SOCIAL NARRATIVES The Research Institute | Western Oregon University

Outcomes  Participants will be able to  Develop an understanding of social narratives that can be created to help children of diverse abilities  Increase understanding of terminology related to social narratives and related strategies  Become familiar with resources to assist in developing a variety of social narratives

Carol Gray: What are Social Stories(TM)?

Overview  Social narratives are individualized, visually represented stories that describe social situations and socially appropriate responses or behaviors to help children with challenging behaviors, to acquire and use appropriate social skills.

Overview (Cont’)  Social skills include  communication  problem-solving  decision-making  self-management  peer relations abilities that allow one to initiate and maintain positive social relationships.

Overview (Cont’)  Social narratives must be taught through direct instruction  Direct instruction includes reading the social narrative to or with the child and modeling the related behaviors for him or her  Reading the social narrative and modeling related behaviors should become a consistent part of the child’s daily schedule

Overview (Cont’) Social narratives often include information about how others feel, why the situation occurs, how others may react to the situation, and where and why the situation occurs Alex takes a deep breath to calm himself down.

Details - Social narratives can be used  After a problem behavior has occurred (e.g., hitting, yelling, or biting)  Prior to a transition (e.g., going from one activity to another, such as going outside to play)  New experiences such as going to a birthday party  Social narratives are effective for many children with ASD if well written and consistently implemented

Details (Cont’)  Social narratives can support the improvement of behavior within the home, school, or community settings  Prior to constructing a social narrative, baseline data should be taken on the frequency or target behavior performancebaseline  The social narrative is used as a part of the child’s daily routine

Details (Cont’)  They can be an effective, low-cost strategy that supports enhanced social and behavioral understanding

Guidelines (Cont’)  Pictures (photographs, hand-drawn pictures, cartoon characters, computer-generated icons) or graphics can be used  Written social narratives should  use language at the child’s level, in accordance with the child’s comprehension skills, vocabulary and print size

Guidelines (con’t)  The author (educator or parent) must  decide whether the social narrative would be more effective if it is written with “I” statements (e.g., I need to remember to...) or “you” statements (e.g., You need to remember that...)  choose the number of sentences per page according to the child’s functioning level

Guidelines (Cont’)  The author (educator or parent) must  decide whether the social narrative would be more effective if it is written with “I” statements (e.g., I need to remember to...) or “you” statements (e.g., You need to remember that...)  choose the number of sentences per page according to the child’s functioning level

Example: How to Greet Someone

Guidelines (Cont’)  If, after two weeks of using the social narrative strategy, there isn’t a positive response, the narrative and implementation procedures should be reviewed

Guidelines (Cont’)  Collect data prior to implementation, during implementation, and after implementation to determine intervention effectiveness  Definitions of behaviors need to be:  Observable: The behavior is an action that can be seen.  Measurable: The behavior can be counted or timed. Measurable Defined so clearly that a person unfamiliar with the child could recognize the behavior without any doubts!

Observable/Measurable Definition Non-observable/measurable Definition Talks when teacher is calling out in a loud voice, singing Disruptive behaviors Draws pictures during snack timeOff-task behaviors Throwing objects, kicking over chairsAngry, Hostile Behaviors Calls peers namesInappropriate language Tapping/drumming on walls/tables, looking around the classroom Attention problems Failure to follow directionsNon-compliance Yells “No” or “You can’t make me” when given direction Defiance

Guidelines (Cont’)  The child’s team, family, and/or others working with him/her should discuss when the best time for using the social narrative with the child  In most cases social narratives should be faded slowly after the desired behavioral changes have been accomplished

Additional Resources  (under construction, will be launched soon…)  ml#scriptedstories ml#scriptedstories 

Free Pictures, Graphics, & Symbols For Social Narratives   lePictures.aspx  Google Image Search      Picto Selector Free Communication Picture Exchange Program 

 This document was developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education #H325N However, contents do not necessarily represent the policy of The Research Institute, nor the US Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer, Julia Martin Eile.