Previous research has indicated success using Social Stories with preschoolers with mild levels of autism. The purpose of this study was to determine if Social Stories implemented in the home setting would be effective with preschool children diagnosed with moderate to severe autism. Social Stories were implemented with 3 male preschool-aged participants. Two were classified as in the moderate range and one was in the severe range of autism. A variety of socially inappropriate behaviors were addressed including inappropriate dinnertime behaviors, transitioning to bedtime, and inappropriate touching. Data revealed no significant change in target behaviors (dinnertime behaviors and transitioning to bedtime) exhibited by moderately functioning preschool children. However, data did reveal a decrease in the frequency of inappropriate touching from the child who fell in the severe range of functioning. It is not clear from the current research whether it was the severity level of autism or the types of target behaviors that may have resulted in a lack of success using the Social Story intervention.
","abstract_html":"<p> <p>Previous research has indicated success using Social Stories with preschoolers with mild levels of autism. The purpose of this study was to determine if Social Stories implemented in the home setting would be effective with preschool children diagnosed with moderate to severe autism. Social Stories were implemented with 3 male preschool-aged participants. Two were classified as in the moderate range and one was in the severe range of autism. A variety of socially inappropriate behaviors were addressed including inappropriate dinnertime behaviors, transitioning to bedtime, and inappropriate touching. Data revealed no significant change in target behaviors (dinnertime behaviors and transitioning to bedtime) exhibited by moderately functioning preschool children. However, data did reveal a decrease in the frequency of inappropriate touching from the child who fell in the severe range of functioning. It is not clear from the current research whether it was the severity level of autism or the types of target behaviors that may have resulted in a lack of success using the Social Story intervention.</p> </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Antle, Michelle Lynne"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Specialist in Education","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Department of Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Carl Myers, (Director), Dr. Melissa Hakman, Dr. Frank Kersting"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2004,"date_issued":"2004-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2004-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:09Z","subjects":["Autism","Autistic children--Rehabilitation","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1097","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Carl Myers, (Director), Dr. Melissa Hakman, Dr. Frank Kersting"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Antle, Michelle Lynne"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Specialist in Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Autism","Autistic children--Rehabilitation","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1097"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["
Previous research has indicated success using Social Stories with preschoolers with mild levels of autism. The purpose of this study was to determine if Social Stories implemented in the home setting would be effective with preschool children diagnosed with moderate to severe autism. Social Stories were implemented with 3 male preschool-aged participants. Two were classified as in the moderate range and one was in the severe range of autism. A variety of socially inappropriate behaviors were addressed including inappropriate dinnertime behaviors, transitioning to bedtime, and inappropriate touching. Data revealed no significant change in target behaviors (dinnertime behaviors and transitioning to bedtime) exhibited by moderately functioning preschool children. However, data did reveal a decrease in the frequency of inappropriate touching from the child who fell in the severe range of functioning. It is not clear from the current research whether it was the severity level of autism or the types of target behaviors that may have resulted in a lack of success using the Social Story intervention.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Use of Social Stories to Teach Social and Behavioral Skills to Preschool Children with Moderate to Severe Autism"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Carl Myers, (Director), Dr. Melissa Hakman, Dr. Frank Kersting"],"dc:creator":["Antle, Michelle Lynne"],"dc:description.abstract":["
Previous research has indicated success using Social Stories with preschoolers with mild levels of autism. The purpose of this study was to determine if Social Stories implemented in the home setting would be effective with preschool children diagnosed with moderate to severe autism. Social Stories were implemented with 3 male preschool-aged participants. Two were classified as in the moderate range and one was in the severe range of autism. A variety of socially inappropriate behaviors were addressed including inappropriate dinnertime behaviors, transitioning to bedtime, and inappropriate touching. Data revealed no significant change in target behaviors (dinnertime behaviors and transitioning to bedtime) exhibited by moderately functioning preschool children. However, data did reveal a decrease in the frequency of inappropriate touching from the child who fell in the severe range of functioning. It is not clear from the current research whether it was the severity level of autism or the types of target behaviors that may have resulted in a lack of success using the Social Story intervention.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1097"],"dc:subject":["Autism","Autistic children--Rehabilitation","Psychology"],"dc:title":["The Use of Social Stories to Teach Social and Behavioral Skills to Preschool Children with Moderate to Severe Autism"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Psychology"],"thesis:degree_name":["Specialist in Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:09Z"}