story writing skill

8/3/2019 Story Writing Skill

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What are Social Stories?

Social Stories are a tool for teaching social skills to children with autism and related disabilities. Social stories provide an individual with accurate information about those situations that he may find difficult or confusing.

The situation is described in detail and focus is given to a few key points: the important social cues, the eventsand reactions the individual might expect to occur in the situation, the actions and reactions that might be

expected of him, and why. The goal of the story is to increase the individual¶s understanding of, make him morecomfortable in, and possibly suggest some appropriate responses for the situation in question.

A sample Social Story

Before we go too far into the specifics of Social Stories, let's take a look a simple sample story.

Lining Up

At school, we sometimes line up.

We line up to go to the gym, to go to the library, and to go out to recess.

Sometimes my friends and I get excited when we line up, because we¶re going someplace fun, like out to recess

It is okay to get excited, but it is important to try to walk to the line. Running can cause accidents, and my

friends or I could get hurt.

I will try to walk to the line.

As may be evident, Social Stories are relatively short, straightforward descriptions of social situations,

specifically detailing what an individual might expect from the situation and what may be expected of him.

The need for social skills intervention

Qualitative impairment in social interaction is a defining quality for a diagnosis of autism (DSM-IV, 1994) and

is thought by some to be the defining characteristic of autism: social dysfunction may be what makes autismsomething more than just a language delay, etc.

Theory of Mind

Recently, the notion that those with autism may lack a theory of mind has circulated among those who study

social impairments in individuals with autism. This deficit is essentially a lack of understanding that others havetheir own thoughts, feelings, plans, and points of view result in in difficulty understanding the expectations of

others and an inability to predict what others will say or do in social situations. This theory of mind

phenomenon appears to be unique to those with autism and largely independent of intelligence. Regardless of where an individual may fall within the spectrum of autism-like disorders they seem to exhibit this deficit,though it seems to be slightly less prevalent in those with Asperger's syndrome.

The benefits of Social Stories

How, then, do Social Stories help to address these special social needs and the often unique learning styles of

those with autism? Social Stories attempt to address the "theory of mind" impairment by giving individualssome perspective on the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of others. They help the individual better predict the

actions and assumptions of others. Social stories also present information on social situations in a structured andconsistent manner, a particularly appropriate approach for kids with autism, especially when dealing with skills



and behaviors which are so fluid as those involved in social interactions. Along that line, Social Stories alsogive individuals direct contact with social information, contact through pictures and text as opposed to speech

or observation, notable areas of weakness for kids with autism. Finally, Social Stories provide a little distance between teaching and the possible stresses of the social situation itself; they give the child a chance to practice

the skills often and on his terms.

Identifying student needs

Of course, before one begins writing a Social Story, it should be determined exactly which skill or situation onewishes to focus upon. Before even this, though, it is often helpful to look at how a child socializes overall and to

determine the possible efficacy of Social Stories in addressing his needs.

There are three broad categories into which we can classify social impairments:

1. Social avoidance -- Kids who would fall into the category of socially avoidant might be those who

tantrum, shy away from, or attempt to escape from social situations. Often, kids that are this avoidant of social situations are doing so because they have some hypersensitivity to certain sensory stimuli.

Consequently, those sensory needs must be addressed prior to attempts at teaching social skills. A kidwho is constantly overwhelmed by his environment is likely not going to be successful in many

interventions. Social stories may well prove to be useful tools with such children, but only after thesensory needs of those children have been met (through sensory integration, vision therapy, auditory

integration, etc.).2. Social indifference -- Social indifference is the social impairment common to the majority of children

with autism. Children who are socially indifferent are those who do not actively seek social interaction, but at the same time, do not aggressively avoid such interaction. Social Stories are often quite effective

with socially avoidant kids: they can simplify and illustrate social interactions, with the hope thatincreased understanding of those situations will make them more attractive and reinforcing for the child.

