CLINICAL EDITOR’S COMMENTS: Play therapists can author Social Stories for children to address myriad issues metaphorically.
C
arol Gray originated the Social Story strategy in 1991 for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to help develop social and communication skills by explaining appropriate
behavior (Tobik, 2017).
Gray invited readers to use her published social stories directly or as a pattern for developing Stories of their own. To understand how Social Stories can be adapted for use in play therapy or other situations, it is necessary to grasp the underpinnings of the original, genuine Social Story in its purest form. According to Gray (2015b):
A Social Story accurately describes a context, skill, achievement, or research, development and implementation to ensure an overall learning experience that is descriptive, meaningful and physically, socially and emotionally safe for the child, adolescent or adult with autism. (p. xxv)
Play therapists can build Social Stories using a prescriptive approach (e.g., Kaduson., 2020; Schaefer & Drewes, 2016) by identifying an issue or obstacle for a person, then developing a story to address regarding the relevant steps needed for an expected behavior or routine that takes into account the child’s social, emotional, and physical safety (the goal), with particular focus on the step that poses uses familiar situations, words, pictures, and people to personalize the story. The Story contains simple, reassuring sentences that are within the child’s comprehension level and includes descriptions of the child’s feelings and point of view. The author then culls a system of statements into a story format with an introduction, middle, and conclusion, thereby helping the child build an understanding of the social
situations, expectations, social cues, new activities, and/or
(Maryland State Department of Education, 2011, para. 1). The Social Story concludes with helpful resolution statements and can be read
to children over and over again or given to the youngsters to read on their own. Most Social Stories for young children contain three to 12 statements, and although illustrations and photographs were not initially included in the original Social Story product, they now accompany nearly every Social Story used today.
Although Gray’s wide array of
available Social Stories proffer many options, sometimes write their own.
Social Story Format A Social Story, in its purest form historically has used four basic and three optional types (e.g., cooperative, control, and coaching) to create a narrative, social script, or short story that is meaningful for people with ASD (Gray, 2000, pp. 13-2 – 13-5; Tobik, 2017). Since sentence. She noted that at least half of all Social Stories applaud achievements. Every Social Story uses a patient and supportive voice in • Descriptive sentences form the backbone of
the story as
statements of fact that usually answer questions of who, what, when, where, and why. • Perspective sentences usually describe the other people’s internal state, which may include feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and knowledge and only rarely refer to the internal state of the person with ASD. Perspective sentences also may address one’s physical condition.
www.a4pt.org | June 2020 | PLAYTHERAPY | 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
