Social Narratives vs Social Stories: Differences

If you work in special education, you have probably seen both terms: social narratives and social stories. They are often used as if they mean the same thing, but they are not quite interchangeable. Understanding the difference helps you choose the right tool and talk clearly with other teachers, therapists and families.

The short answer

Social narratives is the broad category: any short, visually supported story or description that explains a social situation and what to do in it. Social stories (specifically Carol Gray’s Social Stories™) are one well-known, carefully defined type of social narrative, with specific criteria for structure, voice and sentence types.

In other words: every social story is a social narrative, but not every social narrative is a social story.

What is a social narrative?

A social narrative describes a situation, highlights the important social cues, and often suggests an appropriate response. It is usually written from the learner’s perspective, kept short, and supported with pictures, photos or other visuals.

Social narratives are recognized as an evidence-based practice for autistic children and young people. The National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice includes social narratives in its list of evidence-based practices. That is one reason the term appears so often in IEP goals and professional training.

What is a social story?

A social story, as defined by Carol Gray, is a social narrative that meets a specific set of criteria. Its goal is to share accurate information in a way that feels safe and respectful. It has a title, introduction, body and conclusion, uses a patient and positive voice, and describes much more than it directs: at least two describing sentences for every sentence that coaches a response.

Read our guides on what a social story is and the Carol Gray criteria for more detail.

Other types of social narratives

Besides social stories, several other formats fall under the social narrative umbrella:

Comic strip conversations. Simple drawings with speech and thought bubbles that show what people say and what they might be thinking. Useful for explaining a conversation that went wrong.
Power Cards. A short scenario featuring the learner’s special interest or hero (a favorite superhero, train or animal) showing how to handle a situation, plus a small card summarizing the steps.
Social scripts. Specific words to say in a situation, such as “Can I play with you?”, often practiced through role play.
Cartooning and visual sequences. Step-by-step pictures that show what happens and in what order.
Video narratives. Short videos, sometimes featuring the learner, that show the situation and the expected behavior. This overlaps with video modeling.
Situation-specific stories written informally by teachers or parents, which may not follow every social story criterion but still explain a situation clearly.

How to choose

To explain an upcoming event or a confusing situation calmly: a social story.
To help a learner understand what others were thinking in a conversation: a comic strip conversation.
To motivate a learner through their special interest: a Power Card.
To teach the exact words for a specific moment: a social script.
To show the steps of a routine: a visual sequence or a video.

Many professionals combine formats, for example reading a social story about a birthday party, then practicing a short script for saying “Happy birthday” and “Thank you”.

Common mistakes with social narratives

Turning them into rule lists. A narrative that only lists dos and don’ts loses its value. Describe the situation and the reasons first.
Using them as consequences. Reading a story right after a meltdown can make the learner associate it with being in trouble.
Writing generic stories. The learner’s name, real photos and real details make a big difference.
Never updating them. Revise the narrative when the situation changes or the learner has mastered it.

Getting started

You can write a social story from scratch, adapt one of our free printable social stories, or use the free social story generator to create a personalized first draft in seconds. The social story template gives you sentence starters that keep the describe-more-than-direct balance.