Writing and Developing Social Stories

Caroline Smith

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Paperback

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English

Speechmark Publishing Ltd
18 July 2003

Teaching of special educational needs; Health systems & services; Neurology & clinical neurophysiology

This practical resource provides an introduction to the theory and practice of writing social stories. In addition, there are examples of successful stories to use as guides, as well as information and photocopiable resources for delivering training on the use of social stories. Based on detailed work carried out in homes, schools and pre-schools, this book offers practical support to anyone meeting the needs of a child or young adult with an autistic spectrum disorder. Social stories are short stories intended for children with autism to help them understand their social world and behave appropriately within it. The stories: Provide clear, concise and accurate information about what is happening in a specific situation, outlining both why it is happening and what a typical response might be; Are written by those directly supporting a child with autism and only successful stories are included in the book; Are infinitely flexible and adaptable to an individual child in an individual social situation and cover children aged 3 to 16. Preface; I have worked in the area of autism for about 14 years now and that experience has convinced me of the dedication and passion that working with children on the autistic spectrum engenders in those engaged in meeting their needs. Fortunately, there have recently been substantial developments in ways of intervening more effectively with these children, adding to the earlier emphasis on identification and diagnosis. The challenges remain huge for the children themselves, their carers and their teachers. However, I believe it is right to feel realistically optimistic that a range of compatible, practical interventions exist which, when implemented in considered and joined-up ways, by those living and working with the child, can make marked differences to how the child gets on at home, at school and in the broader community. One such intervention is the use of social stories (Gray 1994). For many years it has been evident, through my work, that teachers could readily identify a range of social difficulties experienced in school by a child with an autistic spectrum difficulty (ASD) but felt unsure about how they could make a difference. The teachers highlighted the difficulties that the child experienced in social interactions such as making friends, interacting at playtime, taking turns, working in pairs or groups or eating their school lunch with others, but felt adrift about how to intervene in a systematic manner. Teachers have described to me, over the years, hours of repeated conversations with children on the autistic spectrum as they try gently and sensitively to explain the social rules governing specific interactions with others. Increasingly, relevant commercial social skills packages have been published to provide some helpful materials for teachers to use and adapt, but the idiosyncratic and individual nature of each child's difficulties continued to highlight an additional need for a social skills tool that was infinitely flexible and adaptable to an individual child in an individual social situation. Having pondered on the difficulties many children on my caseload were having with making sense of the social world. I ordered a number of books that I thought might help. One of those books was 'The New Social Story Book' (Gray 1994), a relevant and practical book. Since that time many social stories have been written by parents, teaching assistants and teachers and an evaluation of their effectiveness published (Smith 2001). Training has been run throughout Hampshire for those working in the classroom; teachers and parents; Speech & Language Therapists; Educational Psychologists and Clinical Psychologists. The results of that work have lead to this book. I hope it will enable others to work on the social understanding of children with ASD by including a social stories approach in their routine repertoire of relevant interventions. I hope it will enable others to work together and have fun as they share their knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for making a difference for children with autism.

By: Caroline Smith
Imprint: Speechmark Publishing Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 297mm, Width: 210mm, Spine: 8mm
Weight: 364g
ISBN: 9780863884320
ISBN 10: 0863884326
Pages: 104
Publication Date: 18 July 2003
Audience: Children/juvenile , Professional and scholarly , Primary & secondary/elementary & high school , English as a second language , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Caroline Smith is an independent specialist educational psychologist with extensive experience of working in the field of autism. Having formerly been a Principal Educational Psychologist working in local authority settings, Caroline has worked closely with the parents and teachers of pre-school and school-aged children attending mainstream and special schools.

Reviews for Writing and Developing Social Stories

We were most impressed by the manuscript and feel it will provide an excellent resource. The academic background is sound, and the general presentation is very user friendly. Maureen Aarons, Tessa Gittens, Specialist SLTs Her contribution is in the production of a clear, user-friendly book which also acts as a resource manual. It is a must for those Postage services involved in Early Bird Programmes in particular and is very much recommended for anyone who is actively involved with ASD children and in training others working with them. - Joy Horne, Portage Post The stories are an effective way of improving the social behaviour and social understanding of individuals with autism. The book is a useful resource and I would recommend it in particular to clinicians who are unfamiliar with the concept of social stories...clear, concise information about social stories that clinicians could use when training teaching staff, parents and carers. Sharon Lee, Senior Speech Language Therapist, Dunshaughlin Health Care Unit, Update I.A.S.L.T A useful overview...plenty of practical guideline...the final chapter is very useful...this book is a very useful resource. - Child Language Teaching and Therapy This is an excellent, clear, useful and practical resource...I would recommend this book to individual practitioners. - Karen McKenzie, Learning Disability Practice This book does exactly what the title suggests and does it well...I think anyone who is involved with young people with autism will find it useful. The book is attractive with easy to read chapters...great help to those planning training sessions on social story writing. This is a practical, accessible book that I have found useful.' - Margaret Raine, Secretary West London SIG for Children With Autism, Bulletin Rightly labelled a 'practical resource manual'...handouts and activities form a clear and comprehensive training package which will save hours of work. - Beth McDonough, Parent of a pre school child with autistic spectrum disorder, Speech & Language Therapy in Practice Easy-to-read book...step-by-step information teaches the reader how to create a social story...contains guidelines to help develop training sessions. - Caroline Smith, Healing Magazine This book provides clear and sympathetic introduction to the theory and practice of writing social stories...can be varied infinitely to explain simply and directly to a child with autism what is happening in a situation...Caroline Smith has successfully used social stories for many years in her work as a senior educational psychologist . - Olivia O'Sullivan, Assistant Director, Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, TES Extra Full of very clear examples...even clearer instructions...easy to read and concise manner. I would recommend this book. Well worth the money. - Glinette, NAPLIC ...is a 'must have' for Child Development Teams and Educational Psychology Services...a number of different uses for this book...a set of useful handouts for those who are planning to deliver training in this area. - Richard Ganman, Peterborough City Council, Debate I particularly enjoyed the well thought-through layout of this book...chapters are clear and concise. Overall this would be a useful addition to the bookshelf of any school or therapy department where children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders attend. Sensory Integration network UK & Ireland