Social Stories were devised as a tool to help individuals with ASD better understand the nuances of interpersonal communication so that they could “interact in an effective and appropriate manner”. Although the prescribed format was meant for high functioning people with basic communication skills, the format was adapted to suit individuals with poor communication skills and low level functioning; the evidence shows. However, it is difficult to assess whether the concept would have been successful if it had been carried out as designed. Social stories are being used, though, in targeted ways to prepare individuals for social interaction and to prepare individuals with autism for public events. Social Stories are a concept devised by Carol Gray in 1991 to improve the social skills of people with autism spectrum disorders; the objective is to share information, through a description of the events occurring around the subject and why. Social stories are used to educate and as praise, they can be told by parent, a social worker or school psychologist.

Social stories model appropriate social interaction by describing a situation with relevant social cues, other's perspectives, a suggested appropriate response. About one half of the time, the stories are used to acknowledge and praise successful completion of an accomplishment. Social stories are considered a type of social narrative. Individuals with an ASD have significant impairments in the social domain as defined by the nature of the diagnosis as cited in the DSM-IV; the social impairment may include, but is not limited to, the use of body language, play skills, understanding emotions, social communication ability. There is a great emphasis placed on the importance of teaching social skills to individuals with an ASD as it has been identified as one of the best indicators of positive long-term outcomes. According to Attwood, “A social story is written with the intention of providing information and tuition on what people in a given situation are doing, thinking or feeling, the sequence of events, the identification of significant social cues and their meaning, the script of what to do or say.

It breaks down a challenging social situation into understandable steps by omitting irrelevant information and by being descriptive to help an individual with an ASD understand the entirety of a situation. It includes answers to questions such as who, when and why in social situations through the use of visuals and written text. Social Stories are used to teach particular social skills, such as identifying important cues in a given situation; the goal of a Social Story is to reveal accurate social information in a clear and reassuring manner, understood by the individual with an ASD. The improved understanding of the events and expectations may lead to a change in behavior, although it is suggested that the goal of a Social Story should not be to change individual behavior. Social Stories use a defined style and format. In the initial version, four types of sentences were used, along with a basic sentence type ratio. Control, co-operative and partial sentences types have been added to the model.

While the primary mode of presentation of Social Stories remains written text, other formats have been trialled with younger children and people with intellectual disabilities. Such formats have included singing, apron story-telling, computer-based presentations. There are seven sentence types. Descriptive sentences: are truthful and observable sentences that identify the most relevant factors in a social situation, they answer "why" questions. Perspective sentences: refer to or describe the internal state of other people so that the individual can learn how others' perceive various events. Directive sentences: presents or suggests, in positive terms, a response or choice of responses to a situation or concept. Affirmative sentences: enhances the meaning of statements and may express a shared value or opinion, they can stress the important points, refer to a law or rule to reassure the learner. Control sentences: identifies personal strategies the individual will use to recall and apply information.

They are written by the individual after reviewing the Social Story. Cooperative sentences: describe; this helps to ensure consistent responses by a variety of people. Partial sentences: encourages the individual to make guesses regarding the next step in a situation, the response of another individual, or his/her own response. Any of the above sentences can be written as a partial sentence with a portion of the sentence being a blank space to complete. Social Story ratio: Two to five cooperative, perspective, and/or affirmative sentences for every directive or control sentence, it was suggested that this method should be used with only higher functioning individuals who possess basic language ability. To accommodate differences in ability, one sentence per page paired with pictures could help individuals concentrate on one concept at a time while the pictur

The 2019 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football team represented Gardner–Webb University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Carroll McCray and played their home games at Ernest W. Spangler Stadium, they were members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 1 -- 5 in Big South play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. On November 24, 2019, Carroll McCray was fired, he finished with a record of 27–53; the Runnin' Bulldogs finished the 2018 season 3 -- 2 -- 3 in Big South play to finish in fourth place. In the Big South preseason poll released on July 21, 2019, the Runnin' Bulldogs were predicted to finish in fifth place; the Runnin' Bulldogs had three players selected to the preseason all-Big South team. Source