The Effects of Social Stories on Communication and

Behaviour for Children with Autism in the

Classroom and Social Setting

Inquiry Project

July 2012

Submitted by: Jennifer Boni

Submitted to: Trudy Mauti

Course: Special Ed. Part 2

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Question

How does my understanding of the use of social stories help me improve the

behaviour and communication development of children with Autism in the

classroom/social setting?

Rationale for Investigation

For about 14 years I have worked with children with Autism and other PDDs and

find this work to be the most rewarding and challenging. I also have family members

with Autism and have made it my personal goal to find out more about ASD and how to

help them. I am always investigating and searching to find the best ways, new approaches

and strategies to help facilitate their learning. I have had the pleasure of seeing these

children make gains, no matter how small, and feel like I have climbed the highest

mountain. Although I do not teach a special education class, I definitely want to in the

future and would like to complete this inquiry to better inform me on how to be an

effective special needs teacher and how to effectively use social stories to increase

positive behaviour and appropriate communication. I am hoping to find out that social

stories are a positive tool to better children with ASD in both behaviour and

communication, as I have used social stories in past ABA therapy sessions that I have

conducted.

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Methodology

This inquiry started with myself asking questions and searching within the

special education field to see what interested me the most. I finalized a research

question and developed a rationale, which did reflect on prior experiences. Once the

question and rationale were approved and finalized, I started researching peer-

reviewed journal articles obtained from the York University online resource library.

I also interviewed Mrs. X, a professional in the industry who works with children

with various PDDs. She has first hand experience with working with these children

on behaviour modification and communication strategies, the development of IEPs

and how to integrate a child into the classroom. Mrs. X has developed social stories

of her own, which she has used during therapy sessions and in the school. The

research found and discussed in this inquiry relate to the effectiveness of social

stories in relation to children with ASD and its effectiveness on behaviour and

communication. I will also provide examples of the types of social stories that can be

used as an educator in the classroom. After researching, analyzing and formulating

conclusions, the following areas will be discussed: Professional Interview, Literature

Review and an Action Plan for Teaching.

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A. Professional Interview

1. What are social stories?

“A Social Story describes a situation, skill, or concept in terms of relevant social

cues, perspectives, and common responses in a specifically defined style and format. The

majority of social stories are tangible in a booklet format, but you can also have other

styles and formats, for example a computer-based social story. It is written with clear

expectations, appropriate visual images that symbolize the action/behaviour and uses

descriptive but simple language. For some children, more specific details are needed and

for others, it can be more generalized. There isn't a rule as each child is unique.”

2. What is the goal of a social story?

“The goal of a Social Story is to share accurate social information in a patient and

reassuring manner that is easily understood by the child. The child will hopefully see and

understand appropriate behaviour and communication in various social settings. The goal

can be anything that may challenge the child in the classroom and school yard from

social difficulties to organizing and managing self, waiting, following expectations and

routines and responding to peers.”

3. Why choose a Social Story as a resource tool?

“Social stories help to manage behaviour by providing children with a visual

context in understanding challenging situations and events by presenting the

situation in a manageable way from the child's perspective using a positive teaching

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approach. It demonstrates to the child how to best manage the target goal and the

sequence of events to overcome this challenge.”

4. How are children involved?

“Social stories are meant to have the child participate in all aspects of the

creation of the story to engage the child and to empower the child to recognize

difficult situations and how to deal with them effectively. Some children, depending

on their academic level, communication skills etc. are not able to fully participate in

the creation of their social stories, but they should be included as much as possible.”

5. Examples of Social Stories that have been used and that you have found effective?

“Some examples I have seen and used personally are: starting school in

September in a new grade or meeting a new teacher, how to play at recess, how to

start a conversation with a peer, dealing with a loss of a change in routine for a child,

bathroom routines, washing hands, bus procedures, how to deal with anger or

expressing emotions, etc. The list goes on as every child is unique and may require

help in different social areas and in school routines.”

6. Have you seen any benefits to using social stories?

“Yes, there are many benefits of using social stories to facilitate communication.

Using social stories can help make the child understand what will happen in a sequence

or a next step in an event. This will reduce the amount of behaviours that stem from

transition issues. Visual supports are used to help the child understand social behaviour,

consequences and appropriate responses. It can alleviate anxiety and provide the child

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with positive strategies and skills that they can generalize in the classroom and in social

settings. By doing this, the child can hopefully learn socially acceptable behaviour and

follow that social story until it becomes part of his/her routine. Social stories provide the

child with a framework to help them function in the world with ease. Many children that

have delayed communication may exhibit challenging behaviors. Using a social story,

can help them understand how to effectively communicate, what to say and how to act.

