%0 Journal Article
%T Utilizing Social Stories to Increase Prosocial Behavior and Reduce Problem Behavior in Young Children with Autism
%A Lisa A. Wright
%A Rebecca B. McCathren
%J Child Development Research
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/357291
%X The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the effects of a Social Story intervention on the behavior rates of 4 young children with autism using a multiple-baseline across participants design. The results of this paper indicate that the Social Story was modestly effective in increasing prosocial behavior rates in 3 of the 4 participants, though none of the participants reached the prosocial behavior rates of age and gender-matched peers. The problem behaviors of the participants modestly decreased with the intervention. Maintenance of skills over a 1-month period was demonstrated for all of the participants. The variable and inconsistent results of the research add to the current literature base in support of the use of Social Stories for some children with autism. 1. Introduction Autism is a complex neurological disability that is diagnosed in increasingly large numbers of children. The Centers for Disease Control [1] estimate that 1 in 110 Americans have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children with ASD often lack the ability to understand another personĄ¯s perspective, which can lead to problem behavior and social deficits [2]. Problem behavior may be the single most challenging characteristic in children with autism and includes screaming, crying, aggression, and sometimes self-injurious behavior [3]. Children with ASD often exhibit social deficits including decreased eye contact, poor play skills and an inability to interact with peers and form friendships, poor appreciation of social cues, and socially inappropriate behavior [3¨C6]. A teaching intervention of increasing popularity used to increase prosocial behavior and decrease problem behavior in young children with autism is Social Stories [7¨C10]. Social Stories are individualized short stories used to assist children with ASD in understanding social situations by describing and explaining appropriate behavior and providing examples of appropriate responses. Gray and Garand [2] introduced the concept of Social Stories to decrease problem behavior in children with autism. Social Stories can be used to help children understand that other people have perspectives that may differ from their own, and that others have information that is helpful to them. These short stories outline specific steps for implementing the appropriate social skill and include short text and pictorial cues. The Social Story assists the childĄ¯s accurate understanding of specific social information in a given setting or circumstance [11]. Social Stories may be a beneficial intervention for multiple reasons. First, Social
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cdr/2012/357291/