Social Story Builder
Make simple picture stories that prepare a child or adult for what is about to happen. Read them on screen, then print a booklet. Free, and your photos never leave your device.
- Describe what will happen rather than giving instructions. "I sit in the chair" reads more gently than "Sit in the chair".
- Write in the first person, in the words the reader actually uses.
- Keep one idea on each page, in one to three short sentences.
- Stay positive and factual. Name the feeling, then name what helps.
- Use photos of the real place, the real person and the real chair wherever you can. Familiar pictures do most of the work.
- Read it together before the event, calmly, more than once.
Free for personal, classroom and therapy use. Printed pages on the free tier carry a small footer credit and a very light diagonal watermark. Premium removes the watermark and adds a commercial licence for selling or publishing what you make.
How to use the Social Story Builder
- Pick a starter template, or begin with a blank story and give it a title and the reader's name.
- On each page, choose a picture. Tap the picture box to pick a big emoji from the categorised list, or upload a photo from your own phone or computer.
- Write one to three short sentences per page in the text boxes. Add, reorder or delete pages until the sequence matches what will really happen.
- Click Reading mode for a full screen, one page at a time viewer with big Next and Back buttons and optional read aloud. Reading mode is free and unlimited.
- Choose full page or half page booklet, pick A4 or Letter, then click Print story for a clean black on white booklet.
Why use ZillaKit's social story maker?
A social story is a short, calm, first person description of a situation: what happens, in what order, and what the person can do if it feels difficult. Support workers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, teachers and parents use them widely in autism support, and they help anyone who finds new experiences, changes in routine or unfamiliar places hard to predict. The format is simple, but making one usually means fighting a word processor, hunting for clip art, or paying for an app just to print six pages.
This free printable social story builder turns that into a few minutes of work. Every page is a big picture and one to three short sentences in large friendly text, which is exactly the shape a good story needs. The curated picture library covers feelings, people, places, health and care, school, home routines, getting around, food, play and signs, so you can build a first draft without leaving the page. When you are ready to make it personal, you can create a social story with your own photos: the real waiting room, the real hairdresser, the real school gate. Photos are read straight into the page with the browser's file reader and stay on your device, so nothing is uploaded and no account is needed.
Six starter templates are written in proper social narrative style, descriptive and positive rather than instructional, and every word is editable. Save as many named stories as you like in this browser, and export any story to a JSON file to back it up, move it to another computer or share it with a colleague who can import it in one click. Reading mode gives you a full screen viewer with progress dots and an optional read aloud voice for one page at a time. Printing produces a proper booklet: one page per sheet for younger readers, or two per sheet with a cut and fold guide for a pocket sized version that travels in a bag to the appointment.
What makes a good social story
Keep the sequence honest. If the wait is usually twenty minutes, say so, because a story that promises something the day cannot deliver stops being trusted. Describe rather than command, so the story explains instead of nagging. Use the reader's own vocabulary, name feelings plainly, and always finish on a calm, achievable ending. Read the story well before the event rather than in the car park, and read it more than once. If a page causes worry every time, change that page.
FAQ
Is this social story maker free?
Yes. Building, saving, editing and reading stories on screen is free and unlimited, and there is no signup. Printing is free too. Free printed pages carry a small footer credit and a light watermark, which Premium removes along with adding a commercial licence.
Can I use my own photos in a social story?
Yes, and it is usually the best option. Tap any picture box and choose "Upload a photo" to use a picture of the real place or person. The photo is read by your browser, resized to keep saved stories small, and stored only in this browser. It is never uploaded to a server.
Are the starter templates suitable for autistic children?
The six templates cover common situations such as going to the doctor, getting a haircut, starting at a new school, plans changing, loud and busy places, and washing hands. They are written in first person, descriptive, positive language, and every sentence is editable so you can match the reader's own words, routine and support needs.
How do I print a social story booklet?
Choose "Half page booklet, two per sheet" and your paper size, then click Print story. Each sheet holds two story pages with a dashed cut and fold guide between them, so you can fold or cut and staple a small booklet. Full page mode prints one large page per sheet instead.
Where are my stories saved?
In your browser's local storage on this device, under names you choose. Clearing site data or using a different browser will not show them, so use Export JSON to keep a copy of anything important, and Import JSON to bring it back.
Does the read aloud voice work on every device?
Read aloud uses the speech voices already built into your device or browser. Most modern phones, tablets and computers include one. If yours does not, the read aloud button is simply hidden and everything else works normally.