Abstract

As children grow up and spend more and more time away from home in schools and colleges, life often seems to get increasingly complicated. Autism makes the challenges they meet in these new environments even more difficult to navigate. Social Stories™ is a highly regarded strategy that parents and teachers can use to help young people with autism understand the new social situations they face during this time. Writing an effective Story takes a special set of skills, and in this fully illustrated book Dr Siobhan Timmins explains how to acquire and hone these techniques and put them into practice.

Following on from her book on writing Social Stories™ for young children, this book on the next age group up includes 160 illustrations and clear examples based on the author's own experiences of raising a son with autism. She explains how to identify the underlying issues, and articulate the key ideas so that young learners can find connections between Stories to build a greater understanding of relationships, the adult world and their own identity. The book is an invaluable guide to creating bridges between young people and the parts of life they find most difficult.

As a professional who works with young adults with autism in a day setting, I found this book very useful.
It was great to see examples of the social stories and even better to read about real life experiences the author has had with her son.

Lisa Faulkner
The context-setting, that helps further understanding of autistic thinking is superb, as are the examples of the social stories themselves. If this were a 'must-have' for every school and college, life for autistic children would be that much better.
Jude Ragan, ex-head of Queensmill School, freelance autism education specialist
Most children are able to interpret and respond to social contexts and cues in school with incredible speed and without effort. For others, like those diagnosed with autism, the events and interactions of each day hold elusive meanings and unforeseen pitfalls. Social Stories are like a magic wand that replaces confusion with information and fear with confidence, to build social competence one Story at a time.
Peter Vermeulen, PhD. Senior lecturer at Autisme Centraal, Belgium. Author of over 15 books on autism including Autism as Context Blindness, 2012
Dr Siobhan Timmins left her work as a paediatrician to help her family navigate the challenges of autism when her son was diagnosed at the age of 2. Having found success with Social Stories™ throughout all stages of her son's development and schooling, Siobhan is now an approved Satellite Trainer in Social Stories™ and offers training in the approach to parents, professionals, and NHS staff. She is also the author of Successful Social Stories™ for Young Children: Growing Up with Social Stories, and an Associated Specialist at a special school in Essex.