Social stories can be used as an incredibly powerful tool to help children understand their experiences and to provide a developmentally appropriate language to explain things to others. Historically, Carol Gray coined the term 'Social Stories ™' in the 90's and they were used by educators working with children and adults who have autism to help them understand, read and respond to social situations.
Social stories, or sometimes known as, social scripts or social narratives, can help manage change, reduce anxiety and help prepare a child for what is going to happen. As Child Life Therapists, we use social stories for a range of purposes:
· To provide a developmentally appropriate and visual explanation of what children might expect going into hospital
· To provide an understanding of procedures children might need to complete when they attend hospital visits
· To support siblings to understand why their brother or sister is in hospital
· To provide a language to help children describe their experience
· To reframe hospital experiences, particularly if they have been negative or traumatising
Social stories are pitched at an age and developmentally appropriate level. They need to reflect the child’s experience and be personalised for the child to relate to. The language should be simple and non-threatening but accurate for their situation.
The social stories can then be used in a variety of settings. Children may just wish to read it at home and share it with family and friends. They may like to take it to kinder or school so that other children and caregivers have an understanding of what they have experienced or are going to experience. Sharing the story with siblings prior to their brother or sister’s hospitalisation can help them feel less worried when they have an understanding of what to expect. Siblings may then like to re-read it during hospitalisations to feel a sense of normalcy and connection.
Child Life Therapists will often use photographs of the child and family to personalise the story. It may include photos of the physical environment or the equipment that they may see. The social stories are also often strengths-based focusing on positive attributes of the child and their ability to achieve. They also provide a sense of normalcy for the child who is facing unfamiliar experiences. When written in the first person, social stories give a voice to the child who may be unable to verbally communicate or who does not have the language to express or explain their journey.
Social stories are a powerful tool that provide opportunities for learning, normalising, language development, processing and reframing. In a medical context, they help children and siblings prepare for and process unfamiliar and often scary experiences. We can never underestimate the power of a story.
Kate Strickland has a background in Occupational Therapy and Education and has been a Child Life Therapist working with infants, children and young people in the cardiac space for many years at the Royal Children’s Hospital. Seeing the gap in service provision pre and post hospital, she started the organisation Healing Hearts Beyond to provide a community-based Child Life Therapy service to support infants and children along with their families in managing the stresses associated with procedures, hospitalisations and medical trauma.
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