For a child with autism, the world can be an overwhelming place. Typically, the disorder causes a need for sameness and aversion to or difficulty with transitions. This means that the first day of school, the first day of holidays, the first day back to school from holidays, the first time at the dentist, and other "firsts" can be extremely challenging and confusing for the autistic child. Social stories for children with autism can help him or her prepare for an upcoming change.
Social stories are short stories written by parents, teachers, counselors, or therapists that explain appropriate behavior and social cues for an upcoming social event. Each story uses a combination of control sentences, affirmative sentences, directive sentences, descriptive sentences, perspective sentences, and cooperative sentences to help the child learn how to behave in a certain situation, or to prepare for an upcoming change in his or her routine. The social stories for children with autism are written from a kid's perspective, in the present tense, and can be used in many different situations.
Descriptive sentences give details (who, where, what, why, and when) about the upcoming situation to help the child recognize the situation when it happens. Directive sentences talk about appropriate responses to that situation. Perspective sentences teach the child what responses or feelings he or she might experience. Affirmative sentences refer to a rule, law, or commonly-shared opinion about that situation or event. Cooperative sentences describe how other people will act or help the child. Control sentences are those created by the child to help him or her remember specific strategies for coping with and working through the event.
An example of a social story which uses all six types of sentences is:
When we go to the bike store, There will be a lot of different bikes to choose from. (Descriptive)
I might not know right away which bike I like the best. (Perspective) That's OK with everyone there. (Affirmative) I can hold onto my beads while I make my decision. (Control)
When I make my decision about which bike I want, I will tell my Mom. (Directive) My Mom will go buy the bike for me. (Cooperative)
Social stories for children with autism work very simply. The child or parent reads the story, and rehearses the story ahead of the upcoming change in routine or social event. When the actual event arrives, the boy or girl can use the knowledge learned in the story to guide his or her behavior.
For PRICELESS training videos and tips to help you better cope and handle child autism and enable your child to feel loved and conquer any obstacles VISIT. AUTISMININFANTS.ORG [http://www.autismininfants.org]
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