The moral of the story - How social stories teach social skills

Today’s class was all about social stories. Social stores were developed by Carol Gray to describe a situation, skill or concept in terms of relevant social cues, perspectives, and common responses in a specifically defined style and format. This definition of a social story is from The Gray Center website and more information can be found on the website below.

http://www.thegraycenter.org/social-stories

Social stories are most often used with students or young children with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. The purpose of a social story is to give clear, concise information for appropriate behaviour in a specific social situation. Here is an example of a social story for ‘playing’.



Social stories can also be made into social videos. These can be very useful for students because they can be downloaded on an iPod Nano for students to watch over and over again. This helps to reinforce the skills being taught and can ease anxiety for students. The videos can have text and voiceover so students can listen to the instructions while watching the videos. Some students could be included in the making of the video and even star in their own video. Social videos are especially good for supporting students in new situations, such as a first day at a new school. Here is an example of a very simple social video for hand washing.