An evaluation of the components of a Social Stories™ intervention package

Abstract

The present study examined the effectiveness of Social Stories™, and Social Stories paired with a differential reinforcement procedure on disruptive behaviors of two elementary school children diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We implemented a multiple-baseline design across target behaviors, whereby the Social Story was implemented first, followed by the pairing of the story and a differential reinforcement of zero behavior (DRO) procedure. Results indicate that while the use of a Social Story was effective in decreasing problem behavior when compared to baseline levels, the pairing of the story with a DRO procedure resulted in lower average levels of the target behaviors across both participants.