How to Put a Social Story Into Practice

How to use a social story:

• Read the story to the child in a location with few distractions.
• Briefly explain the importance of a social story.
  • For example, discuss with Johnny the importance of sharing – making friends, getting along.
• Read through the story once or twice and, when necessary, model the desired behavior.
  • For example, after reading with Johnny his social story on sharing, the adult plays with one of Johnny’s favorite toys. Johnny is encouraged to ask for the toy and respond appropriately.
• If appropriate, create a schedule for the child in which the story is read at the same time and in the same way each time.
• Read the story just prior to a situation in which the problem behavior is likely to occur, if appropriate.
  • For example, if Johnny’s problem with toy grabbing occurs mainly at recess, it may be helpful to read the social story right before recess each day.
• Consider providing opportunities for the student to read the social story with other children or adults.

How to determine if it’s working:

• Observe the student’s behavior and comments when the story is presented.
• Conduct ongoing data collection on the child’s behavior (Has the child acquired, generalized, and maintained the new behavior?).
• Compare your observations to those of teachers, parents, and others.
• Collect data now that the story has been implemented and compare the data to the previous data.

If the student has not responded to the social story after an appropriate length of time (note: this varies by target behavior and the time each child requires to learn a new skill), review the social story and how it has been used. If modifications are needed, change only one aspect of the social story at a time.

For example, change when the story is read; do not change the words of the story or who reads the story. This helps determine what aspect of the social story works and does not work with the child.

If Johnny’s social story is read to him before recess, he may become too excited and be unable to listen to the story. Therefore, maybe the story should be read at a different time during the day.

What to do next:

• Fade the social story.
  • By extending the time between readings or having the student read the story independently.
• Work with the student to identify new social skills to address.
• Create new social stories that address other targeted behaviors.
• Help the student continue to generalize new behaviors.
  • For example, the teacher could help Johnny generalize toy grabbing in situations outside of the classroom, such as recess, PE, and music.
• Reintroduce the previous story, as needed.
  • For example, Johnny stopped grabbing toys away from others for approximately one month. However, the story was reintroduced when the behavior began to reoccur.