Social Stories

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

“Teaching Play Skills to Children with Autism Using Visually Structured Task”, written by Patricia K. Hampshire and Jack J. Hourcade, focuses on teaching a 7-year-old boy named Keith that has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) play skills. Keith’s special education teacher, Ms. Pool, and his first grade general education teacher, Ms. Carter, have been concerned with Keith’s social isolation in the classroom and believe that he would gain a great deal if he strengthened his social interaction with peers and developed more suitable play behaviors with toys.

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

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be portrayed toward critical impairments in social interaction. It also includes restricted repeated behaviors, interests and activities. (Mayo Clinic staff, 2014)

Some children with autism communicate well to drama and role play activities to help them learn greetings, turn talking in conversations and watching for cues in social groups. Role playing in the classroom gives the child opportunities to observe acceptable social interactions. In a mainstream setting, it is important for the child to work on his pragmatics. An example could be: pairing up the student with a peer to help with social skills and in other settings such as the cafeteria or

144). Some other techniques for improving the learning experience of students with autism are structured teaching, speech and language therapy, social skills therapy, and occupational therapy. Keeping a structured and predictable schedule is imperative when instructing a child with autism. The child will also, most likely, need some specialized classes in speech as well as instruction in appropriate social interaction, as one symptom of autism is a lack of comprehension of social norms. Educators need to keep in close contact with the team responsible for the student’s educational plan and diagnostic write-up to ensure that there are no large gaps in the educational programs suggested and the ones being applied.

Autism is categorized by deficits in maintaining social relationships and difficulty communicating. The number of children being diagnosed with autism is steadily increasing. Therefore the need incorporate effective interventions that focus on the development of the individual child has become an imperative component for their success. The key for children with Autism to achieve academic and social success depends upon the collaborative effort that is shared among all parties involved: family, teachers, peers; mental health professionals and the community.

Without the use of description an essay, poem or story would be considered as uninteresting and boring. The use of expressive language is a descriptive element used in this essay. The language applied allows the reader to see exactly what the writer is saying. The writer deliberately chose words that paint a picture and are vividly expressive. “Description should aim for accuracy and fairness and avoid

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.

Children with autism have difficulties understanding social models and so many of them have difficulties acquiring social skills while children with health development normally gain social and appropriate behavior by observing a model (Mash &Wolfe, 2010). If a child with autism is able to acquire social and adaptive skills they still need to learn how to generalize correct behaviors to different situations and tend to need consistent practice in maintaining those skills. To an autistic child generalization can be extremely difficult to break down and understand. Because of this ABA is

To encourage the development of social skills students are encouraged to interact with one another throughout the day in a variety of methods, including partner work, small group activities, and large group activities. These teaching techniques enable autistic children to relate to their peers. As autistic children relate to their peers more they are more accepted and in turn continue to learn and acquire new and improved social skills.

Children with autism often can not make connections that other kids make easily. For example,

I am very passionate about working with kids with autism. They have such amazing personalities and I feel like people don’t see past the disability to the unique person they are. For several years I worked at a residential facility for kids on the spectrum. I was a direct care staff that worked one on one with them to work on their goals their treatment plan was focusing on. My passion to help kids with autism comes from my previous experience working with these kids and watching them grow and learn new skills. This transformation that I watched happen and helped be a part of with these kids made me want to help more kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are a lot of skills that need to be taught to these children. Socialization, communication, and positive behavior are just a few kids with autism need help improving. I believe that the earlier that you teach a child these skills the more successful they will be. Early intervention has had a positive outcome within many research experiments that professionals have done. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) also requires schools to teach kids with disabilities alongside typically developed kids as much as possible.