How to write and illustrate effective Social Stories™ for young children, identifying key issues to address

Social Stories™ are acknowledged as a very successful way of teaching concepts and social understanding to children with autism spectrum disorders, but considerable skill is needed to write the most effective story. This clear and engaging book introduces ways of thinking about the issues your child finds difficult, and includes 32 stories created by Dr Siobhan Timmins for her son during his early years, with helpful explanations of how she did it, and what the underlying thinking was behind each set of stories.

She explains how the stories build upon each other to help the child to understand further, more complex topics, and how to see the connections so that you can best help your child. From basic skills such as learning to listen, wait and share, to common fears, this book takes the mystery out of creating effective Social Stories™ and amply demonstrates how to put together a cohesive set of stories which your child can understand and relate to.

"Siobhan notes her distaste of Social Stories being used to tell the child what they are doing wrong; those stories that she shares with us in the book are all written in fond, positive, tolerant terms as they always should be. Importantly, she tells readers that "Social Stories will not cure your child of autism, nor are they the only useful strategy to implement, but they are effective, enduring and empowering to both parent and child, a powerful partner on your walk with autism and I speak from experience!" ... This book is sensitive, informative and extremely helpful for parents, carers and professionals alike." - Autistica