topic at hand. This also allows the people involved to be on the same page in serving the child.
3) Title + Introduction + Body + Conclusion = Social Story:
It is important for Social Stories to begin with a title as well as have an introduction, body, and conclusion because this will organize the story to identify the topic (introduction), describe the topic (body), and reinforce the information and strategies described throughout the body (conclusion).
51
4) Format to success:
Every Social Story should be designed for the individual it is being written for in order for the individual to understand and relate to the story as much as possible. The Social Story format should take into account the individual’s abilities, attention span, learning style, and their talents and/or interests.
5) Voice throughout the Story:
These five factors relate to the Social Stories “voice” and vocabulary used throughout the story which contributes to the characteristic patient and reassuring quality of a Social Story.
a) First-or Third Person Perspective:
First Person Perspective sounds as if the individual reading the
story is describing the situation, event, or concept that the
story is about. This perspective uses “I” throughout the Social
Story. Presenting the story in this way increases the reader’s
responsibility for what is said in the story because statements
are stated as if it’s the individual’s “rules.” This is the more
typical style of perspective writing.
Third Person Perspective sounds as if the individual is reading
about another person who struggles with the same
situation/concept. This perspective uses “they, he, she”
throughout the Social Story. These styles of Social Stories
52
are referred to as Social Articles and are typically developed
for older or more advanced readers due to the format of the
Social Story. They may be presented in formal styles like
newspaper articles.
b) Past, Present, and/or Future Tense:
The past can be referred to in a Social Story to try and make
predictions for the outcomes of future events based on past
experiences. Becoming aware of what might happen, may help
relieve some anxiety and prime the student to be ready and
available the next time the event presents itself.
For example, when it is fire drill day, the student could read
the Social Story about fire drills to prepare them for the loud
alarm that scared them the previous time. The Social Story
could say:
53
Fire Drills
Sometimes I get scared when the loud fire alarm goes off during a fire drill.
When I hear the fire alarm I can cover my ears and walk in line with my classmates as our teacher leads us outside to safety. My teacher will be proud of me for staying calm and with the class during a fire alarm.
So this story acknowledges that in the past the fire alarms
have been loud and scary but it gives a solution to the future
of what the student can do (cover their ears and follow the
teacher).
c) Positive and Patient Tone:
Using positive language and a patient tone in Social Stories is
important when talking about descriptions of desired
behaviors in a given situation.
54 d) Literal Accuracy:
When Social Stories are written they should contain the
clearest language possible, to ensure no difference between
the intended meanings and the stated meanings. Individuals
with ASD have a hard time understanding language like idioms,
where the wording is not directly to the point. For example, if
the Social Story is about leaving the library when it is time to
go back to the classroom, the words used to explain this
should be clear and literal.
o UNCLEAR: “When my teacher says, “ok class, it’s time
to hit the road and go back to our classroom!” this
means that library time is over.” Students with ASD
often do not understand idioms (such as “hit the road”)
so this part of the Social Story would be unclear for
them.
o CLEAR: “When my teacher says, “ok class, it’s time to
line up to leave the library and go back to our
classroom!” this means that library time is over.” This
sentence is much more clear as it gives the exact steps
of what is needed to happen (line up, leave library, back
to classroom).
55 e) Accurate Meaning:
Use the most efficient words to get your point across
throughout the Social Story. Because the words in a Social
Story are so important (they are explaining to the individual
how/why to do the appropriate thing) it is important to use
the language in a positive way. The story should not feel like a
reprimand to the individual as they have most likely been told
what to do over and over and it has not made them correct the
way they are going about the activity. The story should be
giving them tools to be successful. For example, instead of
saying “I will try not to yell in class” (which is a negative way
to say it), say: “I will try to use a quiet voice” (frames it in a
positive way).
Another important consideration when deciding on the most
appropriate language is to be mindful if the individual has an
emotional sensitivity to specific words. This may not be an
issue for all individuals, it should be kept in mind for the
individual the Social Story is being written for. For example, if
the individual has a hard time when they hear the word “new”
use the word “another” or “different”.
