The use of video‐based instruction to promote independent performance of physical activity skills in students with developmental disabilities in a school and community setting

Abstract

School psychologists are well-positioned to assist practitioners in engaging students in physical activity (PA) which can increase student access to improved well-being and associated health benefits. This may be of particular importance for adolescents with moderate to severe developmental disabilities (DD; autism and intellectual disability) who display various deficits in performing PA skills. Previous research suggests video-based instruction (VBI) effectively facilitated independence associated with PA skills in people with DD, however, additional research is warranted. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree a VBI impacted acquisition of skills in individuals with DD at school, and, subsequently, in a community setting. Multiple probe design was used to assess the effect of the intervention in four participants. The results indicate the intervention was effective in teaching three participants to perform the circuit in the school setting and transfer the skills to the community setting; however, maintenance was variable. Implications related to practice for school psychologists, teachers, and other practitioners, as well as, limitations and future research directions are discussed.

An exploration of a physical activity intervention in a community fitness setting for adolescents with autism

“…The previous research exploring the Exercise Buddy app found independence increased but was limited to much fewer exercises (two or three, Bassette et al., 2018; five, Bassette, Weissmann et al., 2020; and six, Bassette et al., 2021). Furthermore, the ability of the participants to create their workouts in the Exercise Buddy app in this study and maintain independence across the phases of the study provides additional support for the use of the video‐prompting to teach this skill as was found in the previous research (Bassette, Dieringer et al., 2020; Bassette, Weissmann et al, 2020; Bassette et al, 2021).…”

“…Previous research explored the use of the Exercise Buddy app's features in conjunction with other behavioral components (e.g., prompting, reinforcement, and incremental increase of criteria) and found physical activity skills increased across various settings including: school and community (Bassette, Dieringer et al., 2020), home and community (Bassette et al., 2018), and community only settings (Bassette, Weissmann et al., 2020; Bassette et al., 2021). Participants reported that they enjoyed using the app to learn physical activity skills; however, the number of physical activity skills explored in this preliminary research was limited (e.g., Bassette et al., 2018 only included two or three exercises).…”

Using Simple Interactive Technology to Help People with Intellectual and Visual Disabilities Exercise Functional Physical Responses: A Case Series Study

“…Various intervention programs have been suggested for reaching this goal. Many of those programs were based on the use of staff supervision and prompts to support the participants' activity engagement with or without the involvement of exercise devices (e.g., treadmills and stationary bicycles) [14][15][16][17][18][19]. Other programs were based on the use of interactive technologies, that is, technologies monitoring the participants' activity engagement and responding to it with the delivery of positive (potentially motivating) stimulation [7,[20][21][22][23].…”

Programs Using Stimulation-Regulating Technologies to Promote Physical Activity in People With Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities: Scoping Review

“…Different types of intervention programs have been suggested for this purpose. A number of those programs, for example, were based on the use of staff, parents, or caregivers' supervision and prompts for guiding the participants through various forms of activity, which could also involve the use of exercise devices (eg, treadmills and stationary bicycles) [18][19][20][21][22][23].…”