Social Story Interventions for Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of social story interventions for 3 young children diagnosed With autism spectrum disorders. For 2 participants, an ABA design Was used, With a social story presented in the B phase. For the 3rd participant, an ACABA design Was used, With the C phase serving as a book + reminder condition that Was used to examine the impact of adult attention and the B phase consisting of a social story. Results confirmed previous research With regard to the effectiveness of this intervention for reducing the frequency of target behaviors. For the 3rd participant, the B phase Was more effective than the C phase (book + reminder). In addition, target behaviors for all 3 participants remained at a loW level, even after the social story interventions Were discontinued. This suggests that irreversible learning of appropriate behaviors may have occurred during the course of the interventions.