Visual supports, like a social story, provide structure and organization for the child to

understand what is expected of them.”

B. Literature Review

After reviewing the journal articles found, the majority of articles show that social

stories are a helpful resource tool and can have a positive effect on children with ASD in

respects to communication and behaviour. Many children with ASD have delays in social

communication skills and can have trouble relating to their peers in a classroom setting

(Ganz & Flores, 2010). Using social stories is one visual way of showing the child how to

behave and communicate appropriately in these situations. As one article stated, “When

visual supports are given to these children comprehension increases significantly” (Tissot

& Evans, 2003). This only further supports how important visuals are to children with

ASD to process information and to make sense of situations that may be abstract for

them.

In one article, it was suggested that social stories, “have been effective in

addressing social and communicative skills in individuals with ASD” (Ganz & Flores,

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2010). This is very important for an educator as teachers can use these social stories to

model appropriate social speech, behaviour and reactions that children with ASD can use

in their daily interactions with their peers, teachers and support personnel.

Social stories, also “prime students by providing information prior to upcoming

events to ease transitions or misunderstandings that promote social integration” (Ganz &

Flores, 2010). This is useful for an educator as many children with ASD have trouble

with transitioning and interpreting events and social cues. Utilizing these social stories

can help to alleviate anxiety and prepare them so that they know what they can expect.

This can assist in behaviour management to decrease negative behaviours that may be

attributed to transitions or misunderstandings and can give the child a level of comfort

and structure that they need in a classroom. In another article, these visuals were also

attributed to decreasing negative behaviours and helping with transitions. It stated, “ A

lack of an effective communication system is associated with increased tantrums,

aggression, and even self-injury” (Tissot & Evans, 2003). Therefore, communication

skills and behaviour are connected and with using social stories as a visual means with

children with ASD, educators can use these stories and apply them to each child so that

the student has a model of what they can do in certain situations. It gives them

appropriate communication phrases, words etc. that they can pull from to express what

they feel and shows them proper behaviour so that they can act positively and not distract

themselves or others in the learning environment.

Something that struck me was this line written by an Autistic author, which I found

to be very powerful. “I think in pictures. Words are like a second language to me. I

translate both spoken and written words into full- colour movies, complete with sound,

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which run like a VCR tape in my head. When somebody speaks to me, his words are

instantly translated into pictures” (Tissot & Evans, 2003). This author thinks in pictures,

which is like a social story. There is a situation, word exchange, feelings, and

understanding of some sort of social exchange. A social story is an excellent way to

engage children with ASD, as many latch onto visuals more than others and they would

be able to interpret various scenarios, feelings and actions.

According to another article, it was stated that, “teaching children with autism to

use activity schedules can increase task engagement and play correspondence behavior,

and decrease challenging behavior” (Machalicek et. al, 2009). Therefore, the use of a

social story would greatly decrease challenging behaviours as the child would have a

visual aid to assist them in communicating their needs when that situation arises and

would help them visually prepare for transitions and activities that they would like to

complete or have to be engaged in. This relates to my interview with Mrs. X, as social

stories aim to assist children with understanding social cues but also to help curb any

negative behaviour. By giving the child the means and opportunity to see, model and read

about what is appropriate, will give the child a sense of control over their actions and

engagement in what they are doing. Thus, the usage of social stories allows children with

ASD to communicate appropriately, encourage relationships and to teach them proper

social skills that they will need in their every day lives.

The article, “Using Visual supports for Students with Autism in Physical

Education” showed how applicable visuals are in teaching and the benefit of using them

in school, but for this article more specifically in physical education class. “Children

with ASD have difficult with change in their environment and as a result when

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expectations, tasks and routines change they become anxious causing them to withdrawl

and exhibit disruptive behavious” (Fittipaldi-wert & Mowling, 2009). A social story

would help to alleviate the anxiety and behaviours exhibited. By allowing the child to

read about events that will happen and understand routines and expectations in the class,

the child will be able to participate and be engaged fully. Many children with ASD have

challenges dealing with change and a social story can explain that change, why it is ok

