2024 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 17-19, 2024 • Denver, CO
| Using social stories to reduce appointment-related anxiety in children
Using social stories to reduce appointment-related anxiety in children
As COVID-19 continues to impact routine social interactions and development, more young children are coming into audiology appointments with increased anxiety. Many children have had minimal social contact with outside parties for over a year, escalating their separation anxiety and “stranger danger” responses (Keluskar et al., 2021). Some of these children are experiencing delays in cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial skill development due to the closure of community-based mitigation programs such as schools, parks and playgrounds (Dubey et al., 2020; Ghosh et al., 2020).
One way to help abate anxiety experienced in unfamiliar settings is to provide patients with context and positive foreshadowing of what will take place in their appointments (Keluskar et al., 2021). Families can be provided with a generalized social story that outlines each activity that will happen during their visit with their audiologist.
A social story is a short, personalized story aimed at helping a child successfully handle a specific situation (Aldabas, 2019). Social stories accurately describe a context, skill, achievement, or concept, and are designed to provide a safe and meaningful exchange of information between all parties (Gray, 2014).
In a systematic review of 22 research articles assessing the effectiveness of social stories in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 15 studies reported a significant increase (effect size of >0.77) in participants’ social skills from baseline to intervention (Aldabas, 2019). However, the most notable conclusion is that there are no negative side effects associated with using a social story (Aldabas, 2019).
Traditionally, social stories have been used when working with individuals with ASD; however, the framework here has been broadened to support all children. This study proposes a generalized social story for audiology appointments, as well as multiple distribution platforms. During this presentation, example pages from the social story and implementation strategies will be provided.
- Describe psychosocial impacts that children may be facing surrounding their appointment(s)
- Describe the benefits of providing families with a social story prior to their appointment
- Describe ways in which story distribution can be implemented in a clinical setting
Presentation:
3353554_14838CourtneyKasin.pdf
https://youtu.be/jAm_Lqsaa0Y
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Courtney Kasin
(Primary Presenter,Author), Utah State University , courtney.kasinmann@gmail.com;
Courtney is a fourth year Doctor of Audiology student at Utah State University, currently completing her externship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH. She graduated with her BA in Communicative Disorders and Religious Studies from University of Redlands in 2018. Prior to moving to Columbus, Courtney was a student in USU’s Listening and Spoken Language and LEND programs. She is looking forward to working with the pediatric population and their families after graduation in 2022.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
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Riley Kasin
(Author), Crafton Hills College, Riley@ourkids2u.net;
Riley is an EMT student at Crafton Hills College in Redlands, CA. She’s a proud 2020 COVID high school graduate. Having worked with children and adults who have experienced anxiety and depression, Riley was excited to embark on a project that would help children attend medical appointments with less stress. She currently works at a senior living facility in Southern California and is excited to continue serving her community as a first responder after graduation.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -