Social stories: The key to routine changes over summer

For many children and young people with autism, routine helps regulate their anxiety, and sticking rigidly to these routines is a huge factor in your child’s life.

When the summer term ends and their usual weekly routines are interrupted, this can be extremely dysregulating, causing stress and anxiety.

Dr Wendy Sparling, Regional Director at Aspris, has dedicated her career to supporting children with autism and their families, and has provided some helpful advice on using social stories to help autistic children cope with changing routines and new activities.

What is a social story?

A social story is an autism-specific approach that aims to prepare a young person for something that’s going to happen.

A social story is often a series of pictures and words which describe a routine. Displayed much like a comic book strip, they might show actions and activities such as getting dressed, going to the shop, buying bread, walking home, and eating lunch.

Wendy says: “If you say to a child that you’re going to go bowling, for example, the child with autism might not have any experience of bowling or noticed that sport and won’t know the rules around it.

“A social story is a series of pictures to break down the activity, for example:

• Drive to the bowling alley
• Put on special shoes
• Choose the right size bowling ball
• Use equipment such as a ramp
• Rules of the game
• Drive home

“It breaks down the whole scenario to show what’s going to happen in a visual way.”

How can I create a social story?

Many social stories are printed on paper, and often follow the format in the template linked below. Sometimes it’s helpful to laminate individual words and pictures and enable them to be stuck in different orders so they can be re-used, similar to this visual timetable method below:

If having a physical social story doesn’t work for you or your child, many places that you visit now have pictures online, and it’s helpful to show these to your child before going so they have a better idea of what to expect. You can use websites, PowerPoints or photos to show your child how their day might look.

If your child is particularly anxious about trying something new, for example, going to a theme park, you can show them videos of activities or virtual tours which may be available online to help them visualise and understand the activity. Videos may also help children gain an understanding of some of the sensory experiences of the place.

Wendy says: “These things are really useful because children with autism can’t imagine what places are going to look like so social stories can help them to overcome their anxiety and prepare them.

“Visual is the most powerful way for children with autism to learn, so showing your child anything visually can be really helpful.”

To download our social story template, click here.

Aspris Children’s Services offer a range of specialist services with one common goal - helping young people to manage the range of different challenges autism presents, and to support them in achieving their potential. If you’d like to learn more, click here.