Making Balboa Park museums more accessible for those with autism.

From January to December 2017, the Social Stories Spectrum Project provided a structured opportunity for high-functioning verbal young adults (ages 18-25) with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to meet up with their peers and practice social skills, participate in organized trips to seven museums in Balboa Park, and work together to create “social stories” for the museums visited.

Social stories are guides or tools to help prepare individuals with autism for social interaction and public events; in this case, a visit to a museum. Here are the social stories (in English and Spanish) for the seven participating museums.

San Diego Natural History Museum
Social Story English (PDF) / Spanish (PDF)

Fleet Science Center
Social Story English (PDF) / Spanish (PDF)

San Diego Museum of Art
Social Story English (PDF) / Spanish (PDF)

Museum of Man
Social Story English (PDF) / Spanish (PDF)

Japanese Friendship Garden
Social Story English (PDF) / Spanish (PDF)

San Diego History Center
Social Story English (PDF) / Spanish (PDF)

Museum of Photographic Arts
Social Story English (PDF) / Spanish (PDF)

This opportunity was made possible in part through generous funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), National Foundation for Autism Research (NFAR), and the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership.

Learn more about the process by reading our Social Stories blog.


Funded by: imls_logo_black.jpg Supported by: Balboa-Park-Cultural-Partnership-Logo-RGB.jpg Explorer_logo.jpg nfar_logo.png