Social Stories

I know what you mean I have no idea how he will cope in a workplace , all it would take in the workplace would be for him to recieve two different sets of instructions and he would become stressed and upset. If he is given a job to do he will complete it very well if left alone but would need to complete it before begining a new task. The social norm off leaving one job to work on a more important one that has just arisen would be lost on him. I dread to think what sort of social story would be told to explain that to him. Thats one of the reasons ive encouraged him to stay in education, I feel he is safer there.

I think perhaps a job that he could alone without distraction and hand in once complete would be great. He is working towards being a film editor or critic have to wait and see how that turns out.

Sorry Rorua ive gone of point again.

sam

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Potentially your son could be about to go into the world of work, though he may be continuing education beyond 16. He cannot take a social stories folder with him into the workplace.

Fitting in in the workplace is one of the major barriers to people on the spectrum getting long term employment. The "social" interface in the workplace is where he may find the most obstacles, as even if his disability is explained to staff, some of them will find ways and means of ridiculing or undermining him out of sight of management. This either leads to constructive dismissal where the AS individual withdraws because he cannot cope, or direct dismissal because he appears unable to cope, and management cannot see what is really going on. It is hard enough for teachers to spot bullying, even of disabled pupils, so how is it detectable in the workplace? 

Surely by 16 we have something better to offer than social stories. I agree with their role in pre-teens and for individuals still having major difficulty in teens. But social stories deal with direct overt non-verbal communication. By 16 and certainly by adulthood, deviousness and manipulation, which are everyday experiences for NTs cannot possibly be anticipated using social stories.

I do wonder at times who are the disabled... those on the spectrum or the NT professionals supposed to be helping them.

Hi all.

Thats one of the things my son hates, he is 16, he always says to me why do they talk to me like a little kid, its amazing for someone that doesnt get most social norms doesnt read body language etc he gets when he is being spoken to like a 3 year old and another thing he hates is how they use false smiles it freaks him out and he thinks they just look odd. so then he gets either bored or angry or scared or confused and  so then switches off, so gets no help.Just talk to him and explain things, he will understand if you give him the time and chance.

Yes situations need to be broken down and all the steps explained but it should also be age appropriate.

However i do think If I had access to these 10 years ago then they may of been a good help for him because it would be age appropriate but not now. Many things like morals and responsibilities are taught to all children of that age through stories so why not social situations and norms.

Sam

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Being diagnosed late in life I was spared social stories, but I've had experience of several health/support workers showing me their social stories files and systems with glee, hoping I'd be impressed. I can see their value in helping people understand social situations, but I fear they may be used irrespective of whether they are beneficial, rather than deal directly with the concerns of people on the spectrum. If you have a specific social difficulty, especially as an adult, is it being helpful for support staff to bring out the social stories kit and say to the person seeking advice - let's look at what little johnny is doing......  Maybe I've missed the point, but it seems to be used to communicate with people on the spectrum whether or not it is relevant, and rather than deal directly with people's actual issues.

Hi Rorua,

Sure some people will be able to share their experiences and chat about what they've found useful. Just wanted to say though, if you need to conduct detail research at any point you'll need to follow the Community rules and apply from this page -

http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/research/requests-for-research-and-participation.aspx

Hope that's cool, be interesting to see people's experiences with social stories.