3. Social awkwardness -- Socially awkward children are typically higher functioning kids who may tryvery hard to gain and keep friends, but are hindered by a lack of reciprocity in conversation and interest

-- they focus on their favorite topic or topics to the exclusion of most everything else -- and an inability

to learn social skills and taboos by observing others. Social stories are often very effective with theseindividuals as they teach explicitly those skills and taboos that these children do not just pick up fromtheir environment. Social stories provide them with a framework for successful social interaction:

perspective on the thoughts, emotions, and beliefs of others in their environment, and suggestions of appropriate behaviors.

Having determined how a child socializes generally, one can now look to defining specific skills and situations

to which focus will be given.

It is typically fairly evident to the child and whomever may be working with him which situations -- at home, at

play, or at school -- are proving difficult. Even if the child has little language, careful observation can often

determine difficult situations. Situations from which a child withdraws, from which he attempts to escape, or inwhich he tantrums, cries, or becomes frightened may be appropriate targets for a Social Story. As Social Stories primarily address problems of social cognition -- situations in which it is the child's misunderstanding of the

expectations and intricacies of the situation which are driving the difficulty -- it should be determined that it isindeed that deficient cognition that is the root of the problem and not some other issue (a sensory processing

problem, for example).

Ideally, anyone who works with a child at school or at home -- parents, teachers, instructional assistants,specialists, etc. -- should be consulted prior to the writing of a story. Each may have some unique insight into

the situation.



As a Social Story is intended to be written from the perspective of the child, it is paramount that the author isable to obtain that perspective. With higher functioning children, they can assist in the writing of the story,

discussing those areas where they are having difficulty and helping the educator or parent to write from that perspective. With nonverbal or lower functioning children this task will require more careful observation on the

part of the author. Focus of the story should typically be given to the motivation of current behaviors and notnecessarily to the behaviors themselves. For example, if a child begins to tantrum or cry when his assistant

leaves the classroom, your first instinct might be to write a story about crying, when and where it might not beappropriate, etc. However, a more effective approach might be to write a Social Story about being scared or

frustrated (if indeed you have determined that fear or frustration are the underlying motivation for the behavior)and what things might make him scared, and how he might go about dealing with that.

It is also very important that the expected response is clearly defined. To continue the above example, again one

may be tempted to define the expected response as "Kevin will reduce the number of incidences of crying eachday," or something similar. A better expectation might be "We will attempt to make Kevin feel more

comfortable when his assistant is out of the room."

Writing a Social Story

Having determined those areas on which one wishes to focus, the writing of the Social Story can begin. Again, a

Social Story is usually a first-person, present-tense story used to provide a student with as much informationabout a social situation as possible, so he is better prepared to face, and act appropriately in, that situation.

There are four types of sentences used to present this information in a Social Story:

y Descriptive sentences objectively address the ³wh´ questions: where the situation takes place, who is

involved, what they are doing, and why they may be doing it.y Perspective sentences give a peek into the minds of those involved in the story; they provide details

about the emotions and thoughts of others.y Directive sentences suggest desired responses tailored to the individual.

y Control sentences are authored by the student himself as something of a mnemonic device -- a sentence

to help him remember the story or deal with the situation. These are not used in every story and aretypically used only with fairly high functioning children.

Below is another sample social story. Each of the sentences in this story has been labeled to illustrate each of

the above sentences (except for the control sentence -- I've not yet had a child that has opted to use them, so I'mnot going to even pretend to be able to dream up a good one yet).

Sitting on the Carpet

Sometimes our class sits on the carpet. (descriptive) We sit on the carpet to listen to stories and for group

lessons. (descriptive) My friends are trying hard to listen so they can enjoy the story or learn from the lessons.

(perspective) It can be hard for them to listen is someone is noisy or not sitting still. (descriptive) I will try to sitstill and stay quiet during our time on the carpet. (descriptive)

Carol Gray, the developer of Social Stories, has edited two books on Social Stories. Each contain dozens of

sample stories and a very helpful kit on writing social stories. In those kits Ms. Gray recommends that a ratio of at least three to five descriptive or perspective sentences for every directive sentence be used for each story. As

a child becomes more and more successful with Social Stories, those stories can eventually be written with nodirective sentences at all, leaving it up to the child to determine an appropriate and successful response (which

is of course, the eventual goal of any social skills intervention). Remember, Social Stories are not scriptsdetailing appropriate behaviors, rather, they are descriptions of social situations which set the stage for the child

to design successful, positive interactions. Along that line, you should avoid the use of absolute, inflexible



A consistent schedule for reviewing each story should be maintained. At first this is typically once a day,usually right before the targeted situation (e.g. right before the bell dismissing the class to recess, if the story is

about the need to take turns on the monkey bars). However, for some kids, especially during the first fewreadings of the story, the time just prior to the situation may be too exciting or busy to completely hold their

attention for the story. For those kids, consequently, it may be helpful to read the story early in the day and thensimply review the highlights prior to the activity.