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6) Story Development using “Wh” questions:
Details are needed to describe the event for the Social Story. The six “wh”
questions (who, when, what, where, why, and how) should be used to guide
important descriptions about the event in your Social Story. It is not always
relevant to answer all “wh” questions in the Social Story, however it is
important to consider trying to answering them. Sometimes multiple “wh”
questions can be answered in one sentence in the Social Story.
For example, the Social Story is about taking turns with my classmates:
Question: Who are you taking turns with? Answer: Classmates.
Question: What are we doing together? Answer: Taking turns while playing
together.
Question: When does taking turns happen? Answer: When playing with
classmates.
Question: Where does taking turns happen? Answer: At school (classroom,
playground).
Question: Why do we take turns? Answer: So everyone can have a chance
with the toy.
Question: How do we take turns? Answer: Each person takes a turn for a
certain number of minutes (set by a timer or the teacher will say when the
turn is up).
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7) Types of Sentences:
There are seven types of sentences that can be used in Social Stories.
These include descriptive, directive, perspective, control, affirmative,
cooperative, and partial sentences. There are two purposes for the types of
sentences in a Social Story, some sentences are designed to describe and
the others are to direct. Social stories should always describe more than
direct because you are trying to get the student to understand the event
which will in turn promote appropriate behaviors.
Each sentence has its own job in the Social Story to help support the
individual’s understanding of the event. The describing sentences include
descriptive, perspective, affirmative, and cooperative sentences. The
directing sentences include directive and control sentences.
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Here are the definitions and a few examples for each type of describing sentence:
o Descriptive sentence: These types of sentences answer the “wh” questions by identifying who is involved, where the situation takes place, what is happening, when it is happening, and why it is taking place. . Examples: My name is ______. (often the first sentence in a Social Story) My class goes to the library to pick out books. Many children play on the play structure during outside recess. After outdoor recess we go back to our classroom.
o Perspective sentence: These types of sentences refer to what other people may feel, think, know, believe, their opinions, motives, or physical/emotional health about the situation the Social Story is written for. . Examples: My friend, Rachel, likes to sing songs. (feelings) My teacher knows about science. (knowledge/thoughts) Some people believe in Santa Claus and some people don’t. (beliefs) Many children think chocolate milk should be served with their lunch. (opinion) Some children decide to work hard during class to finish their assignments so that they can go to recess when the bell rings. (motive) Sometimes people feel tired after they play tag at recess. (physical health) Sometimes people feel sad when they don’t get a turn. (emotional health)
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o Affirmative sentence: These types of sentences express a commonly shared value, opinion, law, or rule within a given culture. Typically affirmative sentences immediately follow a descriptive, perspective, or directive sentence. (Note: the affirmative sentence is in italics) . Examples: One student is allowed to slide down the slide at a time. This is the safe thing to do when playing on the slide with other students. Most students eat their sandwich before their treat. This is a good idea because it’s the healthy thing to do. The fire alarm makes a loud sound when it rings. This is okay.
o Cooperative sentence: These types of sentences are used to explain what others in the individual’s environment will do to assist the individual in the situation. This also serves as a reminder for those in the individual’s environment of what their role is in the situation. . Examples: When I feel frustrated with my school work, others can help me try to figure out the answer or by asking if I need to take a break before coming back to finish my school work. When I feel scared of the fire alarm, others can help me by reminding me to cover my ears and walk outside with the rest of the class.
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Here are the definitions and a few examples for each type of directing sentences:
o Directive sentence: These types of sentences explain to the individual what is expected of them and how to react to the situation by using the “I will try…” or “I can…” statements. . Examples: I can raise my hand if I have a question about my schoolwork. I will try to walk in the hallways at school. During outdoor recess, I can play on the monkey bars, play soccer with other students, jump with a jump rope, or I can see what else other students are playing.
o Control sentence: These types of sentences are used to help the individual identify or remember the story better by incorporating personal information and/or interests to the situation, making it more relatable for the individual. . Examples: Maybe the student really likes ants, so the topic of the Social Story could relate to ants to help them remember: When the fire alarm rings, I will march in line with my classmates to the safe zone just like ants march in line to stay together.
