The Effects of Social Stories on the Social Engagement of Children with Autism

Abstract

A multiple-probe design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of social stories on the duration of appropriate social engagement and the frequency of 4 social skills in 3 elementary-age students with autism. The social skills were seeking attention, initiating comments, initiating requests, and making contingent responses. Following the intervention, which consisted of reading individualized social stories, answering comprehension questions, and participating in a 10-min play session, the duration of social engagement increased for all 3 students with both a training peer and a novel peer. The number of target social skills displayed during the 10-min play sessions increased after the intervention was introduced. Two students demonstrated generalization to a classroom setting. These findings suggest that the use of social stories without additional social skill interventions may be effective in increasing the duration of social engagement and the frequency of specific social skills.