What is the evidence for Social Stories?

A review of the Evidence..

There is a number of anecdotal evidence on the effectiveness of social stories with children,  However, there is a lack of conclusive evidence based research. The research on the effectiveness of Social Stories for social development has been inconsistent and highly variable at times, often conducted with other interventions, and further research is needed to determine their effectiveness in isolation. There is evidence to support the use of social stories, and it's effectiveness may vary on the individual child, construct and delivery of the social story.

Reynhout and Carter (2006) conducted a single subject meta-anaylsis review of 16 research studies on the effects of Social Stories on children with autism spectrum disorder. In nine studies, the researchers reported a reduction in reported behaviour and in of the eight studies, the researchers reported an increase in appropriate behaviour. Two studies showed no change in behaviour and two other studies showed an increase in disruptive behaviours. Not all of the studies strictly followed the Social Story construction criteria, however, it is unclear how important it is to follow these guidelines as the effectiveness of the stories did not seem to relate to how well they conformed. Overall the studies showed a modest improvement in behaviour, and was about 50%, indicating that for approximately half of the children, their behaviour improved following the use of Social Stories.  Social stories were most effective when they used more than recommended consequence-related sentences combined with positive reinforcement of desired/correct behaviour.

In another systemic review of six studies, (Karkhaneh, Clark, Ospina, Seida, Smith & Hartling 2010)  Five of the six studies showed statistically significant benefits for a variety of outcomes related to social interaction when using Social Stories.  A study by Ozdemir (2008) found that social stories appeared to be effective at decreasing disruptive behaviours in children with Autism. In another articles of reducing anxiety and he by Gilman (2009) it discusses her personal experience of using social stories with one child, and the benefit of helping this child communicate more effectively in social settings.

These  literature  reviews and qualitative study show the benefits of using social stories with children. They also indicate that the effectiveness of social stories may vary from child to child, so other intervention strategies may also required.









References:

Gilman, S. (2009). "Social stories": Pathways to inclusion. English Quarterly Canada, 39(2), 33-45.

Karkhaneh, M., Clark, B., Ospina, M. B., Seida, J. C., Smith, V., Hartling. L. (2010). Social Stories™ to improve social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. Autism, 14(6), 641-662. 

Kokina, A., & Kern, L. (2010). Social story interventions for students with autism spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 40(7), 812-826. doi:10.1007/s10803-009-0931-0 

Ozdemir, S. (2008). The effectiveness of social stories on decreasing disruptive behaviours of children with autism: Three case studies. Journal of Autism Development Disorders, 38(9), 1689-1696