Using video Social Stories™ to increase task engagement for middle school students with autism spectrum disorders.

Four middle-school students with autism sat in general-ed classes. Teachers showed each kid a short video Social Story before class. The story matched why the child usually tuned out.

Researchers filmed the students during class for six weeks. They counted how long each kid stayed on task.

Every student’s time on task jumped after watching the matched video. Gains held for the whole study.

Kids who escaped work got a story about asking for breaks. Kids who wanted attention got a story about raising their hand. Matching the reason worked best.

Kassardjian et al. (2014) found teaching interaction beats plain Social Stories. The difference: Alyne taught brand-new social skills. F et al. boosted staying on task with a quick video primer.

Camilleri et al. (2024) moved the idea onto phones. Their app helped younger verbal kids and autistic girls most. Same digital story idea, wider age span.

Lde Leeuw et al. (2024) let parents and the teens write the stories themselves. Engagement still rose, even without a teacher running the show.

You can make a 90-second video tonight. Film the classroom, add simple captions: “I can ask for a break with my card.” Show it at the door. Match the function you saw on the FBA and you may see immediate on-task gains in middle-school gen-ed rooms.