A Carol Gray social story uses 6 named sentence types: descriptive, perspective, affirmative, directive, cooperative, and control. The non-negotiable rule is the ratio: at least 2 descriptive, perspective, or affirmative sentences for every 1 directive or control sentence. In a 2024 community survey of 16 school SLPs, pediatric OTs, and parents (r/Autism_Parenting and r/OccupationalTherapy), 94% reported spending 30 or more minutes on a single story, and the ratio audit is the part most rushed stories get wrong.
What does each Carol Gray sentence type actually do?
Each sentence in a social story has a job. Mix up the jobs and the story drifts toward either a behavior plan (too many directives) or a description of nothing (no directives at all). The AFIRM 2025 Social Narratives Brief Packet reproduces the Gray 10.2 categories used here.
| Sentence type | What it does | Example (lunchroom) | Counts toward ratio? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Descriptive | States an observable fact about the situation | Children eat lunch in the cafeteria. | Numerator (informing) |
| Perspective | Describes what others think, feel, or notice | My friends are happy to sit with me. | Numerator (informing) |
| Affirmative | Reinforces a shared value or common rule | This is a safe place to eat. | Numerator (informing) |
| Directive | Tells the student what to try | I can try to use a quiet voice at my table. | Denominator (limit) |
| Cooperative | Names what others will do to help | My teacher will walk with me to my table. | Numerator (informing) |
| Control | Student's own self-regulation phrase | I can think of my favorite song when it is loud. | Denominator (limit) |
Numerator sentences inform. Denominator sentences command or commit. The 2:1 minimum means the story respects the student's autonomy and reads as information, not orders.
How do you audit a story for the 2:1 ratio in under 60 seconds?
This is the workflow several school SLPs in r/slp describe when they get a draft back from a teacher or an AI tool:
- Number every sentence in the draft.
- Mark each one D (descriptive), P (perspective), A (affirmative), Dir (directive), C (cooperative), or Ctrl (control).
- Add D + P + A + C. That is your numerator.
- Add Dir + Ctrl. That is your denominator.
- Numerator divided by denominator should be 2 or higher. If it is below 2, rewrite the most "bossy" directive as a descriptive ("Children walk in a line" instead of "I will walk in a line").
A common Gray-compliant pattern for a 10 sentence K-5 story: 6 descriptive, 2 perspective, 1 affirmative, 1 directive. That is a 9:1 ratio, well above the minimum.
What does a directive sentence look like when it is written well?
Gray's guidance, repeated in practitioner step-by-step guides, is to soften directives with hedge words. The student should not become inaccurate to the story on a bad day.
- Avoid: "I will sit quietly at lunch."
- Use: "I can try to sit quietly at lunch."
- Avoid: "I will not yell."
- Use: "I can use my quiet voice. If I get too loud, my teacher will help me."
The second version pairs a softened directive with a cooperative sentence. The student is never wrong; they are supported.
From the 2024 community survey: "I wish I had a template I could easily customize to change the pictures of the child or parents quickly but keep the same story." The sentence ratio is the part of that "same story" that should stay locked. Photos and student names get swapped. The Gray ratio does not.
When is a perspective sentence too much for a K-5 student?
For most K-5 students, 1 perspective sentence per page is a safe ceiling. Below kindergarten, drop to 1 perspective sentence per story and stick to feelings the student already labels (happy, sad, mad). The AFIRM Social Narratives module notes that perspective taking is a target of social narratives for ages 3 to 22, so a story can introduce a perspective the student does not yet hold. It just should not be the whole story.
What about cooperative and control sentences? Are they required?
Neither is required. Cooperative sentences are powerful when a paraprofessional or peer plays a specific role, because they make the support visible to the student ("My para will give me a 2 minute warning"). Control sentences are most useful for upper elementary students who can articulate a self-regulation tool ("I can squeeze my putty when the gym is loud"). For K-1 students, skip control sentences and use cooperative sentences instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a descriptive and a directive sentence?
A descriptive sentence states an observable fact about the situation, like "Children sit on the rug at story time." A directive sentence tells the student what to try, like "I can sit on the rug with my class." Carol Gray methodology asks for at least 2 descriptive, perspective, or affirmative sentences for every directive sentence.
What is a perspective sentence in a social story?
A perspective sentence describes what other people might think, feel, or notice. Example: "My teacher is happy when our class is calm at story time." Perspective sentences build theory of mind by showing how the situation looks from another person's point of view.
What is an affirmative sentence?
An affirmative sentence reinforces a shared value or rule already stated. Example: "This is a safe choice." or "Most students try to follow the class rules." Affirmative sentences count toward the 2:1 ratio alongside descriptive and perspective sentences.
What is the 2:1 ratio in Carol Gray methodology?
For every 1 directive or control sentence, the story should include at least 2 descriptive, perspective, or affirmative sentences. The original Gray 10.2 criteria allow 2 to 5. The point is that a social story should mostly inform, not command.
Do I need to use every sentence type in every social story?
No. Descriptive sentences are required in every story. Perspective and affirmative sentences are strongly recommended. Directive, cooperative, and control sentences are optional. A short K-5 story can be all descriptive plus one directive and still be Carol Gray methodology compliant.
Should directive sentences start with "I will" or "I can"?
Carol Gray recommends "I will try to" or "I can" rather than "I will." The softer phrasing leaves room for a student to have a bad day without the story becoming inaccurate, which is one of the 10 criteria.
Is the 2:1 ratio supported by AFIRM and NCAEP?
AFIRM and the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice (NCAEP) classify social narratives as an evidence-based practice for autistic learners ages 3 to 22, and the 2025 AFIRM Brief Packet cites Carol Gray's 10 defining criteria, including the prescriptive ratio, as the methodology standard.
One approach for school SLPs short on time is to keep a 5-tool stack: a sentence-type tally checklist (the table above), a slide template you reuse, a folder of stock photos sorted by scenario, an AI text drafter (ChatGPT, Claude, MagicSchool, or Emoquest for one-sentence-in story output), and a delivery format your district already uses (Google Slides or PDF). The Gray ratio is the only audit step that cannot be skipped.