Social Stories

Plain-English summary

This review looked at how children with intellectual disabilities or autism are supported when someone they love dies. Only six studies were found on this topic. The research shows these children often don't get proper grief support because people wrongly think they can't understand death or feel grief. The support that does exist includes talking about death, letting children participate in funerals, family help, stories, and professional counseling, but it's not well organized or consistent.

Summary by AutismInsights from published abstract.

Plain-English summary

Researchers looked at 82 Social Stories found online that help autistic children prepare for needle procedures like vaccinations. They checked if these stories followed good guidelines and included helpful coping strategies. Most stories did well at showing useful techniques like distraction and accurate information about what happens during the procedure. However, some could be improved by allowing families to customize them and including more pain management options.

Summary by AutismInsights from published abstract.

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Researchers tested whether toy robots could help teach life skills to teenagers with autism. Four teenagers learned how to make purchases by watching a programmable Lego robot act out the steps while telling a social story. All participants successfully learned the skill, meeting at least 80% of target behaviors. This suggests that combining robots with social stories might be an effective way to teach important daily living skills to young people with autism.

Summary by AutismInsights from published abstract.

Plain-English summary

Researchers studied how autistic traits affect understanding of visual stories (like comics). They tested adults on their ability to fill in gaps in visual stories and answer questions about them. People with more autistic traits showed some differences in how they processed these visual narratives, particularly in their imagination abilities. However, the effects were inconsistent across different tests.

Summary by AutismInsights from published abstract.

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Queensland dental specialists who treat children and people with special needs were surveyed about using social stories to help autistic patients during dental visits. Most (72%) found social stories helpful, especially for autistic people who need less support. While more dentists currently use paper versions, most would prefer using apps. The stories seem most helpful for autistic people with lower support needs.

Summary by AutismInsights from published abstract.

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Researchers studied how autistic children solve social problems by testing 58 children aged 6-10. They found that children who were better at identifying social problems, choosing appropriate goals, and preferring good solutions had fewer social difficulties according to their parents. The ability to identify problems was most important. These skills work together but are also separate abilities that could be targets for helping autistic children with social challenges.

Summary by AutismInsights from published abstract.

Plain-English summary

This review looked at whether behavioral therapies help autistic children take better care of their teeth. Researchers found 16 studies testing visual tools, social stories, communication systems, and phone apps. While these approaches showed some improvements in oral health, most studies had major weaknesses like missing control groups. The evidence is currently limited and more high-quality research is needed.

Summary by AutismInsights from published abstract.

Plain-English summary

Researchers compared storytelling abilities between autistic and non-autistic teenagers. They found that the ability to understand others' thoughts and feelings (called 'mentalising') was more important for good storytelling than whether a teen was autistic or not. While autistic teens had some differences in story structure, their ability to make stories make sense was similar to non-autistic teens when mentalising skills were considered.

Summary by AutismInsights from published abstract.

Plain-English summary

Researchers created special dental health information and a phone app to help parents of autistic children. The app includes stories about going to the dentist (created with help from an autistic child), tools to make your own visual schedules, and ways for dentists to send messages to parents. Both experts and parents who tested the app liked it and found it helpful.

Summary by AutismInsights from published abstract.

Plain-English summary

This study looks at children's books about autism and finds they send very different messages about autistic people. Some books promote acceptance and understanding, while others might accidentally work against it. The researchers say it's important for families to carefully choose books that show autism in a positive way. They want more research on what messages these books actually give children, with autistic people helping to lead this research.

Summary by AutismInsights from published abstract.

Plain-English summary

This study looked at whether using digital social stories (instead of traditional paper ones) could help parents and professionals feel more confident and positive about using them. 48 people tried creating digital social stories and answered surveys before and after. The results showed that people felt more confident about making and using social stories, and had better attitudes towards them after using the digital version.

Summary by AutismInsights from published abstract.