and how to react appropriately to it. This can be used in any classroom, not just gym

class. Our school and classroom environment is forever changing and as educators we

need to be aware of these changes and how children will react and adapt to this. Thus, a

social story will help explain this to the child with ASD. The article also stated “visual

supports help to provide a predictable and organized environment by appealing to the

processing strengths of students with autism…as they process visual information more

effectively than auditory information” (Fittipaldi-wert & Mowling, 2009). By using

applicable visuals, i.e. social stories, it will create an environment that gives structure and

predictability for a child with ASD. To effectively teach a child, you need to understand

their learning styles. Many children with ASD have a stronger sense of understanding and

the ability to interpret when visuals are given and using these would add a level of

reassurance for the student. They would be able to process this information more quickly

and would hopefully be able to generalize their understanding in various settings.

In another article it stated, “studies have demonstrated that social stories have been

useful for children with autism as young as 4 years and as old as 16 years in age.”

(Quirmbach et. al, 2008). Therefore, this shows the flexibility of a social story and how it

can be tailored for any age group, which is excellent for an educator who needs to help

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the child in a social context at any age. The article also explains that it can be used to

describe any behaviour, social situation, is portable, easy to access and inexpensive

(Quirmbach et. al, 2008). This is very good for a teacher, as they can make their own

social stories in the classroom with ease, involve the child in the process and can use it

both at home and school because of the portability factor. One interesting fact to mention

is that the study did mention that children, who scored low on verbal comprehension

skills, did find it difficult when reading a social story absent of visuals (Quirmbach et. al,

2008). Therefore, picture based social stories seem to be the better fit for children with

varying academic abilities with ASD.

In the article written by Crozier and Tincani, they found that for 2 out of the 3

participants in their study, had behaviour and communication positively increase and

negative behaviours decrease. This is consistent with many of the other articles that

discussed social stories and how it is a positive resource tool. However, they did bring to

light something interesting as to why it can be ineffective. The article stated that

social stories can be “time consuming” and “the nature of reading a social story before

each activity may preclude teachers who are responsible for large groups of students from

implementing Social Stories consistently” (Crozier & Tincani, 2007). This as an educator

can be difficult in a full-sized classroom, especially if there is not a fulltime resource aid

for the child. I think what this shows is the need for a child to learn the function of a

social story and to be involved in the making of the story, have parental support to read

the story at home and before school. If the child has been taught to do this correctly, they

will hopefully be able to do this independently without constant teacher support. A social

story cannot be read once. The child needs to frequently use it and be consistent with it. It

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is a teaching tool, which requires continual implementation to maintain desired effects

(Crozier & Tincani, 2007).

Researchers Delano and Snell, have noted in their study that the use of social

stories without any other additional social skill interventions may in fact increase the

duration of social engagement with peers and the frequency of social skills (Delano &

Snell, 2006). This study reinforces the positive impact of using social stories for children

with ASD. It also noted that 2 of the students generalized the actions into the classroom,

which also shows that children can learn from a social story and apply the skills and

behaviour learned in another setting. As a teacher, we constantly teach skills in the hopes

that children will be able to transfer these skills in other social contexts and a social story

is just another effective resource tool that can aid in this pursuit.

Using social stories can be beneficial according to one study. It showed that in their

research that the following was evident, “an immediate decrease in inappropriate social

interaction behavior, a progressive increase in hand raising, and a reduction of

inappropriate vocalizations” (Chan & O’Reilly, 2008). Therefore, social stories being

used in the classroom can help to manage behaviour and illicit appropriate responses.

Like other articles mentioned, this article did discuss that children with lower academic

abilities and verbal capabilities may need additional prompting along with the social story

for them to succeed in understanding the social cues and behaviours.

In another article it stated that, “With the growing emphasis on inclusion, children

with autism need to learn social behaviors through interventions that can be assimilated

into the typical classroom setting. Because general education classrooms involve reading

and literacy activities, social stories are easily integrated into the general education

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classroom routine” (Simpson et al., 2008). This article really does put into perspective

that social stories, although in some articles it is said to be time consuming, can be fully

integrated into the classroom during appropriate times and aid in the child’s learning in a

productive manner. Inclusion is important and to support this, we need to ensure that

children who would benefit from social stories be given the time and social settings to

read and implement the desire behaviours and communication in a realistic setting.

