To: Mrs. Susan Jones, Kindergarten Teacher

To: Mrs. Susan Jones, Kindergarten Teacher

From: Lara McDowell, ECSE

Subject: Social Stories

Date: April 11, 2008

I am writing in reference to a student that will be in your classroom starting next fall. This student has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and we are attempting to enroll him in an inclusive classroom in order to enhance his relationships with his peers, as well as his social skills in many different situations.

Inclusive Classroom

Your classroom has been chosen to be an inclusive classroom because of your willingness to adapt your class to fit many different students, and I am excited to be working with you this year. As you may know, an inclusive classroom is one in which students of all abilities are able to attend school together, and can become “one place where friendships between children with and without disabilities have the opportunity to develop and grow” (Boutot, 2007). This is an important concept for all children, and I hope that together we will be able to achieve this in your classroom.

Unfortunately, it will take more than simply putting children with all abilities in a classroom together to encourage these relationships. Children with ASD have a difficult time with social situations, as well as relating to peers and developing friendships. The child we are placing in your classroom has such difficulties, and I would like to suggest a program that may help him to adjust to your classroom, and become more comfortable in usual school social situations.

What are Social Stories?

Social stories are used to assist children with ASD in developing appropriate social skills. A Social Story is a story that is tailored to the specific needs of the child and his or her surroundings. Children with ASD have difficulty with social situations, and often have a hard time understanding how they should behave in such situations. ((Sansosti, Powell-Smith, and Kincaid, 2004).

A social story could be about a trip to the cafeteria at lunch time, and would include all steps that the child would normally take when eating in the cafeteria. For instance, the story would include the sentence “I enter the cafeteria and go to the end of the line”. The story would continue with each step, ending with the student returning his tray at the end of the meal. (Crozier and Sileo, 2005)

Social stories could also be useful in teaching the student how to form relationships with peers, by showing them how to converse appropriately, in a back-and-forth format, instead of the one-sided conversation that is common for a child with ASD.

Format of a Social Story

Social stories should be written following guidelines, as to make them most effective for the child. Three different sentence styles have been identified as being most useful for a child with ASD, and these include descriptive sentences, directive sentences, and

perspective sentences. A descriptive sentence will describe what is taking place in the specific situation, a directive sentence would direct the child on behavior specific to the situation, and perspective sentences tell the child how others feel during the situation, as well as about the child’s behavior. (Crozier and Sileo, 2005)

While the sentence style is important, you will also want to consider the amount of text and graphics that are included in the story. Minimal text should be used, with no more than one directive, and one to three descriptive sentences per page. (Crozier and Sileo, 2005). Graphics are important as well, because children with ASD are often very visual and may have difficulty with reading, especially in your kindergarten classroom. It is important to ensure that graphics are used that the child will understand and that are an appropriate representation of the story.

Limitations of Social Stories

While Social Stories can be a wonderful tool for children with ASD, there are certain limitations that I believe we should be aware of. The first is the importance of keeping the story within the child’s comprehension. The child in your classroom is very verbal, and has a strong understanding of language, which should make it easier to stay within his comprehension. Another limitation is with the use of computers, which can be preferable to both you and the child with ASD. However, social stories using different types of media are not proven effect, and should not be used. We will only be using the traditional method of presenting the stories in your classroom. Social stories are not able to address all behavioral needs of the child, and we will need to use them as only a part of the child’s comprehensive plan. (Crozier and Sileo, 2005).

Conclusion

I hope that you have found this information helpful, and I look forward to working with you this coming year with your inclusive classroom. I hope that you will feel comfortable using social stories as a part of this child’s comprehensive plan, as I feel that they will can be very effective in this particular situation.

Social stories can be a wonderful and effective way of teaching social skills, as well as encouraging relationships with peers, in children with ASD. As the goal of an inclusive classroom is to encourage friendships among children of all abilities, I think that social stories will be an important addition to your classroom.

Again, I look forward to working with you this coming year, and encourage you to consider using social stories in your classroom. I am willing to assist you in the development and use of this tool throughout the year. Please feel free to contact me at anytime with any questions or concerns that you may have.

Thank you,

Lara McDowell

ECSE

Works Cited

Buotot, Amanda. (Jan2007). Fitting in: Tips for promoting acceptance and friendships

for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in inclusive classrooms. Intervention in School and Clinic, 42(3), 156-161.

Crozier, Shannon & Sileo, Nancy M. (Jul/Aug2005). Encouraging positive behavior

with social stories. Teaching Exceptional Children, 37(6), 26-31.

Kincaid, Donald, Powell-Smith, Kelly A., & Sansoti, Frank J. (2004). A research

synthesis of social story interventions for children with Autism Spectrum

Disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 19(4), 194-

204.