The New Social Story Book, Revised and Expanded 15th Anniversary Edition. Carol Gray

      In Appreciation: The People of

      Social Stories^™ History

      I initiated the Social Story^™ approach nearly twenty-five years ago. Since then, I have met thousands of wonderful, talented, interesting people. I am very impressed by the company that Social Stories^™ keep. This book is the sum of their efforts, and I am grateful to each of them. Here, I’d like to describe the contributions of a few of them. I believe they are excellent representatives of the people—from all walks of life and all areas of Planet Earth—who write, read, or support Social Stories^™—and add to their history each day.

      Eric and Tim. Separated by fifteen years and 150 pounds difference in their silhouettes, Eric and Tim were both on my consultant caseload as the school year began in the fall of 1990. Eric was close to leaving his program at the high school; Tim was entering kindergarten. Eric and Tim never met, yet they each played an important role in Social Story^™ history. A conversation with Eric caused me to see things from a far more accurate perspective; it was a paradigm shift. I was determined to put what I had learned from Eric into practice. One week later, I wrote the first Social Story^™ for Tim. In my time, I’ve had many teachers; to date, however, Eric and Tim have been the most influential.

      My husband, Brian. In the fall of 1990, I was having a lot of success writing stories for students on my caseload. To say I was hesitant to share that success with others is definitely an understatement. Despite my many protestations, which sprang from my innate shyness, my husband, Brian, encouraged me to share the success of Social Stories^™ with others. The result was the first presentation on Social Stories^™ in Indianapolis, Indiana. There was plenty of interest in my presentation, but I hid in my hotel room for the remainder of the conference. Two complete days of room service! Brian has been my coach—and, as always, my best friend—throughout the unique twists and turns of Social Story^™ history.

      Joanna Carnes and Barrett Gray. Brian and I are blessed with two incredible children, Joanna and Barrett. They definitely know—and are a big part of—Social Story^™ history. Looking back, I’m impressed by their patient, calm support.

      Joanna’s maiden name is Gray, of course. She is now married to Mark, and they are the parents of our grandson, Ryan. Joanna may not realize this, but her comments have helped to bring this book to completion. At a critical point in the development of the manuscript, I was beyond overwhelmed; there were too many Stories, not enough minutes in the day—and too many other demands. Joanna listened to my frustration and, with a calm confidence that I will never, ever forget, she said, “You have to set some limits. Sometimes, you just have to say, ‘That doesn’t work for me right now.’” Suddenly, I saw them: the things that did not work alongside the goal of completing this project. I am very grateful to her, and I have been happily saying, “That doesn’t work for me,” (at the right times, of course) ever since. She’s right. It works.

      My son, Barrett, attended some of my earliest presentations. I remember one in particular, in Albuquerque. Barrett had the stack of evaluations in hand as we drove north from the conference. A hazy purple thunderstorm framed the horizon. Barrett was reading the comments on the evaluations to me. The majority of them were great, but it was the critical statements I took to heart. Praise didn’t count. Barrett decided to throw the evaluations with negative comments into the back seat. Don’t get me wrong—I value constructive criticism and feedback. But whenever I encounter criticism that I think is especially undeserved, in my mind I see a crumpled piece of paper, heading for the back seat, illuminated by flashes of lightning against a purple evening sky. Years later, over a glass of wine in a local bar, Barrett transformed the original Social Story^™ ratio into the current Social Story^™ Formula.

      Joy Garand and Edna Smith, Ph.D. After the first presentation on Social Stories^™ in Indianapolis, I met Joy Garand, a young special education teacher from Ohio, and Edna Smith, Ph.D, at the time Director of Missouri’s Project ACCESS. Joy had attended my Indianapolis presentation, and she wrote to me a few months later to share her success with Social Stories^™. I remember being surprised—not only did Social Stories^™ work for me in Michigan, they were now working in Ohio, too! Joy and I co-authored the article, “Social Stories^™: Improving the Responses of Students with Autism with Accurate Social Information,” and Edna helped us submit it to the journal Focus on Autistic Behavior, where it was published in 1993. Meeting Joy and Edna led to the formal introduction of Social Stories^™ to the field of autism.

      Dr. Tony Attwood was one of the earliest professional supporters of Social Stories^™. Tony contacted me for feedback on a portion of his new manuscript, titled, Asperger’s Syndrome: A Guide to Parents and Professionals. He wanted to be sure that his description of Social Stories^™ was accurate. Just as I had been surprised by Joy’s success with Social Stories^™,