Association for Behavior Analysis International

Video modeling (VM) and video prompting (VP) interventions are considered an evidence-based practice for individuals with autism and can improve many behaviors, including daily living and social communication skills. Yet much of the research base involves researchers, rather than natural intervention agents such as caregivers or teachers, developing the videos and implementing the interventions, and further explorations of the feasibility of such strategies are needed. This symposium includes three single case experimental design studies and one systematic literature review which address these issues and provide additional insights on the latest advances in VM and VP interventions. Two intervention studies focus on caregiver developed and implemented VM and VP interventions to improve daily living skills of children, youth, and adults with autism and intellectual disabilities. Another intervention study focuses on a teacher facilitated joint video modeling intervention to improve symbolic play behaviors between preschoolers with and without autism. The systematic review analyzes the effectiveness of VP to teach daily living skills to individuals with autism and examines variables of VP strategies that may influence effects. Recommendations for research and clinical practice, as well as considerations for training natural intervention agents to create and implement VM and VP interventions, will be discussed.

BCBAs, RBTs, practitioners who conduct training of natural intervention agents such as caregivers or teachers or paraprofessionals, researchers examining video modeling or video prompting interventions in populations with autism or intellectual disabilities

Visually-based modeling procedures, such as video modeling (VM), have been identified as established, evidence-based interventions to teach daily living skills (DLS) to people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Video prompting (VP) is a form of VM in which a task is broken into discrete steps through multiple brief video clips rather than being shown in entirety through one long video. This literature review examines the effectiveness of VP in teaching DLS to individuals with ASD. It also synthesizes information about other interventions combined with VP and different video features that may affect VP effectiveness. For the broader goals of promoting independence and providing opportunities for people to improve their lives, we examined whether the learned skills were generalized and maintained. We also analyzed usability as applicable among the included studies. We reviewed 24 studies, of which 62 participants were students with ASD. A rigorous body of VP literature has been designed to teach participants a range of tasks, including cooking, washing, dressing, and shopping. A summary of results will be discussed, including limitations of the review, recommendations for future studies, and implications for practitioners.

Daily living skills are a critical domain of adaptive behavior necessary for age-appropriate independent functioning and transitioning independently into adulthood (Baker et al., 2021; Smith et al., 2012). Many individuals with IDD continue to live with their caregivers after high school, making caregivers the primary individual to teach independent living skills. The purpose of the current study is to examine the effects of caregiver-created and caregiver-implemented video prompting instruction with error correction on daily living skills with adolescents and adults with IDD. Two individuals, ages 16 and 22, with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability, participated in the study. An online tutorial was designed for caregivers to teach components of a task and how to create video clips. Each caregiver selected three daily living skills to target. During intervention sessions, a BCBA provided ongoing caregiver coaching. The caregiver instructed their child to complete the specific daily living skill by watching the video model and delivered least-to-most prompting with vocal instructions and model prompts. Results indicate that caregiver-created and caregiver-delivered video modeling is viable for teaching daily living skills to increase independence. Limitations and areas for future research will be discussed.

Video modeling interventions have been used to improve a variety of daily living skills for children with autism. This study extends the VM field of work to include parent implemented procedures with culturally and linguistically diverse populations in Turkey. We used a changing criterion design to evaluate the effects of a parent-delivered video modeling (VM) and forward chaining procedure intervention to improve the ability of children with autism to independently brush their teeth. Three parent–child dyads participated in the study. Parents’ opinions about the social validity, feasibility, and acceptability of the intervention goals, procedures, and outcome were also examined. The results indicated that the parent implemented combination of VM with a forward chaining procedure was effective in teaching the participating children to brush their teeth without any prompting. Results also showed that parents could deliver a VM intervention with high treatment integrity. Finally, parents’ opinions about the social validity of the intervention were highly positive. Replication of this approach is warranted, and implications for future research and practice are discussed.

The ability of young children to participate in symbolic play is one of the most important developmental skills, is a predictor of social abilities later in childhood, and is strongly associated with language development. For children with autism, the development of symbolic play skills is often delayed or absent, potentially creating further barriers to inclusion in play with same age peers. Therefore, interventions targeting symbolic play skills which include typical play partners that are feasibly implemented in inclusive settings are needed. A concurrent multiple baseline design across four participant/peer dyads was implemented to assess the effects of a teacher-supported, peer-mediated video modeling intervention package on the symbolic play skills of children with autism and their typically developing peers in an inclusive early childhood classroom. In addition to visual analysis, data were statistically analyzed using the non-parametric measure Tau-U. A functional relation between the intervention and increases in symbolic play actions and symbolic play verbalizations was demonstrated. In addition, a functional relation was demonstrated between the intervention and increases in the partners engaging in reciprocal symbolic play. Results generalized to novel playsets and maintained following the withdrawal of video models. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.