On a final note, that last article on social stories showed an improvement in

behaviour and communication when using computer-based social stories. It stated,

“immediately following the implementation of the visually mediated intervention, the

participants demonstrated improved rates of targeted social communication behaviours

compared to baseline performance” (Sansosti & Powell-Smith, 2008). Therefore, social

stories whether in print or on the computer can be effective in improving behaviour in the

classroom. This research study also explained that teachers were very pleased with the

results as it positively dealt with teacher time, teachers were given a package that had all

the necessary components and a student just needed to know how to use a computer

(Sansosti & Powell-Smith, 2008). This computer-based social story experiment was ideal

in the classroom because once the child was set up the teacher did not have to constantly

be there and the child could work on the social story independently.

In conclusion, many studies that I have found demonstrated the effectiveness of

social stories for children with ASD in assisting in positive and appropriate behaviour

and communication skills. On the other hand, there were limitations to some of the

journal articles and research carried out. In some cases, a small sample size was used.

Typically, a sample size needs to be larger to be significant and for generalizing results in

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a population. Also, social stories on their own can be effective, but for many it needed to

be paired with verbal prompts or another resource for children, since children with ASD

have a variety of academic, verbal and social challenges.

C. Action Plan for Teaching

For future implementation consideration, I have devised a social story of my

own which is relevant and can be used in future teaching situations.

Social Story – Strategies to deal with Anger/ being mad

Materials: durable paper, relevant/realistic images, legible and big writing (can

be done on the computer)

Objective: To engage a child in understanding social cues and appropriate ways

of dealing with emotions. It will allow for the child to learn coping strategies and

how to communicate whether verbal or non-verbal in situations.

Social Story – Sentences

Everyone can get mad or angry.

When I am mad I feel very anxious and upset.

I want to feel happy again.

I can first take a deep breath to calm myself down.

I can take a break and sit in a quiet spot.

I can count to 10 to calm down before I say something that I might regret.

Now that I am calm, I can tell a teacher or grown up why I am mad.

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I need to use my words nicely and not yell or hit.

I can even draw a picture to help me explain why I am angry.

The teacher or grown up will help me find ways to solve my problem.

I feel better now that I have told someone.

I am happy again.

Extension: This can be used at home when dealing with social situations

between siblings and friends. This can also be used at recess time, where many

social situations arise that can anger a child, especially on the playground or

field.

Other Social story ideas related to Feelings/Emotions

1. When I am Happy..

2. What to do when I am sad…

3. How to help someone when they are upset…

4. Different ways that I can show my emotions…

Final Reflections

After completing this inquiry, I can assert that I have learned a lot about social

stories, their implications, how to use them in the classroom and their significance to a

child with ASD. If I were to revisit this inquiry, I would want to explore in greater detail

other visual aids/ prompts that would be used alongside social stories.

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With every inquiry there are limitations. For me, my limitation was that I did not

have access to students in the classroom to implement social stories and track their

progress with respects to behaviour and communication. Although informative, the

majority of my findings are all based on peer-reviewed journals and an interview with a

professional in the industry. I believe the use of observational data and assessment would

have greatly benefited and better informed my inquiry project. It would have been a

worthwhile educational experience to put the research into practice to monitor students

with ASD progress on social skills, communication and behaviour.

New questions raised as a result of this inquiry include are social stories the best

resource tool for teachers to use in the classroom to teach proper behaviour and

communication for children with ASD? What other ways can social stories be modified

to accommodate children who are non-verbal? Is there a standard for a social story in the

school board and if so, should there be for consistency purposes?

In relation to the Standards of Practice, this inquiry relates to following:

Commitment to students and student learning

I believe I can meet this by treating all my students equitably and having

sensitivity towards their individual differences, which would impact their learning. As an

educator you need to put the student’s well being and education above anything else. In

relation to this inquiry I have seen how a social story can assist a child with ASD,

therefore, if I work with a child who requires this, I will now be more equipped to use the

social story more effectively and to make one tailored to that child.

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Leadership in Learning Communities

I believe I do this in my classroom. Maintaining respect and creating a safe and

comfortable learning environment is key. Children with ASD need routine, structure and

comfort. You need to be patient and communicate. I believe this inquiry has allowed me

to learn more about the impact of social stories on special needs children and will allow

me to carry this information into my teaching career and share with my colleagues.

