Using social stories to teach social skills to kids with ASD
Commonly children on the autism spectrum HAVE difficulties WITH AND IN social situations.
The social awareness skills we take for granted – the ability to “read” peoples body and facial expression ARE NOT skills that children on the autism spectrum learn naturally.
A lack of social awareness skills makes it difficult for these children to make and keep friends and can lead to social isolation.
However, using social stories to teach social skills to kids with ASD has proven effective. The social story is typically visual, and as we know the majority of children on the autism spectrum are indeed visual thinkers and learners.
Therefore this type of teaching aid is going to work and give better results.
The social skills story can be adapted to suit all ages and abilities and there is NO formal training needed to be able to use this autism resource.
Introducing social stories
Typically using social stories to teach social skills to kids with ASD is beneficial in all area of social awareness skills teaching for example: making friends, sharing, calming down, Visiting the Dentist and so on…
· The social story uses first person text and visual images to describe the skill or situation from the child’s own perspective
· The social story breaks the situation/skill down into smaller easier to understand sections
· The social skills story acts like a visual plan or framework
· The social skills story answers the “wh” questions – who, what. why, when and where
· The social story also explains “HOW”
· Social stories should aim to also give an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others
· Social stories should offer possible outcomes
For the vast majority of kids with autis, social awareness skills ARE very difficult to learn and direct teaching is generally needed, this is what the social skills story WILL DO!
Parents and teachers report success in teaching social awareness skills and a drop in communication difficulties once social skills stories have been introduced.
To learn more about how social stories work and gain immediate access to 100 social skills stories downloads visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com/stories.html
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