Social Stories and Autism Ranking:

History

Carol Gray, former consultant to autistic students in Jenison Public Schools in Michigan, USA, wrote the first social stories in 1990 and has been developing her ideas and practice ever since.

According to the CarolGraySocialStories.com website, accessed on 7 March 2017, “The Social Story philosophy was in place long before the first social story; the definition of Social Stories and information on how to write them has seen more of an evolution. There are sound basics that have been there since 1990. The changes that have occurred have been in response to experience with Social Stories, research findings, and protection of the quality, integrity, and safety of the approach.”

Gray first published the defining characteristics (criteria) in Social Stories 10.0 (2004). Subsequent revisions and reorganisation resulted in Social Stories 10.1 (2010) and Social Stories 10.2 (2014). The current version of these criteria (“Social Stories 10.2”) is set out in the Additional Information section of this factsheet.

“These criteria guide Story research, development, and implementation to ensure an overall patient and supportive quality, and a format, “voice”, content, and learning experience that is descriptive, meaningful, and physically, socially, and emotionally safe for the child, adolescent, or adult with autism.”

The current version of these criteria (“Social Stories 10.2”) is set out in the Additional Information section of this factsheet.

Updated

17 Jun 2022

Last Review

01 Jul 2017

Next Review

01 Oct 2023