Friday, 16 August 2013
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
Monday, 12 August 2013
What's an easy and fun way to meet social skills goals for students with autism?
Find out in this Q&A with the authors of The Social Compass Curriculum: A Story-Based Intervention Package for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
BONUS: See a full sample lesson on Accepting Changes in Routines in this free download from Module 3 on Social Problem Solving.
Find out in this Q&A with the authors of The Social Compass Curriculum: A Story-Based Intervention Package for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
BONUS: See a full sample lesson on Accepting Changes in Routines in this free download from Module 3 on Social Problem Solving.
When you buy The Social Compass Curriculum from Amazon.com, Amazon will make a donation to Positively Autism!
Friday, 9 August 2013
Carol Gray, the creator of Social Stories™, recommends that at least half of the social narratives that we write for any student should have the sole purpose of recognizing skills that the student already does well or positive personality or character traits.
Positively Autism believes that this is important for a variety of reasons. First, it helps make reading a social narrative a positive experience for the student. When social narratives are written to praise or recognize a child, they may be more likely to enjoy reading all social narratives. Social narratives should always be a positive, or at least neutral, experience. They should never be used as a punishment (as in, "Your behavior is unacceptable! Go read your social story.").
Additionally, when we recognize the positive traits or skills that a student has, we may encourage the student to continue positive behavior in the future. And, of course, we want to focus on students’ strengths as much as we can, since there may often be a focus on their weaknesses.
Here is an example of a social narrative praising accomplishments that I wrote. Pictures of the child have been removed for confidentiality purposes. http://www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/SocialStory_Praise01.pdf .
Carol Gray also has examples of social narratives that praise accomplishments near the middle of this page: http://www.thegraycenter.org/social-stories/what-are-social-stories
Positively Autism believes that this is important for a variety of reasons. First, it helps make reading a social narrative a positive experience for the student. When social narratives are written to praise or recognize a child, they may be more likely to enjoy reading all social narratives. Social narratives should always be a positive, or at least neutral, experience. They should never be used as a punishment (as in, "Your behavior is unacceptable! Go read your social story.").
Additionally, when we recognize the positive traits or skills that a student has, we may encourage the student to continue positive behavior in the future. And, of course, we want to focus on students’ strengths as much as we can, since there may often be a focus on their weaknesses.
Here is an example of a social narrative praising accomplishments that I wrote. Pictures of the child have been removed for confidentiality purposes. http://www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/SocialStory_Praise01.pdf .
Carol Gray also has examples of social narratives that praise accomplishments near the middle of this page: http://www.thegraycenter.org/social-stories/what-are-social-stories
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
This is another re-post from last month’s newsletter, but I wanted to make sure to share the information if you’re a new subscriber.
According to the National Autism Center’s National Standards Report (2009), the “Story-based Intervention Package” (another name for social narratives or Social Stories) is considered an “Established” intervention method for children with autism age six to fourteen years. Of course, this doesn’t mean that social narratives aren’t effective with other ages, it just means that most of the research has been with children age six to fourteen. The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders lists social narratives as and evidence-based practice and the Association for Science in Autism Treatment states that, while more experimental research needs to be done, evidence does exist for the effectiveness of social narratives.
I hope this amount of research support gives you confidence in trying social narratives with your children or students. Of course, you’ll want to track progress on the goals that you use social narratives to address in order to make sure it is effective for each particular individual.
References:
Association for Science in Autism Treatment: Social Stories - http://www.asatonline.org/treatment/treatments/social.htm
National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders: Social Narratives - http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/content/social-narratives
The National Autism Center's National Standards Report (2009) - http://www.nationalautismcenter.org/nsp/
According to the National Autism Center’s National Standards Report (2009), the “Story-based Intervention Package” (another name for social narratives or Social Stories) is considered an “Established” intervention method for children with autism age six to fourteen years. Of course, this doesn’t mean that social narratives aren’t effective with other ages, it just means that most of the research has been with children age six to fourteen. The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders lists social narratives as and evidence-based practice and the Association for Science in Autism Treatment states that, while more experimental research needs to be done, evidence does exist for the effectiveness of social narratives.
