Social Stories
A Social Story is a short, personalised description of a situation, skill or event written from the child''s point of view. Developed by Carol Gray, they''re widely used by UK parents, teachers and SENCOs to help autistic children — and many other neurodivergent children — understand what to expect and what is expected of them.
What a Social Story is for
- Preparing for change (new school, dentist, hospital, holiday, hairdresser)
- Explaining unwritten social rules (turn-taking, personal space, queueing)
- Building a new skill (washing hands, asking for help, using the toilet)
- Reducing anxiety by removing the unknown
What a good Social Story looks like
- Short: a few sentences to a single page
- Positive and calm tone, never telling off
- First-person: "I am going to…", "When I feel…, I can…"
- Concrete and accurate: real names, real places, real photos where possible
- Sentence mix: mostly descriptive ("The dentist wears a blue coat"), some perspective ("Mum will be in the waiting room"), and gentle coaching ("I can try to keep my mouth open. If I need a break, I can raise my hand.")
- Avoid absolutes: use "usually", "sometimes", "I will try" rather than "I will always"
How to use one
- Read it together a few times before the event, in a calm moment
- Keep a copy to look at on the day
- Review afterwards — what worked, what to tweak
- Update it as your child grows or the situation changes
Tips for UK families
- Use photos of the actual setting (school gate, surgery, supermarket)
- Pair with a visual timetable or "now / next" board if helpful
- Share with school, childminder and grandparents so everyone uses the same language
- Bright Steps has a built-in Social Story creator that produces print-friendly PDFs with our vector icon set