Successful Social Stories for Young Children (Growing Up with Social Stories™)

The media could not be loaded.  I purchased this book a few months ago as I wanted to learn more about autism.The one thing that drew me to this book was the fact it was written by a parent who's child had autism. To me that was important as I wanted to read from another parents perspective rather than an academic book.This book is one of the greatest I have read. Tha author has kindly shared the social stories that she used with her son so parents have an idea of what a social story is and how they can implement a social story with their own child.There are many social story concepts out there so it was important for me that I followed Carol Gray, the author has done this beautifully and I have a real understanding of social stories and how I can implement this for my child.The author goes through a lot of difficulties that autistic children face and how a social story can help this. The points that the author makes and relevant to a lot of autistic children and its great to hear another parents story.This book has really helped me both at home and within a school environment where we have been able to adapt the examples of a social story within this book to every day living.The book was really interesting and I was able to learn a lot more about autism which is always a bonus!I would highly recommend for anybody who needs more information about autism but from a parents perspective, and to help children within a school environment.

Thank you for writing this helpful book. My child has only recently been diagnosed with autism and, as a mum on a steep learning curve, I have found this an easy introduction to the use of social stories for young children. The section on 'understanding my child's perspective' made me cry because suddenly everything made sense. Such a clear and easy to grasp explanation of the fundamental issues. Although my daughter is in mid-primary, we are still dealing with many of the issues discussed in this book. My biggest praise comes from the authors care in presenting a writing style that is so caring and loving...and is sure not to leave scars after discussing tricky subjects. This is currently my go-to text and I shall be investing in her later books.

What a wonderful, accessible book. It is a joy to read such a knowledgeable and informed book that is clearly written with great love, understanding and insight. As a parent of a young person with ASD and as a professional working with children and adults on the spectrum I feel this book will be a well used and helpful resource for me and many of the families I work with for many years to come.Each story has an introduction which explains what information was missing for the child and why, and this builds the reader’s understanding of the child in that situation before even reading the story. The topics addressed are common right across all ages, and although particularly useful for preschool through primary age groups some of these difficulties are there in secondary students and into adulthood. Learning how to self regulate and calm down, wait patiently, and how to interrupt are ageless challenges. Phobias about handryers, babies crying and wasps are issues that many adults with autism still find challenging. I will be using it with young children, adolescents and even young adults with autism who need this social information to aid their anxiety and find calm. I look forward to the next two books in this series being released over the coming year.Caroline Bowring RGN MBACP

As a consultant psychiatrist and a parent, I found Dr Timmins book , "Successful social stories for young children", full of humanity and humour, and exceptionally helpful in understanding the difficulties that young children with ASD have in negotiating the world. The book gives step by step advice for day-to-day challenging situations, and the principles shown are applicable to other situations, also. it is beautifully written, and is based on Dr Timmins' extensive personal experience, in addition to her professional work. This book is a must have for every child psychiatric clinic and for every parent of a child with ASD. I could not recommend it more highly, and hope that further books for older children will follow.

I am delighted with this book. I have a 9 year old son with Autism and found it both easy to read and packed with enlightening information. All the stories are relevant for my son and I really appreciated the chapters on sharing the diagnosis, talking with professionals (L.A.S.T) and sibling rivalry. I will be reading it again and again.