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Partial sentences are used after the Social Story has been implemented and it is time to check for understanding from the student to see if he/she can recall the information on their own. o Partial sentence: These types of sentences are like fill-in-the blank sentences. These should not be used until the individual has had multiple exposures to the Social Story and is showing understanding of the concept. Removing part of the sentences encourages the individual to think about the appropriate answer on their own, leading to more independence in demonstrating an understanding of the situation. . Examples: When I need help tying my shoes, I can ______my teacher for help. When I go to the library, I have to use my ______voice.
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8) Sentence Formula for Success:
When writing a Social Story it is important to keep in mind that a
Social Story will describe events more than direct the student’s actions. By describing the situation the student gains an understanding which naturally guides them towards successful behavior in situations that were once difficult for them. A basic rule of thumb when developing sentences for a
Social Story is to have at least double the number of describing sentences as directing sentences.
There are two different ratios of sentences when creating a Social
Story, the Basic Social Story Ratio and the Complete Social Story Ratio.
Which ratio you use depends on the types of sentences you feel are best suited to the particular student and situation to promote understanding.
A Basic Social Story has a ratio of two to five descriptive, perspective, and/or affirmative sentences for each directive sentence.
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Here is an example of a Basic Social Story and the expected sentence ratio: Fire Drill Day My name is Jason and I go to Cheerio Elementary School. (descriptive) Fire drill day is a day the school practices what to do if a fire were to
happened at school. (descriptive) The fire alarm makes a loud sound when it rings. This is okay. (affirmative) I will try to stay calm and walk in line with my class. (directive) Sometimes other students feel scared too but my teacher knows how to lead us to safety. (perspective) I can cover my ears if the fire alarm is too loud. (directive) My teacher will be proud of me for staying calm and following directions during a fire drill. (perspective)
In the example above, there are two directive sentences (written in green) which direct the reader. Therefore, there should be a minimum of four descriptive, perspective, and/or affirmative sentences (written in orange) that describe the situation to the reader. This example exceeds the requirement set by Carol Gray because there are five descriptive sentences.
2 directive 2
= ratio
2 descriptive + 2 perspective + 1 affirmative 5
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The Complete Social Story Ratio builds on the Basic Social Story ratio by adding control and cooperative sentences. If you know your student has a specific interest in a topic then it might be beneficial to use a control sentence in their Social Story to help them recall the information easier, as well as “buy in” to what is being described in the Social Story. For every
Complete Social Story there should be a ratio of two to five descriptive, perspective, affirmative, and/or cooperative sentences for each directive or control sentence.
Here is an example of a Complete Social Story Ratio. The teacher knows that Jason really likes ants and he knows that they march in a line to safely go places together therefore the teacher has incorporated those personal aspects in the Social Story. Note the added words in the control sentence and the cooperative sentence in the story. This will help Jason be more engaged in the story.
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Fire Drill Day My name is Jason and I go to Cheerio Elementary School. (descriptive) Fire drill day is a day the school practices what to do if a fire were to happened at school. (descriptive) The fire alarm makes a loud sound when it rings. This is okay. (affirmative) I will try to stay calm and walk in line with my class. (directive) When the fire alarm rings, I will march in line with my classmates to the safe zone just like ants march in line to stay together. (control)
Sometimes other students feel scared too but my teacher knows how to lead us to safety. (perspective) I can cover my ears if the fire alarm is too loud. (directive) When I feel scared of the fire alarm, others can help me by reminding me to cover my ears and walk calmly outside with the rest of the class. (cooperative) My teacher will be proud of me for staying calm and following directions during a fire drill. (perspective)
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In the example above, there are two directive sentences (written in green) and one control sentence (written in blue) which direct the reader.