I hope this amount of research support gives you confidence in trying social narratives with your children or students. Of course, you’ll want to track progress on the goals that you use social narratives to address in order to make sure it is effective for each particular individual.
References:
Association for Science in Autism Treatment: Social Stories - http://www.asatonline.org/treatment/treatments/social.htm
National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders: Social Narratives - http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/content/social-narratives
The National Autism Center's National Standards Report (2009) - http://www.nationalautismcenter.org/nsp/
Monday, 5 August 2013
Social narratives don’t have to be read to a student from a printed page. With increases in technology, multimedia social stories are becoming more popular. Since many individuals with autism are interested in technology, such as computers and tablets, these may be great ways to show a social story to a student with autism. I’ve read social narratives to my students from laptop computers, tablet computers, and even my smartphone. They almost always seem to be very attentive to stories presented to them in one of these ways. All of Positively Autism’s social stories are either in PowerPoint or PDF format and can be shown to a student on a portable electronic device.
Researchers have also begun to investigate the use of multimedia social stories. Here are a few studies:
Ozdemir, S., Universitesi, G., Fakultesi, G. E., Bolumu, O. E. (2008). Using multimedia social stories to increase appropriate social engagement in young children with autism. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, Volume 7, Issue 3.
Sansosti, F. J. & Powell-Smith, K. A. (2008). Using computer-presented social stories and video models to increase the social communication skills of children with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, Volume 10, Issue 3.
Smith Myles, B. & Hagiwara, T. (1999). A multimedia social story intervention: Teaching skills to children with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Volume 14, Issue 2.
Researchers have also begun to investigate the use of multimedia social stories. Here are a few studies:
Ozdemir, S., Universitesi, G., Fakultesi, G. E., Bolumu, O. E. (2008). Using multimedia social stories to increase appropriate social engagement in young children with autism. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, Volume 7, Issue 3.
Sansosti, F. J. & Powell-Smith, K. A. (2008). Using computer-presented social stories and video models to increase the social communication skills of children with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, Volume 10, Issue 3.
Smith Myles, B. & Hagiwara, T. (1999). A multimedia social story intervention: Teaching skills to children with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Volume 14, Issue 2.
Thursday, 1 August 2013
We published this information last month, but in case you’re new to Positively Autism, here’s our introduction to social narratives.
Social Narratives, also called Social Stories(TM) or a story-based intervention, are written descriptions of specific situations, and may feature pictures to accompany the written story. The goal of a social narrative is to provide social information in a manner that is easily understood, patient, and reassuring.
While social narratives are often used to improve behavior in situations that are difficult for a person with autism, the focus of a social narrative is not to change behavior. It is hoped that, through an individual’s increased understanding of expectations, that behavior will improve.
This month, Positively Autism will continue to feature information and examples of social narratives that you can use with your children, students, or clients.
References:
What Are Social Stories™? - http://www.thegraycenter.org/social-stories/what-are-social-stories
The National Autism Center's National Standards Report (2009) - http://www.nationalautismcenter.org/nsp/
Social Narratives, also called Social Stories(TM) or a story-based intervention, are written descriptions of specific situations, and may feature pictures to accompany the written story. The goal of a social narrative is to provide social information in a manner that is easily understood, patient, and reassuring.
While social narratives are often used to improve behavior in situations that are difficult for a person with autism, the focus of a social narrative is not to change behavior. It is hoped that, through an individual’s increased understanding of expectations, that behavior will improve.
This month, Positively Autism will continue to feature information and examples of social narratives that you can use with your children, students, or clients.
References:
What Are Social Stories™? - http://www.thegraycenter.org/social-stories/what-are-social-stories
The National Autism Center's National Standards Report (2009) - http://www.nationalautismcenter.org/nsp/
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