[Social Stories Series 2] What is the difference between social stories and social picture books?

hello!

In the last article, we talked about what a social story is and what its advantages are.

Can’t I just read a social storybook? Why bother making up stories about social situations? I think there are people who are curious about this, so I'm going to take the time to talk about the difference.

It seems important to understand the key differences between social stories for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and general social picture books to help you choose the most effective tool for your child's development.

[Differences between social stories VS social storybooks]

1. Purpose and Focus:

• Social story:
• Designed specifically to address the challenges children with ASD face, these stories teach specific social skills, routines, and appropriate behaviors in a clear, structured way.
• Social stories, developed by Carol Gray, are based on applied behavior analysis (ABA) principles, which emphasize the importance of positive reinforcement and behavior modification.
• Common social storybooks:
• Aimed at a wider audience, these books focus on teaching social skills through engaging stories.
• It covers a variety of social situations in a general and entertaining way.

<Everbloom Social Story>

 

2. Structure and clarity:

• Social story:
• Following a specific format created by Carol Gray, these stories are highly structured and written in the first person to help children understand and internalize the content.
• Language is simple and clear and avoids metaphors and idioms to reduce confusion.
• Each story includes descriptive and indicative sentences to clearly communicate expected behavior and why.
• Common social storybooks:
• These books vary in structure and are often more narrative.
• They may contain complex language, humor, and figures of speech, which can be interesting but may be difficult for children with autism to fully understand.

< 'Hello, I said hello' children's book written by Heo Eun-mi /illustrated by Oh Seung-min>

This is a children's book depicting an adorable child interacting with the world through greetings. Cats, bicycles, trees... When you say hello to various things in the world, they show you responding, but this metaphorical expression of 'answering' may be difficult for some children to understand.

 

3. Visual support + customization

• Social story:
• Visual supports such as photos, illustrations or icons closely related to the text are included to aid understanding and memory. Providing clear expectations increases understanding and reduces anxiety.
• It can be customized to suit your child's individual needs, focusing on specific situations, behaviors or challenges.
• Common social storybooks:
• These books also use illustrations, but the emphasis is on artistic expression and interesting visual elements rather than fully supporting the text.
• They are generally designed for a wide range of audiences and are not customized for individual children.

<Everbloom Social Story VS Author Mi-Rang Eom’s Me First, Me First Storybook>

 

4. Positive tone and reinforcement

• Social story:
• To support positive behavior, talk about the rewards you can receive when you use positive speech and social skills (both you and the other person feel good, you can have fun, etc.).
• Repeated reading strengthens learning and leads to better generalization across different situations.
• Common social storybooks:
• I begin the book by focusing on extremely negative actions, emotions, and situations in order to emphasize the upset feelings or situations of the other person or myself.
• It can be read multiple times, but may not focus on reinforcing learning about good behavior.

<Everbloom Social Story VS Author Sunhee Jeong’s ‘It’s All Mine’ children’s book>

It's a story about a child who gets angry and throws water at the main character who insists that it's all 'mine' rather than sharing. As this leads to water play, the child realizes that it's more fun to play in the water with a friend than to say 'it's mine' and play alone.

It is a good children's book that naturally teaches the joy of playing with friends by following the child's emotions, but for children with autism who have difficulty following delicate emotions, this type of solution may be difficult to understand.

 

Social stories can be used to support children by telling them at various times, depending on the difficulties the child is experiencing, before or after mealtime, before showering, on the bus, or while waiting to sit somewhere.

There are a lot of really good children's books, but if you're looking for a story that provides clear, structured, and customized instructions tailored to your child's situation... why not try using a social situation story?

 

Don’t miss out on new insights from Everbloom Path! Subscribe via the link below to receive our latest updates directly in your inbox.

📮 [Subscribe for Updates]