Carol s Club Custom Social Stories Resources Created by Carol Gray for Members

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1 Carol s Club Custom Social Stories Resources Created by Carol Gray for Members Proper Names and Pronouns in Social Stories Note: For ease of reading, this article uses male pronouns in reference to both males and females. THE REQUEST I received a Request from Explorer, a Carol s Club member. Explorer lives in the United Kingdom, which explains the different spelling of some words in her communication with me. While working with a team of professionals, Explorer became concerned about the tone of stories that they had developed for clients in their care. Her is below, followed by my response. Hi Carol, Yesterday I was working with staff in a Mental Health Hospital which has various types of provision for people with autism, including secure units. Most of the staff are new, with elementary knowledge and experience in autism. There are also Speech Therapists and Forensic psychologists in the group. Their clients are adolescents with severe learning difficulties who cannot read.

2 The staff write many Social Stories. We encountered a question that we are hoping you can answer. Recognizing that second person statements never appear in Social Stories, as in You live at 56 Bridge Street, can you use the proper name of the person who will be reading the Story instead, for example, Greg lives at--, or Greg will try to-? Many of the clients do not use or understand the use of pronouns. Instead, they refer to themselves with their proper names, in the third person. This creates an issue for the staff when they develop stories for the clients. The staff are concerned that using pronouns in a story like I for example will be confusing; that their clients will think that the author of the story is referring to himself. Instead, the staff follow the language usage of their clients and write stories that use proper names in self-reference. Key influential figures in the organization promote this approach, and it is widely used by the staff. As I listened to some of the stories, I found that many of the statements that begin with the client s proper name sound like strong directives. The stories certainly did not have the positive and reassuring atmosphere that is the hallmark of Social Stories. I did not like it! What say you, Carol? If a Social Story audience does not understand the use of pronouns, is it okay to use the proper name of the person who will be reading the Story, as in Greg lives at Greg will try to-----? We d like your input! Explorer THE PROJECT Dear Explorer, I'm with you - I not a fan of the tone of a story that reads like: Greg lives in Dorchester, England. Greg lives at 56 Bridge Street. Greg will try to remember his house address is 56 Bridge Street.

3 It doesn t sound like a Social Story. It reads a bit like a caffeinated to-do list! On the other hand, Social Story authors always consider the abilities, learning style, and preferences of the Story audience (the adolescent clients in this mental health hospital), and the staff are writing stories for clients who do not understand the use of pronouns. It s a bit of a Social Story dilemma, isn t it? Is it possible to write for someone who doesn t use pronouns while protecting the heart of Social Stories at the same time? What follows is my (short and to the point) answer, followed by a discussion with additional detail. Answer If a Social Story audience does not understand or use personal pronouns, using a proper name in place of "I" in first-person statements is one way to ensure that the text makes sense is meaningful for the audience of the story. It s important to keep in mind that this applies only to sentences written in the first-person voice. Using the proper name of the audience (Charlie, Jamie, Stephanie, etc.) in an otherwise third person perspective sentence undermines the patient and reassuring quality that is the heart of every Social Story. In short, it s okay to use the proper name of the audience in place of the pronoun I in first-person perspective statements, as long as they are used judiciously alongside efforts to teach understanding and practical use of pronouns. I encountered unforeseen implications and discoveries in developing this answer. They are relevant to how we write Social Stories in general. For that information and more, read on. Discussion Explorer s question is interesting! What initially seemed like a straightforward response on my part, developed surprising twists and turns on closer review. First, the hospital staff expressed concern that - since many of their clients do not use personal pronouns - they (the clients) will think that I in a story refers to the author. If a client does not understand the meaning of personal pronouns, it would seem that he will not think that the Social Story author is using a pronoun in self-reference. I think that all

4 we can say for sure is that if we use I in a story, the client may be likely to miss or misinterpret our intended meaning in any one of a number of ways. Second, since *second person statements are not a Social Story option, the staff feel that their only alternative is to use their clients proper names in third person statements. I appreciate this thinking, but if "Greg lives on Bridge Street" is written in the third person voice, it is someone else talking about Greg, not Greg referring to himself. The staff are not writing in the third person voice as they claim. The third person voice plays an important role in a Social Story. It protects audience self-esteem and makes it possible to consider story content from an emotionally safer vantage point. To use a Social Story workshop example, it's the difference between "I often interrupt" and "Many children make mistakes with interrupting." Third person statements have the greatest potential for providing a Social Story with the required patient and reassuring tone (fifth criterion). Placing (what is intended for the audience as) the first-person voice at the beginning of an otherwise third person statement undermines the potentially supportive and therapeutic aspects of the third person voice. Once that happens, there goes the patient and reassuring tone that is required by the fifth criterion; the very heart of a Social Stories that you felt was missing from the stories you reviewed. Using Greg's proper name - regardless of the reason - which in this case is because it is the only vantage point that he understands - is closer to the first-person voice. Close but not typical. A sentence written in the first-person that uses a person s proper name in self-reference is atypical. It s an atypical first-person statement. It s ok, just not typical. To children, adolescents, or adults who do not understand pronouns, the atypical firstperson voice may be the most logical and meaningful way to convey meaning. In the sentences and examples that you sent with your , atypical first-person sentences are used exclusively throughout their stories for both **Coaching and Descriptive sentences. In over twenty years, I've never seen this done. Even Stories for very young children contain both first and third person sentences. This protects the reassuring and patiently descriptive tone. Historically we've allowed the use of a proper name in place of "I" for audiences who consistently refer to themselves with their proper

5 name. In those cases, the sentences in question were most often Coaching Sentences, not Descriptive Sentences. The number of Coaching Sentences is limited in a Social Story. I often suggest withholding Coaching Sentences in favor of reviewing a Story a few times with the audience first, to determine if they are needed. If they are, I encourage authors to use the proper name - if it is required - and pronoun (perhaps in parentheses) to introduce its use, as in Greg (I) will try to learn my home address. By doing so, a Social Story teaches more than just the story topic, staying within the requirement for sound story construction and text that is meaningful for the audience. A few final side notes: The examples in your are from a story about learning one s address. A reminder to never trust a Social Story in place of adult supervision, and always be conscious of how context, including a variety of social and emotional factors like anxiety in a real-time situation, may impact previously learned concepts and skills. There are many other safety concepts and skills related to a person s home address. To name just a few: 1. Do you give your address with anyone who asks? 2. There are several ways that someone who needs to know your address may ask for it, for example, Where do you live? versus What s your address? 3. If you are unsure of what is being asked of you by people you don t know or do know what should you do? I sincerely hope that my answer is helpful to you and the Mental Health Hospital staff. I welcome and look forward to any additional questions or comments. All the Best, Carol *Second-person statements never appear in a Social Story. This is to protect the unassuming, unbiased, and supportive quality that is inherent to the approach. According to the 5 th Criterion, a Social Story contains only first and third person statements. Thus, if a story has sentences like, You should eat broccoli because it s

6 healthy or You just need to go outside when the fire alarm goes off it is not a Social Story. **According to the most recent Social Stories 10.2 Criteria, every Social Story contains Descriptive Sentences with an option to include Coaching Sentences. Descriptive Sentences patiently share unassuming, accurate information about many relevant aspects (both external and internal) of a given topic or context. Coaching Sentences describe a suggested response or list of possible courses of action, for the story audience or those working on his behalf. Carol Gray All rights reserved. Exclusive permission is granted to Carol s Club Members to download and print document for their direct use on behalf of those in their care. Compliance contributes to the resources required for the success and continuation of Carol s Club and is appreciated by the author.

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