Social guides

What is a Social Guide?

A Social Guide describes a situation, skill, or concept in terms of relevant social cues, perspectives, and common responses.

What is the goal of a Social Guide?

• The goal is to teach social understanding over role compliance.
• The goal is to share information, not to change behaviors.
• The goal is to describe, not direct.

Important Tips:

The individual’s needs determine the topic of the story. The individual’s perspective determines the focus of the story.

What does a Social Guide look like?

• The social story should answer “WH” questions: Who? What? Where? Why? When?
• It should be written from the first or third person perspective.
• Each Social Guide should use positive language and state desired responses positively.
• If a reference to a negative behavior is essential to the guide, it is mentioned very carefully and in general terms, as in, “Sometimes people make mistakes…”
• Each Social Guide is literally accurate, mentioning possible changes in routine and using “insurance policy” terms like “usually” and “sometimes”.