Some children and people with complex communication needs have difficulty understanding the different social situations they face on a daily basis. Failure to understand expectations from the environment and social rules in situations such as waiting in line, going home or behavior in the store leads to undesirable behaviors of the child or person. There are certain strategies that have been shown to be useful for fostering understanding of social situations in children with autism spectrum disorder and children with other developmental disorders. The most well-known intervention that provides direct access to a social situation that is challenging for a child or a person and offers possible acceptable behavior in a certain situation is social stories.

The Ponašalica application is designed in a format that enables the description of different social situations through visual support in the form of graphic symbols or photos. As challenging situations are specific to a specific user, they can be created in the application and each segment of the situation can be accompanied by a symbol and a sound recording. In Ponašalica, there are three specific social situations that have proven to be demanding for children with autism spectrum disorder. When describing new stories, you should use language that is compatible with the linguistic understanding of the child or person for whom the description is intended, and use positive statements (eg avoid I won't/I can't).

Did you know that...

Describing social situations that are challenging for children and people with autism spectrum disorder helps the environment to better understand their perspective.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder learn more easily when information is presented to them through pictures and text.

In the description of the social situation, there are also possible acceptable behaviors that provide structure and reduce anxiety for a child or a person with a disorder on the autism spectrum.