Social stories are a powerful tool for supporting autistic children in navigating new or challenging situations. These stories use visual cues and simple, descriptive sentences to help children understand social norms, routines, and appropriate behaviors. By providing a framework for what to expect, social stories reduce anxiety and improve communication skills. They are versatile, teaching everything from self-care and functional tasks like washing hands to safety techniques such as crossing the road. To create an effective social story, focus on a specific skill, use familiar images, and incorporate short, clear sentences. Regularly reading these stories and practicing through role-play enhances comprehension and encourages positive behaviors.
This video elaborates on the importance and usefulness of social stories for children with autism. It also gives tips to parents on how to make their own social stories tailored to the need of their child.
Another very useful application for creating social stories is the application SOFA (Stories Online For Autism). This app was developed by the collaborative efforts of the University of Bath and the Autistic community. This app allows the parents to use pictures from their inbuilt library or upload from personal media library and write their own stories. It also has a public access library containing social stories written by other parents. The application also has a feature of reading the stories out loud to the child.
The application is free and can be downloaded on smartphone or tablet. Click here for a full guide to download and use the app.
