Canberra Museum and Gallery is committed to supporting children with different learning needs. We have developed a Social Story to help visitors prepare for their visit to our exhibitions and programs.

What are social stories?

Social stories explain social situations to people with autism and other learning needs to help them understand ways of behaving in these situations. These stories are sometimes called social scripts, social narratives or story-based interventions.

Social stories do this by explicitly pointing out:

• details about the setting and environment
• things that typically happen in that setting
• the actions or behaviour that are typically required from children in the setting.

This can help children pick up on cues and learn how to adapt and respond to these cues in unfamiliar places. It might also help children learn new skills for other social situations.

The story is written using language to match the age and skill of the child. The story can be a print book or an e-book. It can include photos or illustrations.

Source: raisingchildren.net.au/autism/therapies-guide/social-stories