Therefore, there should be a minimum of four descriptive, perspective, and/or affirmative sentences (written in orange) and one cooperative sentence (written in purple) that describe the situation to the reader. This example exceeds the requirement set by Carol Gray because there are five descriptive sentences.
2 directive + 1 control 3
= ratio
2 descriptive + 2 perspective + 1 affirmative
+ 1 cooperative 6
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9) Edits and Improvements:
It is important to review your Social Story with individuals who are involved
in the student’s life and/or involved in the situation described in the Social
Story (e.g. student’s 1:1 aide, parents, resource teachers, principal, etc.) to
ensure the information you have gathered throughout the process is
accurate and also to ensure that everyone is on the same page and “on
board” with the intervention plan. Having agreement and insight from others
ensures that everyone will be aware of what is expected of the student
during the situation described in the Social Story and can help support the
student as needed. For example, if the Social Story is about asking for help
when the student needs their shoes tied, if the student walks up to the yard
supervisor at recess and puts their foot out, the yard supervisor will be
prepared to ask what the student needs or pull out a visual reminder card
with the word “help” on it to remind the student that they need to ask for
help instead of just sticking their foot out to get their shoe tied.
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10) Implementing and Fading the Social Story:
After you have created a well balanced, descriptive Social Story, it will also
be important to decide what the intervention process (which also consists of
a fading process) will look like. This includes how and when the Social Story
will be introduced as well as who will introduce it, how often and when (for
example: in the morning when school starts, right before the event that the
Social Story describes takes place) will the Social Story be read to the
individual, how will the intervention be monitored, when the fading process
begins how will the Social Story be faded. Keep an eye out for possible
Social Stories that build on previous Social Story concepts (for example, an
earlier Social Story was created for waiting in a line to get lunch in the
cafeteria, maybe the next Social Story might be about waiting in line to take
a turn in gym class).
It is best to only introduce one Social Story at a time so that the student
can focus on one idea at a time and avoid the chance of overwhelming the
student with new information.
It is important to introduce the story when the student is calm and the
environment is quiet so that they are able to truly concentrate on the
content of the story. It is also important to make sure the student is not
emotionally escalated because then the student could view the Social Story
as a punishment for them not behaving appropriately which could lead to the
Social Story becoming an adverse event. The person who introduces the
Social Story should be honest yet positive and patient with the student. For
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example, the person could say, “I wrote this story just for you, let’s read it
together,” or “this story is about library time, let’s read it together.”
Depending on the severity of the ASD the individual may be able to read the
Social Stories alone after a few times reading it with the teacher, 1:1 aide,
or fellow classmate. Reading the Social Story with a classmate requires
discretion. If there is a classmate who is close with and has built trust with
the student with ASD this may be a great fit but be cautious that the
classmate does not then act as their “teacher” and take charge of them.
How often each Social Story is reviewed with the student will depend of a few factors. Typically a Social Story is only reviewed once a day when first introduced. Then after the Social Story has been reviewed once a day long enough to have established a new pattern of behavior, one could taper back on the frequency reviewing the Social Story only when the event the Social
Story focuses on is eminent. For example, let’s say the Social Story is about a holiday event such as the school Halloween parade. In this case the Social
Story would be introduced a couple weeks or so before the Halloween parade, read every day once a day for the first week (maybe longer if the student is not showing understanding through comprehension checks (e.g. asking questions about the Social Story at the end of it), and then faded to be read every other day. The day before the Halloween parade the story would be read again and possibly the morning of the event.
