Effects of a video modeling intervention on social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have persistent deficits in social communication and interaction, including social skills. Video modeling is an instructional method that uses video recordings and display equipment to provide visual models of targeted skills. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of video modeling on social skills in three children with level 2 and 3 ASD. This study utilized a multiple baseline across-participants design to evaluate the percentage of independently completed steps of the two social skills: greeting others and sharing items. Researchers found video modeling effectively improved the greeting of others in all three children, and two of the three children benefited from sharing items. However, none of the children met the mastery criteria for the two social skills during the maintenance and generalization conditions. Caregivers’ opinions regarding the social validity of the interventions were positive. These findings have important implications for special education teachers and caregivers.