| Amy Collins, OTR, MOT  In 2016, the American Occupational
Therapy Association (AOTA) published Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines
for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (AOTA 2016). It is part of a
series of practice guidelines published by AOTA. This book covers the state of
evidence on a multitude of interventions an occupational therapy practitioner
might use and is a “must read” for those who interact with persons on the
spectrum. To give just a taste of the valuable information in this book, I
summarize below the evidence on social narratives/Social Stories. The
term social narratives describes a group of interventions in which a short story
is developed to address a specific social behavior or social situation, such as
how to sit on the school bus or how to behave in a public bathroom. They often
address situations described by Brenda Smith-Myles as part of the “hidden
curriculum,” those norms, expectations, values, and beliefs that are implicitly,
not explicitly taught. The name, Social Stories, is a trademarked term referring
to social narratives that meet ten specific criteria (Gray, 2000). The AOTA
Practice Guidelines discuss six Level 1 studies on Social Stories in its review.
Half
of the studies found an increase in positive social behaviors or decrease in
challenging behaviors. One study concluded that Social Stories with music were
more effective. One study did not adhere to the guidelines for Social Stories
development. The remaining studies had mixed results. These AOTA guidelines
conclude that Social Stories should be used to improve social skills with
careful monitoring of outcome effectiveness. For
more information on using social narratives and Social Stories, check out these
websites. For
an online summary of OT practice guidelines for individuals with ASD, check out:
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