Ongoing professional learning

I will continue my special education course to acquire my specialist and continue

to read current articles and information about children with special needs and how I as an

educator can better accommodate them in my classroom. I believe taking this course has

made me more comfortable with teaching special needs children and understanding their

needs on a completely different level. I would want to continue this inquiry on social

stories and implement it in the classroom setting.

Professional knowledge

I believe this inquiry meets this as I have used relevant and current peer-reviewed

journals and have also taken inspiration from our course work, specifically the social

stories activity and the development of an IEP which helped me to understand children

with special needs and what resources could be used to help them.

Professional practice

In regards to professional practice, I believe I have and will continue to use

correct and informative assessment and evaluation materials, from rubrics, to peer and

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self evaluations, to interviews, running records, observation notes and conferences. I

believe that I will constantly refine my thinking and strategies to meet the needs of each

student. Although, I was not able to collect data in this inquiry, when I come across a

child that requires a social story, I will utilize proper resources and assessments to

monitor their progress.

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Annotated Bibliography

Chan, Jeffrey M. & O’Reilly, Mark F. (2008). A Social Stories Intervention Package for Students with Autism in Inclusive Classroom Settings. (Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis; 41; n3; p.405-409).

Helped to prove that social stories lead to an increase in appropriate social behaviours and a decrease in negative behaviours.

Crozier, Shannon & Tincani, Mark. (2007). Effects of Social Stories on Prosocial Behavior of Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. (Journal of Autism Developmental Disorder; 37; p.1803-1814)

Investigated prosocial behaviour of children with ASD in an inclusive setting, which found positive results in behaviour when using social stories. It did also comment on the use of adding a verbal prompt along with social stories.

Delano, Monica & Snell, Martha M. (2006). The Effects of Social Stories on the Social Engagement of children with Autism. (Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions; 8, 1; p. 29-42).

Social stories have an impact on increasing social engagement and the frequency of specific social skills. Social stories can aid in generalizing proper behaviour and communication in the classroom.

Fittipaldi-Wert, Jeanine &Mowling, Claire M. (2009). Using Visual Supports for Students with Autism in Physical Education. (Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance; v80 n2 p39-43).

This was an excellent resource for application of social stories into the classroom setting. Using visuals for children with ASD is beneficial as they tend to be visual learners. Using social stories aided in decreasing anxiety and negative behaviour, which resulted in a positive learning environment.

Ganz, J. & Flores, M. (2010). Supporting the Play of Preschoolers With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Implementation of Visual Scripts. (Young Exceptional Children; v13 n2 p58-70).

Article was useful in understanding the importance of visuals and its implications in social settings.

Machalicek, W., Shogren, K., Lang, R., Rispoli, M., O’Reilly, M.F., Franco, J.H. & Sigafoos, J. (2009). Increasing play and decreasing the challenging behavior of children with autism during recess with activity schedules and task correspondence training. (Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders; Journal homepage: http://ees.elsevier.com /RASD/default.asp)

This study showed the importance of social stories in play and communication between peers during recess resulting in a decrease in negative behaviour.

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Sansosti, Frank J. & Powell-Smith, Kelly A. (2008). Using Computer-Presented Social Stories and Video Models to Increase the Social Communication Skills of Children With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders. (Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions; 10.3; p. 162-178).

This study looked at computer-based social stories and showed that no matter what visual medium is used (print or computer) students still learned and understood social behaviour and communication better with the visual.

Simpson, Cynthia G., Spencer, Vicky G. & Lynch, Sharon A. (2008). Using Social Stories to Increase Positive Behaviors for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders. (Intervention in School and Clinic; 44.1; p. 58-61).

This informed my understanding of how social stories helped educators in the class to promote positive behaviour and gave examples of social stories.

Tissot, Catherine & Evans, Roy. (2003). Visual Teaching Strategies for Children with Autism. (Early Child Development and Care; v173 n4 p425-33).

Discussed the benefits of visual instruction in comparison to oral. Informed my understanding of social stories as being a visual (words and pictures) to help children with ASD understand social situations.

Quirmbach, Linda M., Lincoln, Alan J., Feinberg-Gizzo, Monica J., Ingersoll, Brooke R. & Andrews, Siri M. (2008). Social Stories: Mechanisms of Effectiveness in Increasing Game Play Skills in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using a Pretest Posttest Repeated Measures Randomized Control Group Design. (Journal Autism Development Disorder; 39:299–321)

This article showed how social stories assist in the improvement of socially acceptable behaviour.

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