Do Social Stories Help Children with Autism Improve Social Skills?
Do Social Stories Help Children with Autism Improve Social Skills?Social stories are short, carefully crafted stories written to help children (and adults) with autism to navigate specific situations. In theory, they allow people with autism to prepare for and rehearse social interactions – thus reducing anxiety, improving behavior, and helping set the stage for building solid relationships. Does this theory really hold water?Answer: Evidence suggests that social stories – developed with a specific approach and format – really do make a difference in helping people with autism cope with social interactions. But it’s important the the stories be constructed appropriately. According to the Healing Thresholds website (citing Carol Gray, developer of the Social Story(tm)): Each social story uses several different types of sentences: • Descriptive sentences give who, what, where, and wh
