Effects of a Social Story Intervention on the Social Engagement of a Preschool Student Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Learning social skills through play is an important aspect of a preschool child’s development. Young students who are not developing normally, such as those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders, tend to exhibit more difficulty in their social skills development. As a result of this serious deficit, these skills must be taught by the teacher once the child begins their journey through education. Thus, it is necessary for the special education teacher to embed different teaching strategies into the curriculum so as to teach children with ASD the proper social skills effectively and efficiently. The goal of the present study was to determine if the reading of a social story and the discussion of that social story on a daily basis can positively affect the behavior and social skills of a preschool student diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The student under study was a 4-year old male who presented with limited social skills. The teacher/researcher applied a social story intervention that included the reading of a social story on a daily basis, a comprehension check that was followed by a modeled play scenario between the student and the teacher/researcher. The study was conducted for a period of 5 weeks. The teacher/researcher used comprehension checks, field notes and partial interval record forms in order to measure growth in student behaviors and social interactions. The results of this study indicated that applying a social story intervention on a daily basis can effectively improve a preschool ASD student’s social skills and provide that student an opportunity to be socially successful during structured and unstructured dramatic play time