etadd_47(3) - Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities

Accordingly, recent research has investigated
the possibility of teaching play skills to
children with autism given the potential benefits
of improved language development. For
example, one study with a randomized control
group design used a developmental sequence
to teach play through scaffolding and adultdirected
prompting with language as an outcome.
This method required the instructor
to identify the child’s current level of functioning
within identified developmental sequences
and then target intervention in a developmentally
appropriate sequence (Kasari,
Freeman, & Paparella, 2006). The child’s play
repertoires were assessed on an adaptation
of Lifter’s Developmental Play Assessment
which is based on longitudinal descriptive
studies of unstructured and structured play
among children without disabilities (Lifter,
Sulzer-Azaroff, Anderson, & Cowdery, 1993;
Lifter, 2000) and was modified by Kasari et al.
(2006) for children with autism. Significant
improvements in both play and language
skills were observed. Clearly, teaching play
has potential for improving not only play development
but for language development as
well.
Barton and Wolery (2008) recently reviewed
the literature on interventions for promoting
pretend play in children with disabilities.
Only 16 studies were found (ten studies
with a focus on autism), the methodologies
were varied, and samples sizes were all below
ten with the exception of one study (Kasari et
al., 2006). The theoretical viewpoint of each
study was not identified in the review and the
review authors state that the studies did not
describe the teaching procedure with replicable
precision. All 16 studies, however, appeared
to use some combination of physical,
modeling, or verbal prompting of pretense
behaviors. They also used prompting hierarchies,
scripts, and typical models, and only
one study used video modeling.
Video modeling has been shown to be effective
in teaching a wide variety of skills to
children with autism. Video modeling typically
involves the child being shown a videotape
of a model engaging in the targeted behavior
that the child is assisted and prompted
to subsequently imitate. The videotape is usually
edited to focus on specific behaviors, and
repeated clips of the same model or multiple
exemplars of the behavior are shown. Discrete
trial sessions are used, followed by generalization
probes and periodic reviews of the models
as necessary (Hine & Wolery, 2006). Instruction
using video modeling has been
shown in one case to be more effective than
live, or in vivo, modeling (Charlop & Milstein,
1989). Researchers have advanced a number
of theories for the efficacy of video modeling
as an instructional technique for children with
autism. Some reasons may be that video modeling
plays to typical strengths of children with
autism (including their strong memory and
visual skills) (Charlop & Milstein). It has also
been theorized that eliminating the social
context associated with in vivo modeling (and,
as suggested by Stahmer, Ingersoll, and
Carter, 2003, avoiding failure by children who
do not learn from social interactions) allows
children with autism who have sensory and
attention issues and are easily distracted, to
filter out extraneous stimuli (Zihni & Zihni,
2005). Many children with autism like audiovisual
displays and readily attend to them, so
simply watching the video models may also
result in intrinsic reinforcement (Paterson &
Arco, 2007).
Video modeling may also have some structural
advantages in that it allows the exact
same, carefully selected model to be systematically
repeated, avoiding accidental deviations
in an in vivo environment. This increases the
predictability and controllability of the model.
Further, a wide range of models (peers, siblings
and adults) can be used repeatedly and,
if needed (as in the case of self-modeling),
filtering for the most correct models can occur
spontaneously and immediately. McCoy
and Hermansen’s (2007) literature review of
the type of model used in videos for teaching
children with autism concluded that adults,
peers, and self modeling all could be effective
in producing positive results. Video modeling
also allows for a wide range of naturalistic
settings and environments that would be impossible
or impractical to reproduce in a
clinic or school setting. Video modeling also
enhances generalization of the targeted skill
through the use of multiple models featuring
the same stimuli across a variety of naturalized
contexts, persons and environments (Charlop-
Christy & Daneshvar, 2003; Haring, Kennedy,
Adams, & Pitts-Conway, 1987). Finally, video
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