2. What is a Social Story?
“A social story is a short story that describes a situation in terms of
relevant social cues and accurate and specific information regarding
what occurs in a given situation and why.” (Gray, 1995)
3. What does it do?
• Increases understanding of social situations
• Increases understanding of expected behaviors in new or
difficult settings
• Considers the perspective of the individual with autism
• Teaches understanding over rote compliance
4. Why teach social skills?
• Many problems that arise at school are a direct result of poor social
skills.
• Appropriate social skills can help students engage with others, obtain
and keep friendships and can improve the quality of life for students
and their families.
• Appropriate social skills are expected in school, home, community
and as individuals get older; in work environments.
• Appropriate social skills can benefit individuals of any age.
5. The Social Story Process
• Step 1: Picture the goal
• Step 2: Gather the information
• Step 3: Tailor the text
• Step 4: Teach the title
• Step 5: Implement the social story
• Step 6: Collect and review data to determine effectiveness
6. 4 Basic Sentence Types
• Descriptive
• The dog may bark.
• The teacher may stand in front of class.
• Perspective
• The teacher will like it if I raise my hand to ask a question.
• I usually have difficulty remembering to raise my hand.
• Directive
• I will raise my hand and wait to be called on.
• I will line up behind the teacher.
• Affirmative
• It’s a good idea to use a Kleenex to blow your nose.
7. Recess
• On most school days we have recess. (descriptive)
• Usually recess is outside and I get to swing and play on the slide
(descriptive).
• Sometimes recess can be inside. (descriptive)
• My teacher will look out the window to check the weather. (descriptive)
• If it is raining outside or when it is too cold my teacher will decide if
we are having recess outside or inside. (perspective)
• If we have inside recess today, I should stay calm and follow the rules
. (directive)
• During inside recess I can play with the blocks, read a book, or play
checkers. (directive)
• If I stay calm and follow the rules during inside recess my teacher will
be so happy. (perspective)
• On another day, recess will be outside. (descriptive)
8. What social skills should be taught?
The following are ideas obtained fromSue Watson, about.com/special education/teaching social skills
• Cooperation
• Respecting Ourselves, Others and Items
• Being Respectful
• Remaining on Task
• Accepting Differences
• Sharing
• Helping Others
• Being a Friend
• Participation
• Praising Others and Refraining from Put Downs
• Being Patient
• Positive Communication and Interactions
• Using Good Manners
• Following Directions
• Being Polite and Courteous
• Taking Turns
• Listening
9. Observed Social Skills that NEEDS to be ADDRESSED
• Keeping an appropriate tone of voice
• Identifying when someone does not wish to socialize
• Understanding that others have a right to opinions
• Time management (following a schedule)
• Varying topics of conversation
• Using appropriate hygiene
• Dealing with new social situations
• Developing acceptable self calming techniques
• Interpreting facial expressions
• Ways of approaching and leaving friends/greetings/salutations
10. When should we teach social skills?
• Social skills can be directly taught as part of a time allotted during
your school day.
• Social skills lessons can be integrated into every day lessons.
• Social skills can be taught throughout the day as part of an
individual’s intervention, however should be discreetly done to
include the group or if a student is separated from a group so as not
to embarrass or single out a student.
• Social skills can be taught while in the community, school, and at
home in various situations as the opportunity arises.
11. How do we measure social skill acquisition?
• Where does the behavior occur?
• How often does the behavior occur?
• How many incidences of occurrences are there? (the targeted
behavior, word, action, etc.)
• When does the behavior occur?
12. When collecting and analyzing data, the following
additional information should be considered:
• Noise level
• Amount of individuals around (specific individuals
around child and then analyze why).
• Distractions in the room (amount of objects,
material of interest)
• Difficulty of task to the students level (students
confidence level)
• Structure or lack of structure within the activity
• The amount of items to do within activity
• The pace of the activity
• Appropriateness of the task to the age level of the
student. (Sam’s story)
13. Sample topics for Social Stories
• What is a friend
• How to speak to a friend
• New Home
• Attending a day service
• How to greet someone
• How to make toast
• Visit to the dentist/hospital/opticians etc.,
15. References
• Haringey Learning Disabilities Partnership: Social Stories. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/what_are_social_stories.pdf Retrieved on January 21, 2015
• Teaching Social Skills. Campbell, J., (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CEcQFjAI&url=http%
3A%2F%2Fwww.autismcincy.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F06%2FTeaching-Social-Skills-to-Students-with-
ASD-Judy-Campbell.ppt&ei=0xXCVOqQBYTn8gWCl4DwDQ&usg=AFQjCNF0cvMi1ABu6cDj-
KxLKrVWSkDItg&sig2=AbPCpQ4BC97RAHaW78_lJQ Retrieved on January 23, 2015
• Social Stories. Ganz & Cook, (2004). Retrieved from
https://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CBwQFjAA&url=http
s%3A%2F%2Fcourses.mnu.edu%2Fmod%2Fresource%2Fview.php%3Fid%3D66261&ei=kxbCVPWxB8qE8gXrqoHADg&usg=
AFQjCNF9YQJnfHFHWDdgJPE10gv9pwq-vQ&sig2=y3AouazPDB1dXsZLkjEPuA&bvm=bv.84349003,d.dGc Retrieved on
January 21, 2015
Editor's Notes
Descriptive sentences tell where a situation occurs, who is involved, what they are doing, and/or why
Perspective sentences describe reactions and emotions of the student or the emotional responses/states of others
Directive sentences describe or tell the student what they should do in a given situation
Affirmative sentences often enhance the meaning of previously stated sentences by reflecting general, commonly-held values or opinions
** Partial sentences are similar to fill-in-the-blank statements. These sentences require students to predict the next step in a sequence, guess the response of another person, predict the student’s own behavior and/or demonstrate the understanding of a new skill or concept. Directive, descriptive, perspective, or affirmative sentences can be written as a partial sentence.
Social skills can be measured using data collection charting if written in the correct format and can be used as part of IEP writing and data collection. Baseline data should be collected over all settings for the targeted behavior a period of at least 10 days. Data that is collected over that period of time can be analyzed to obtain the following information:
