Training Parents to Create and Implement Social Stories™: Promoting Social Competence in Children Without Disabilities

Abstract

ObjectiveTo examine the feasibility and benefits of a parent training on using Social Stories™ (SS).BackgroundSS have been widely used as an effective approach to help children improve social understanding, particularly in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, efforts to train parents to use SS have been limited, particularly with children without ASD displaying behavioral challenges.MethodSS training and implementation were rooted in the guidelines established by the developer of SS, Carol Gray. A convenience sample of 19 children and their parents participated in the study, using a single‐case design (ABAB) with each family.ResultsThe results provide evidence that parents can be effectively coached on the creation and implementation of SS. The results indicated that using SS reduced disruptive behaviors and increased constructive social skills in 15 of the 19 cases tested (79%).ConclusionThe study provides support for the benefits of teaching parents SS to address specific challenging behaviors. Although more work needs to be done, these findings add to the discussion on the feasibility of SS with children without ASD.ImplicationsThe findings provide further support for a link between addressing perspective‐taking skills and behavioral regulations. Specifically, the study expands existing literature on the importance of using narrative to help children improve social understanding. Despite study limitations, the results indicate that the SS approach can be useful to parents and other caregivers for addressing immediate challenging behaviors with children who do not have ASD.