Social Stories can help pupils with autism and other learning needs understand situations, skills, and concepts. Here we share Social Stories created by The Watson Institute, an education organization in America. We have made adjustments to make the stories more appropriate for UK pupils, but some or the stories are designed to be customized for a particular pupil. The Watson Institute’s full collection of stories can be found here.

Health Stories

Using the toilet – A short story about using the toilet correctly. [Word Doc]

Germs and your health – Facts about bad germs, good germs, and not getting sick. [Word Doc] [Powerpoint]

What goes in your mouth – Customisable information about what is safe and what isn’t. [Word Doc]

I am special and so is my body – Appropriate and inappropriate touching, including discussion of “private places.” [Powerpoint]

Behaviour Stories

Fidget rules – Facts and advice about fidgeting and not touching things. [Word Doc]

Green words and red words – Appropriate, polite language and how mean words make people feel. [Word Doc] [Powerpoint]

It’s too loud – What to do when things are noisy, very good for young pupils. [Word Doc] [Powerpoint]

Quiet please – Very simple discussion of being quiet in the classroom. [Word Doc]

Keep hands out of pants – While the original uses pants to mean trousers, could be adapted or used as-is in schools. [Word Doc]

Listening to my body – Identifying and communicating excess energy or when a situation is hard. [Word Doc]

My hands are not for hitting – Including discussion of good things hands can do. [Word Doc] [Powerpoint]

Use my words – Reminders about communication. [Word Doc]

Situation Stories

Sometimes I feel sad – Simple information about sadness. [Word Doc]

Sometimes things change (iCarly) – An example of using a pupil’s special interest in a social story, describes change. [Word Doc]

Sticky thinking – Short discussion of fixation or obsessive negative thinking. [Word Doc] [Powerpoint]