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Once the student demonstrates an understanding of their Social Story, the
process of fading the Social Story should begin. There is no formal schedule
for fading a Social Story as it all depends on to what degree the student is
showing comprehension of the Social Story. The entire process is
customized to the specific needs of a student. The process of creating the
Social Story was individualized for your student just as how you will fade
the Social Story will depend on the results and student. There are a variety
of approaches that may be appropriate. To implement the fading, you can
start to increase the number of days between each reading. Another
possibility is that you omit some words from some of the sentences and
make them partial sentences. This is so that student’s memory is tested to
see if they can fill in the missing word themselves. Another possibility is
that the Social Story gets rewritten so that the directive sentences are
taken out of the story and then at the end of the Social Story the teacher
can ask the student what the appropriate thing to do is in the event (which
is what the directive sentence stated).
Using these steps and criteria will result in effective stories that can have the desired effect on student behavior. Next, I present an example of how the template enclosed with this handbook can guide you through the process of developing a social story.
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EXAMPLE
Template to Assist with Creating a Socially Story—following the guidelines
Student name: ___Jacob Jones ______
Teacher name: ____Mrs. Green______
1) What is the general area of needed improvement/misunderstanding? How do you know? Raising hand when he needs help while doing desk work.
Understanding that other classmates need time with the teacher too. Seemed upset when told to go back to his desk, raise his hand, and wait for the teacher to come to his desk.______2) Gather information:
Observation date #1:_____1/11/2016______Observation date #2:_____1/12/2016______
Description of what is happening: Observation #___1____
After math lesson on carpet, the class instructed to sit at their desks and raise their hand if they need help and teacher will come to them when they can. After 5 minutes of working Jacob brought his work to the teacher, interrupted the teacher who was with
72 another student, and said he needs help. Teacher told Jacob to go back to his desk, raise his hand, and wait for her to come over to his desk after she was done with the student she was already with.
Jacob seemed upset as he grunted and stomped back to his desk.
When he sat down he said “I just needed help and I asked, what’s the problem?!” and then put his head in his folded_arms.______(Print out more observation interview sections from back of manual as needed) 3) Who are the team members involved?
Who How are they involved with the student
and/or during the situation?
Mrs. Jane (Resource teacher) How does Jacob get help with
his work if he needs it when in
resource room? parents How does Jacob do waiting at
home when parent’s attention
is on attending to little sister?
Jacob How does he feel about the
situation?
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Who will you interview to ask questions about their opinion about the situation? (1:1 aide, parent(s), yard duty, student, etc.) Who: Jacob (the student) What did they say? _Asked why he felt upset when he was told to go back to his desk
and raise his hands like his teacher had asked. He said he didn’t
understand why he was in trouble for asking for help when he
needed it. He is just trying to get his work done like he was told
to.______(Print out more interview sections from back of manual if needed)
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4) Story Development through “Wh” questions gathered from observation information:
Who : Jacob, classmates, Mrs.Green (teacher) ______
When: during independent work time at desk at school ______
What : waiting his turn to get help from teacher, raising his hand
while sitting at desk to, indicate he needs help with his work,
understanding others need help too
Where: ___in Mrs. Green’s classroom ______
How: stay in seat, raise hand with a quiet mouth, wait for Mrs.
Green to come to him to help with his work at his desk ______
Why: other students need help too, distracting to have other
students interrupt when Mrs. Green working with another student,
take turns with classmates so everyone can get their work done
and learn ______
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5) Types of Sentences and Sentence Formula
Basic Social Story:
o Basic Social Story ratio contains at least double the amount of describing sentences compared to directing sentences. Directing sentence: Directive sentence Describing sentences: Perspective, descriptive, affirmative sentences
Directive Perspective
Describes a desired behavior and generally begin with Describes other individual’s reaction or feelings “I will try” or “I will work on.” associated with the target situation.
I will try to stay at my desk and My classmates will be happy to raise my hand while keeping my get their turn and will learn mouth quiet while I wait for Mrs. new things when they get help
Green to come help me. from Mrs. Green.
Just like my classmates will be
happy when I get time with Mrs.
Green, I will work on being
happy when my classmates get
time with her too.
