Digitally-Mediated Social Stories Support Children on the Autism Spectrum Adapting to a Change in a \u2018Real-World\u2019 Context

Elizabeth Smith,Aurora Constantin,Mark Brosnan,Hilary Johnson

doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04558-5

Elizabeth Smith, Aurora Constantin + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04558-5

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Abstract

Social Stories™ (SS) is a widely used intervention for children on the autism spectrum. A preliminary survey of 103 practitioners highlighted that SS are often used to support adapting to a change. This study investigated the use of digitally-mediated SS to support ten children on the autism spectrum attending a school summer camp. Teacher perceptions of anxiety, understanding and closeness to the goal of the SS were assessed before and after the intervention (prior to the event). The pre- post-intervention comparisons highlighted significant improvements in child understanding, anxiety, and closeness to goal with medium-large effect sizes. The child’s understanding and closeness to SS goal post-intervention related to their difficulties with the SS goal and their anxiety during the event.

Highlights

Recent estimates suggest that approximately 1 in 59 children are diagnosed with autism, a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition characterised by impairments in social communication and interactions, combined with repetitive and restricting patterns of behaviour, activities and/or interests (RRBs) (American Psychiatric Association 2013; Baio et al 2018)
Adapting to change has been proposed to be a separable aspect of RRBs that positively relates to anxiety in autism (Eisenberg et al 2015; Uljarevic et al 2016)
In line with previous research (Reynhout and Carter 2009; Varnava et al 2019), our preliminary survey confirmed that SS are often used to support adapting to change, that is managing transitions, novel situations, reducing anxiety, within primary education

Summary

Introduction

Recent estimates suggest that approximately 1 in 59 children are diagnosed with autism, a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition characterised by impairments in social communication and interactions, combined with repetitive and restricting patterns of behaviour, activities and/or interests (RRBs) (American Psychiatric Association 2013; Baio et al 2018). Social skills are essential for both academic and social success, as they facilitate peer acceptance and student–teacher relationships (Garwood and van Loan 2019). Such impairments can be a cause of distress and frustration, and using parental/ carer report, Brereton et al (2006) identified greater disruptive, inattentive and anxious behaviour in children on the autism spectrum compared to children with intellectual disability. Research suggests that approximately two thirds of children on the autism spectrum display such behaviours (Hartley et al 2008), which can have a negative impact upon daily activities (Brereton et al 2006), create life-long barriers to inclusion (Rhodes 2014), and increase caregiver/family stress (Ludlow et al 2011; Tomanik et al 2004; Yacoub et al 2018)

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