Are Social Stories and good for AS?

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A social worker has recommended them for my son but she has no AS experience and most of what she has said seems geared to those who have low functioning Autism.

Does anyone have any experience using Social Stories with AS?

I love the things I learn on this site... I'd never heard of social stories before, so I googled them. Seems like an appropriate tool, though you may have to do some work to find the stories that are intelligently written for an Aspie. But the idea of learning social skills through stories... great.

I mean, isn't that really what Old Yellar, The Yearling, Nancy Drew, and The Black Stallion were? I still remember that scene where Tom Sawyer (?) was trying to pass himself off as a girl to the old woman who saw right through him because he caught something with his legs by closing them rather than opening them like a girl with a long dress would do... how to behave with others.

How to stick by your friends, make sacrifices for the ones you love, gentle a horse...
Heather Has Two Mommies, The Rainbow Fish, The Tenth Good Thing About Barney... seems to me there's all sorts of wonderful social stories to choose from.

the stories you just mentioned are not social stories. Social Stories are written specifically for the child, often with visual supports, and are designed to give a child a logical method for dealing with social situations as well as everyday tasks. Old Yeller is a fictional story. Most people on the spectrum have a difficult time understanding fiction, although not all, and also have difficulty generalizing ideas from one setting to another. Please tell me how Old Yeller can help a child sit through group time????
You do not find a story, you WRITE one for the specific child and the specific situation. "I go to the gym with my class every day. The gym is loud. I do not like the echoes and they hurt my ears. But I need to spend time exercising. I will use my ear plugs in the gym if my ears hurt. Sometimes even this may not make, it quiet and I may get upset. If I notice that I am flapping my hands or wanting to run out, that means I need a break. I will ask my teacher for my break and we will leave the gym. We will set the timer. When the timer is finished, I will try to go back to the gym." That is a social story. There is a formula (setting, perspective, directive, affirmative). It is always written in the first person, etc. Visuals can be used to reinforce the written words, or instead of the written words if the person cannot read. You might choose actual fictional stories to reinforce (bibliotherapy) but they do not replace a social story.
Yes, we can write social stories for lower functioning children, as lower functioning does not mean lower intelligence. Many people with Autism appear lower "functioning" due to communication deficits which are more severe. A social story for a nonverbal person who isn't reading can consists of pictures or picture symbols. If you go to carol gray's website, the gray center, you can read about social stories.

Well, pardon the hell out of me.

I did one sort of like that when my younger son was in kindergarden. I didn't know anything about autism or AS at the time, but he was learning/memorizing things from books better than person-to-person, so I wrote one up about the school day and expected behavior. ("The teacher said it was story time and all the kids went and sat down. Bobby went and sat down, too. The teacher read a story from a book. All the kids sat still and did not talk. Bobby sat still, too." and so on, from the best of my memory.) His teacher was impressed with it when I showed it to her and asked to keep it.

We also played a game called Regular or Weird, in which I would describe a behavior and he was to say if it was "regular" or "weird". For example, a kid sitting at his desk was "regular", a kid dancing on his desk was "weird". Using a kleenex was "regular", picking his nose in public was "weird". I don't know why it took until fifth grade for the edjumacators to suggest he get evaluated. I would have, but since I'm AS as well, and we didn't know that either, I just thought for some reason I was the only one to understand him. A lot of time wasted that could have been spent more productively than faulting my parenting and discipline...End of digression!

WP 2009 award winner for Best Comeback of the Year Brought me to tears.

Matrixlover, I think she was just implying that those stories were examples of great works that taught social skills rather than "Social Stories" per se. At least, that's what I got out of it. It's just that, to an external reader, after her nice post with the smiley and the positive outlook the response came across sort of like "POUNCE! Shred, shred, shred". My bet is you totally didn't even intend it that way. Your main goal was education, I think. I respond like that at work sometimes too without intending to!

Donkeybuster is one of the nicest posters I've read here in a long time; I don't think she meant any harm, honestly!

...

OMG, what a funny one-liner. I might have to misappropriate it as my signature block after I dry my eyes

Best ever tongue lashing ever in a non-sexual category.



This is a really good idea. I'm gonna use this. Although my son enjoys being different and difficult and I fear it may not help. Still a great idea though. Thanks.

it was intended to be somewhat bitchy. I would like to know that people who are recommending things are actually knowledgeable about them. Do you have any idea how many people on the spectrum cannot even comprehend a fictional story, never mind having difficulty applying it to their life after reading it. What the poster was recommending was more along the lines of bibliotherapy.

I totally cracked up at DonkeyBuster's "well pardon the hell out of me". Do you know how many times I have wanted to say that? Kudos to you.

Polgara's comments are really useful. I wish I had known about the "regular" and "weird" game years ago -- that would have come in really handy!

We used social stories when my son was younger, and he really enjoyed them. My mother got into the whole social stories thing, and helped provide graphics for them. They were wonderful.

I would love to figure out a way to do the same sort of thing now that my son is going through junior high -- there are so many little things that he needs to pick up on. He's doing really well, but we could still stand to fine-tune some stuff (as we do with ANY kid in junior high!)

And of course, snapping at somehow misguided enthusiasts is the best way to educate them.

My son has mild aspergers, and is high functioning. He loves the social stories and they really help.

Exactly! That was hilarious!

I have no idea about social stories, i'll have to google.

Social stories are very helpful. Although I don't buy into the idea that you have to do them exactly like Carol Gray says, step by step by step or "the sky will fall on your head"! When my sons were little before we knew anything about AS, we made "books" together about new skills they were learning or what to expect during an upcoming event. Reading our book together often was one of the absolute best ways to teach them anything.

And for AS kids who do like fictional stories, I agree with DonkeyBuster that they are excellent, excellent, excellent social teaching tools. I learned more about how to interact with people from reading fiction, than I ever did from real life.

And I love the "regular/weird" game idea. Totally going to try that with my guys.

No idea what it is but from the posts in this thread and some general understanding I'd say the possibility for an AS-kid to be told and explained the rules and procedures involved in social interaction in a setting outside of daily life seems bloody brilliant.

I, just as most, learn through observation and rulebreaking,
the difference between AS and NT here is that AS-persons need to make an active effort in learning the rules of engagement.

why would anyone want an aspie child to sit through group time??? they have far better things to do.