Digitally-Mediated Social Stories Support Children on the Autism Spectrum Adapting to a Change in a ‘Real-World’ Context

Smith et al. (2020) tested a tablet Social Story read the day before summer-camp drop-off.

Teachers rated autistic campers’ understanding, anxiety, and goal closeness before and after the story.

No control group was used; each child served as his or her own baseline.

After one digital story, teachers saw medium-to-large jumps in understanding and calm behavior.

Kids also moved closer to the camp-goal pictured in the story.

The gains showed up in a real, noisy camp setting, not a therapy room.

Crozier et al. (2007) first showed paper Social Stories help preschoolers share and play; Smith moves the same tool to a tablet and a camp trip.

Polak-Passy et al. (2024) found mixed results with a dog-training program—some social behaviors dropped—while Smith’s story-only group improved across the board. The difference: Smith targeted one clear routine change, not complex animal interaction.

Thompson-Hodgetts et al. (2024) taught peers how to include autistic campers and saw big play gains; Smith prepared the autistic child directly. The two studies complement each other: prime the child, then prime the peers.

You can load a short Social Story onto any tablet the night before a field trip, dentist visit, or fire drill. One read-through cut anxiety and boosted understanding in a real camp. Pair this with brief peer education for an even stronger inclusion package.