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Descriptive Affirmative
Provides statements of fact, answers the “wh” Expresses a commonly shared value, opinion, law, or questions about the situation. rule about the situation.
My name is Jacob and I’m in Sometimes I can feel frustrated
Mrs. Green’s class at Lincoln when I can’t do my school work
Elementary School. but that it ok. It just means that
I can ask for help.
During work time Mrs. Green has many students to help.
Mrs. Green can only help one student with their work at a time.
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Complete Social Story (above 4 sentences, plus additional 2 (control and cooperative)
o Complete Social Story Ratio has the Basic Social Story ratio in addition to including control and cooperative sentences while still containing at least double the amount of describing sentences compared to directing sentences. Directing sentences: directive and control sentences Describing sentences: perspective, descriptive, affirmative, and cooperative sentences
Control Cooperative
Explain what others in the individual’s Help the individual identify or remember environment will do to assist the the story better by incorporating personal individual in the situation. information and/or interests to the situation, making it more relatable for the individual.
N/A N/A
**(for this Social Story I decided to use a
Basic Social Story ratio)**
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6) Edit and Refine—Review the story draft with the team members identified in step #2
Who Check box Any changes suggested?
once reviewed
Mrs. Jane (resource teacher) Y N
Parents Y N
Y N
Y N
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7) Implementation Plan a) Who will be the first to read it with the student? _____Mrs.
Green______b) Where will the individual and the student read the story? in classroom at Mrs.
Green’s desk c) When will be the first time to read it with the student? _____1/25/2016______d) When will the student read the story on a consistent basis? (morning, just prior to event, end of the day, etc.) _In morning before school starts we will read it together at my desk. e) Checking for comprehension after reading the Social Story. When questions are asked after the Social Story is read, is the student getting the answers correct? When the student is getting the answers correct after 3 consecutive reading opportunities (may be more or less based on how your student’s level) it’ll be time to start the fading process. Comprehension Check Dates
Date: 1/25/16 Y N Date: 1/28/16 Y N Date: 2/2/16 Y N
Date: 1/26/16 Y N Date: 1/29/16 Y N Date: 2/3/16 Y N
Date: 1/27/16 Y N Date: 2/1/16 Y N Date: Y N f) How will the fade process begin once the student is ready? (Increase the number of days between readings, omit directive sentences, make some sentences partial sentences for the student to recall information on their own) We will start reading the story every other day and check for comprehension every time.
When he is able to answer the comprehension questions correct 3
80 readings in a row, we will fade again by___ taking out part of the sentence (creating a partial sentence) for him to fill in__ the blank.______
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Extra Information Gathering Sheets:
Observation date #_2__ :____1/12/2016______ Description of what is happening: Observation #___2____ During English class time to write in their journals about their
goals and dreams for the new year. Jacob started to write right
away, seemed excited as he had a smile on his face and was busy
writing. He asked his classmate next to him how to spell a word
and they didn’t know. Jacob grabbed his paper and went up to
Mrs. Green who was with another student (Sally) and interrupted
them to ask how to spell “mountains.” The student Mrs. Green was
with told Jacob it’s not his turn with Mrs. Green and that she
needed Mrs.Green. Mrs. Green told Jacob he needs to go back to his
desk and raise his hand quietly and she will come to him when she
is done with Sally. Jacob grunted and said “it’s not fair! I can’t
finish my work if you don’t’ help me!” Jacob stomped his feet while
walking back to his desk, threw his paper on the desk, sat down in
his chair, and crossed his arms. Who else will you interview to ask questions about their opinion about the situation? (1:1 aide, parent(s), yard duty, student, etc.) Who:_____Mrs. Jane (resource teacher) ______What did they say? Asked Mrs. Jane how Jacob asks for help while he is in the resource
room with her. She said that she usually has only 3 students at a
table and they have a student teacher at the moment who help her
with her group so typically Jacob does not have to wait or if he
does he only has to wait a few seconds for either her or the student
teacher to turn to him to help him.
