Social Stories As An Intervention Model

Autism is a developmental disorder, which is characterized by a dyad of difficulties in a) communication and social interaction and b) restricted interests and imagination (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might find it challenging to understand what other people think or what the reasons for their behaviours are, as their ‘theory of mind’ may not be well developed (Schuwerk, Vuori & Sodian, 2015). It is possible that this is why they might behave in socially inappropriate ways, being unable to differentiate between different contexts, while they might also find it difficult to make friends. Moreover, it is likely that they are fond of routines, repetition and structure (Carnahan, Musti-Rao, & Bailey, 2009), as they might be nervous with unknown, new situations. In addition, some of them might not do eye contact with other people, whereas some others might not endure to be touched and might have a difficulty developing speech (Jordan, 2005). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might sometimes be prohibited to initiate conversations and might struggle with finding different ways to play and behave, due to the possible deficit of imagination, which in some cases might result in them having a narrow sphere of interests. Nevertheless, it should be noted that this group of people is rather heterogeneous, as characteristics of autism may differ from one individual to another (Gwynette, 2013). Another point is that people with Autism

Grigore, A. A., & Rusu, A. S. (2014). Interaction with a Therapy Dog Enhances the Effects of Social Story Method in Autistic Children. Society & Animals, 22(3), 241-261. doi:10.1163/15685306-12341326

Social interaction is defined as “a process of reciprocal stimulation and response between two people. It develops competition, interaction, influences social roles and status, and influences people in development of social relationships.” (What is SOCIAL INTERACTION) By adolescence most individuals are fairly competent at social interaction and have a general understanding of what is required of them in most social situations. For high functioning autistic children, this is far from the case. Simple interactions between themselves and others can be confusing and difficult to navigate without proper adaptive training in social behavior. In the following sections, we will explain the need for this training, how it is implemented, and the

The method describes the participants as two children diagnosed with autism and had language skills that were appropriate for the Social Stories intervention. The participants were in two different general education kindergarten classrooms, full-time at a public elementary school. The fist participant, Matt, was a 6-year-old Asian American boy who had a teaching assistant assigned to his classroom and the second participant, Ted, was a 5-year-old Caucasian boy who had a teaching assistant assigned to accompany throughout the school day. The participants received training sessions one to four times per-week that were conducted in private rooms for 10 to 20 minutes in the morning before class at each participant’s school. The participants only read Social Stories that only pertained to their individual targeted behaviors for intervention. The stories used had no pictures, only large text on white paper. The participants were read one story per

The research identified that there are very few studies that address social storiesTM for young adults with autism disorders. (Karayazi et. al, 2001, p.126) As a result of that discovery, the researcher studied the effects of using social stories with a young woman with Autism Spectrum Disorder to increase pro-social behavior: nose- cleaning and appropriate greetings. (Karayazi et. al, 2001, pg. 126) Social stories are illustrations that encourages pro-social behavior to individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Previous studies examined the use of social stories to increase verbal communication in ASD children; increasing pro-social and reducing disruptive behaviors in ASD children; decreasing disruptive behaviors by using multiple-baseline across participant design (Ozedmir, 2008); and, decreasing anti-social behavior in adolescents. The research hopes to find a positive correlation between social stories and increasing pro-social behavior in young adults.

consequences of his behavior, while John’s story only included 10 sentences of this type. Although a detailed description of the social stories is given at the end of the study, the treatment is very individualized, and the behaviors measured would be difficult to replicate, again lowering the external validity of this study. (Reynhout et al.,

Children with Autism spectrum disorders can benefit greatly from narrative therapy. It can help reduce psychological distress, improve their social and narrative skills, as well as help them find ways to manage their symptoms. Cashin, Browne, Bradbury, & Mulder (2013) explored the effects that narrative therapy can have on children with Autism ages ten to sixteen. The parent-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was the primary outcome measure. They also measured their psychological distress, The Beck Hopelessness Scale and the salivary cortisol:DHEA ratio (which can determine a person’s stress levels) before and after a structured narrative therapy. The children

Your social story is complete. It has all the elements to be understandable for children with autism and neurotypical children. It contains descriptive sentences, perspective sentences and directive sentences. You included your topic in your first sentence, and this is interesting because will be easy to understand the basic idea of your situation. The social story was written in steps that a child can follow and understands also in short style. This is important because as we know children has a very short span attention and your social story is short. Then, I consider this crucial because, if we want to teach to a child, how to manage their feelings, this will be in short and clear sentences in order to be understandable for them. Also, was

Hopfer (2011) studied and reported the development and evaluation of narrative intervention aimed at increasing HPV vaccination. The participants that received a combined peer-expert narrative intervention were two times more likely to get vaccinated within the following two months than the control group. Peer-only narrative intervention along with expert-only intervention did not significantly increase the odds of vaccination. Expert-only intervention actually decreased the odds of getting vaccinated compared to the control. These results supported the hypothesis that a combined-source intervention method would have the strongest effect. Overall, 15% of the control-group participants (n=61) received the HPV vaccine within two months of treatment,

Social stories were developed by Carol Gray for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and currently, they are also used for adolescents and adults with autism or other developmental delays. The social story is a kind of therapy to teach the social behavior in various places and situations (Gray, 2017). Except for the social stories, teachers, psychologists or parents apply social scripts, story movies, and comic strip conversations. Their purpose consists in diminishing the feeling of isolation and confusion about the outside world.

Compared to other psychotherapeutic approaches, narrative therapy is the new kid on the block. The change in the cultural and social climate of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s demanded a change in therapeutic practices. Influenced by various existing approaches, narrative therapy has found its own place in the field psychotherapy. Narrative therapy’s core concepts make it not only unique but also effective. According to narrative therapy, “narratives are a reflection of the dominant culture and therefore must be challenged to ensure that they are sensitive to diversity issues, such as gender, sexual orientation, and culture” (Nystul, 2011, p. ). These narratives are dominant and often cause turmoil when they don’t mirror the local discourses

The use of Social Stories was pioneered by Carol Gray in 1991 and is being widely used with children Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Social Stories provide the student with accurate information regarding situations s/he encounters.

The individual presents orientated in all spheres and is able to recognize personal danger. While the individual is able to recognize personal danger and does not present as harm to self or others, during this month of July he struggled with feelings of agitation, irritability and anger (2-3x weekly); was isolative and withdrawn (daily); displayed feelings of hopelessness and helpless (3-4x weekly); and often has a difficult time concentrating. In order to assist the individual with those symptoms he is provided individual therapy once a week, where cognitive behavior therapy was being utilized to teach him how to fight off negative thoughts and how to become more aware of his symptoms and how to spot things that make his depression worse.

The theory being used behind Narrative Therapy is Narrative Theory. Narrative theory. Narrative Theory’s main idea is that an individual’s ability to reflect over their life establishes their understanding of themselves as an individual and their place in this world (Narative Theory, 2013). The roots of Narrative Theory come from multiple theories and isms. According to Walsh, there is an influence from existentialism, symbolic interactionism, and multiculturalism.

Children encounter narratives in virtually every facet of their lives, as narrative discourse is a way to communicate observations, feelings, ideals, and attitudes within cultural settings. The ability to produce cohesive and coherent narratives has been linked to competence in socialization, working memory, and academics, and children are proficient at understanding and creating stories as early as first grade. Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, often have difficulty producing and comprehending narratives, which extend into their adolescent and adult years. Narrative intervention may be implemented to address academic performance and social competency. Narratives are the retelling of past experiences and are a means for communicating perceptions, feelings, values, and attitudes within cultural contexts ().