How to Get Started

1. Identify the target behavior you wish change or maintain. Focus on writing the social story about the behavior you want the individual to learn or increase.

Examples

Johnny is a first grader diagnosed with autism. He spends the majority of his school day in the general education classroom with paraprofessional support and a modified curriculum. Because Johnny is not able to ask others for what he wants, sometimes when he wants a toy another is playing with, he simply goes over and takes it from the other child.

Betsy is a seventh grader who has Asperger Syndrome. She loves to study different types of birds and is constantly talking to her peers about birds even when they show no interest. Sometimes her conversations about birds get her in trouble at school because she is totally unaware of when it is inappropriate to engage in such conversations.

2. Define the target behavior and collect data.

To make sure the social story is effective, everybody including teachers, parents, and the child need to have an identical understanding of what behavior is being targeted. This means that specific descriptive and measurable information must be noted.

Example

To measure Johnny’s toy-grabbing behavior, a tally mark is placed on a sheet of paper each time Johnny grabs a toy from a peer. Then the number of tally marks are totaled on a separate sheet of paper. This type of data collection can last for 3 to 5 days or even longer until sufficient information has been gathered.

To measure the number of times Betsy engages in inappropriate conversations about birds, the teacher puts a tally mark for each time that Betsy initiates a conversation about birds and/or does not allow for reciprocity.

Click here to see sample data collection sheet.

3. Complete the following steps to develop an effective social story.

• Observe situations that often present problem behaviors.
• Ask the student for her perspective of the specific situation.
• Interview teachers, parents, and members of the community concerning the student’s behavior (see example questions at bottom of page).
• Gather information about the child’s interests, abilities, impairments, and motivating factors.
• Determine the topics for the social story.
• If possible, videotape the situation. Afterwards watch and discuss it with the child to determine his perspective of the behavior and why it occurs.

Example questions to determine target behavior

1. Does the behavior ever occur following a request to perform a difficult task?
2. Does the behavior ever occur when the students wants to get a toy, food, or activity that she has been told she cannot have?
3. Does it appear as if the child enjoys performing the behavior? (It feels, tastes, looks, smells, and/or sounds pleasing.)
4. When the behavior occurs, does the child seem calm and unaware of anything else going on around him?
5. Does the behavior occur whenever you stop attending to the child?
6. Would the behavior occur repeatedly in the same way for very long periods of time, if no one was around? (For example, rocking back and forth for over an hour.)