The effectiveness of the story should be monitored consistently. If after a week or two of working with a

particular story, there is little noticeable change, the story should be reworked. Elements that may be vague or confusing should be removed or rewritten. The motivation behind the behavior may need to be re-evaluated. Is

the story truly addressing the reasons why the child may be confused or misreading a situation? Is the problemin the situation really one of cognition, or could something else be affecting the child (environmental stimuli,

etc.).

As the child becomes more and more successful with the situations presented in a particular story, that story can begin to be faded out or changed to meet the new needs of the child. The number of review sessions can be

lessened from once a day, to every other day, to once a week, to twice a month, and so on until they are nolonger needed. Or the directive sentences in the story can be reduced or eliminated,

As each story is mastered, it should be kept visible in the child's environment for review when needed. Becausethe stories are so personalized, so much about the child, they can often be favorites, something the child might

want to look through on his own, even when not working on them specifically. A special basket or notebook of mastered stories are good to keep around.



HOW TO WRITE A STORY ?

eople have always enjoyed reading and listing to stories. There is something about people caught up in events

which captures our imagination. Once caught, we want to know what happens next. If the story does not attract

our attention and does not arouse our curiosity to know what happens next, the the story is a failure. There aremany opportunities for telling stories and many pupils take their chances and tell them very well. However, caremust be taken no to turn every essay topic into a story. So it is obvious that you must keep your story simple. It

is best to think of its as just one incident.

Points

1. A story need not be full of violent action and dramatic events to be effective

Some writer think that unless there is a murder or an escape from the police or violent action is their story, theirstory is boring and lacks interest. This is not necessarily so. The best stories are about ordinary every day events

that affect and change our lives.

2. A story must have a good plot.

By and large, the basic plan of a story is as follows:

y Atmosphere is created, the character are selected and situations are set.

y There is an action.

y The actions produces a reaction.

y The effect of the action on the main characters.

Before you begin to write, make sure that you have a good plot. The minor episodes must be subservient to thecentral episode. About sixty per cent of the time allotted should be spent on the central plot; the rest of the timeon the subsidiary episodes, introductory material and conclusion. Drastically cut out long descriptions, lengthy

introductions and unnecessary conversations.

3. Remember the points made about Characters and descriptions

The characters and setting of our stories must be convincing. The descriptive detail or effective expression to

depict character can bring them alive for your readers. The only way to convince readers that you know the people (you are writing about) and have been to the places (you describe) is to give concrete details.

4. Keep your story simple

Remember that you are writing a short story and not a novel. If you chose a very complicated plot involving

series of events, you will not able to to justice to the story within a short time. Therefore, choose one simpleincident which can be developed properly with plenty of details.

5. Your story must have point

It does not mean that you preach while writing; but you must have something definite to convey in your story. Itmust be obvious to the reader why you have taken the trouble to write the story. The point you make need not



always be explicitly stated. The implications and the relevance of your story may appear "between the lines" orleft to the imagination of the reader. After reading the story, the reader must be left with such comments as:

"How strange are the ways of human nature....."

That's just how I felt....."

"How sad....."

6. Make it interesting

By building up tension, giving details and making your characters speak. Nobody likes to read a monotonousstory.

7. Tone of you narration must be suitable to the nature of the story

Decide which tone is good for each part of your story. With which character do you want the reader tosympathize?. Whether first person narrative, dialogue, soliloquy or cynical approach would be more appropriate

? It is imperative to decide on questions like these before you start to maintain a consistent way of narration in

the story. The basic approach to write a story is the same in all situations.

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