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Template to Assist with Creating a Socially Story— following the guidelines Student name:______
Teacher name:______
1) What is the general area of needed improvement/misunderstanding? How do you know? ______2) Gather information: Observation date #1:______Observation date #2:______ Description of what is happening: Observation #______
______(Print out more observation interview sections from back of manual as needed)
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3) Who are the team members involved?
Who How are they involved with the student
and/or during the situation?
Who will you interview to ask questions about their opinion about the situation? (1:1 aide, parent(s), yard duty, student, etc.) Who:______
What did they say? ______
(Print out more interview sections from back of manual if needed)
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4) Story Development through “Wh” questions gathered from observation information:
Who:______
When:______
What:______
Where:______
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How:______
Why:______
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5) Types of Sentences and Sentence Formula
Basic Social Story:
o Basic Social Story ratio contains at least double the amount of describing sentences compared to directing sentences. Directing sentence: Directive sentence Describing sentences: Perspective, descriptive, affirmative sentences
Directive Perspective
Describes a desired behavior and generally begin with Describes other individual’s reaction or feelings
“I will try” or “I will work on.” associated with the target situation.
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Descriptive Affirmative
Provides statements of fact, answers the “wh” Expresses a commonly shared value, opinion, law, or questions about the situation. rule about the situation.
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Complete Social Story (above 4 sentences, plus additional 2 (control and cooperative)
o Complete Social Story Ratio has the Basic Social Story ratio in addition to including control and cooperative sentences while still containing at least double the amount of describing sentences compared to directing sentences. Directing sentences: directive and control sentences Describing sentences: perspective, descriptive, affirmative, and cooperative sentences
Control Cooperative
Explain what others in the individual’s Help the individual identify or remember environment will do to assist the the story better by incorporating personal individual in the situation. information and/or interests to the situation, making it more relatable for the individual.
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6) Edit and Refine—Review the draft with the team members identified in step #2
Who Check box once Any changes suggested?
reviewed
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
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7) Implementation Plan a) Who will be the first to read it with the student?______b) Where will the individual and the student read the story? ______c) When will be the first time to read it with the student? ______d) When will the student read the story on a consistent basis? (morning, just prior to event, end of the day, etc.) ______e) Checking for comprehension after reading the Social Story. When questions are asked after the Social Story is read, is the student getting the answers correct? When the student is getting the answers correct after 3 consecutive reading opportunities (may be more or less based on how your student’s level) it’ll be time to start the fading process.
Comprehension Check Dates Date: Y N Date: Y N Date: Y N Date: Y N Date: Y N Date: Y N Date: Y N Date: Y N Date: Y N
91 f) How will the fade process begin once the student is ready? (Increase the number of days between readings, omit directive sentences, make some sentences partial sentences for the student to recall information on their own) ______
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Extra Information Gathering Sheets:
Observation date #___ :______Observation date #___ :______
Description of what is happening: Observation #______
______
Description of what is happening: Observation #______
______
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Interviews Who else will you interview to ask questions about their opinion about the situation? (1:1 aide, parent(s), yard duty, student, etc.) Who:______What did they say? ______
Who else will you interview to ask questions about their opinion about the situation? (1:1 aide, parent(s), yard duty, student, etc.) Who:______What did they say? ______
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Tips for Using and Writing Social Stories
1) Only introduce one Social Story at a time! 2) Tell the student what they should do, never what they shouldn’t do. 3) Use appropriate language for the individual. 4) Put pictures in the Social Story 5) Share the Social Story with others in the student’s life so that everyone is aware and can be consistent. 6) Read the Social Story with the student when they are calm. 7) Read and practice the situation before the situation occurs in real life. 8) Make sure to track the individual’s success and be ready to fade the Social Story when the individual is showing independence.
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References:
Gray, C. (2015). Carol Gray: Social Stories. Retrieved from
http://carolgraysocialstories.com/
Illustrations from: Microsoft Clip Art