Video modeling imitation training to support gestural imitation acquisition in young children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Children with autism struggle to imitate, and this lack of imitative ability is related to the severity of autism symptoms. Teaching children with autism to imitate is a necessary component of intervention as poor imitation ability affects development in a variety of areas including play skills, social skills and language skills. The purpose of this research was to determine whether there is a functional relation between video modeling imitation training (VMIT) and increased gestural imitation in young children with autism. Secondary analyses of collateral gains, specifically language development, gesture, and play skill acquisition, after exposure to VMIT was also conducted. Results indicated that two out of three participants demonstrated an immediate, increased frequency in imitation of gestures viewed on an iPad. All three participants showed gains in receptive language and gestures before treatment. Expressive language and play skills increased for two out of three participants.

The effects of an educational program based on modeling and social stories on improvements in the social skills of students with autism

“…The educational program based on SS, AVM, and VSM was found to be effective in improving greeting and self-introducing skills for all participants with HFASD in the experimental group, who demonstrated statistically significant differences in the post-test of the ASSP, whereas the monitoring group did not show any improvements. Furthermore, the teachers provided examples of how the participants with HFASD greeted others, saying “Hi = Marhaba, Salam,” or introduced themselves by mentioning their “names, age, grade, and school.” The results of our study support previous findings, where improvements in greeting skills were associated with the combined use of SS and VM ( Kagohara et al., 2013 ; Uzuegbunam and Wong, 2018 ), of VM alone ( Cardon, 2013 ; Kouo, 2018a ; So et al., 2016 ), or solely SS ( Samuels and Stansfield, 2012 ; Amin and Oweini, 2013 ; Karayazi et al., 2014 ). Similar findings ( Acar et al., 2016 ; Radley et al., 2017 ) in the context of teaching or improving self-introducing skills for individuals with ASD are encouraging.…”

“…(2019) examined the effects of using VM to develop joint attention and social engagement; according to their results, five out of six participants showed significant improvement in the targeted skill. VM has proven effective in improving conversation skills, such as extending and joining a conversation, responding to others ( Stauch et al., 2018 ), greeting skills ( Kouo, 2018a , Kouo, 2018b ), eye contact and turn-taking ( Özerk, 2015 ), facial expression ( Axe and Evans, 2012 ; Mason et al., 2012 ), sharing an interest with others and making a request ( Wilson, 2013 ), gesture skills ( Cardon, 2013 ; So et al., 2016 ), and personal hygiene skills ( Keen et al., 2007 ).…”

Do as I’m Doing: Video Modeling and Autism

“…In 2011, Cardon and Wilcox demonstrated that VM to teach object imitation was effective for children with ASD as young as 20 months of age. Further, very young children with ASD responded to VM used to teach object imitation, self-help skills, gestural imitation, and verbal imitation (Cardon 2012(Cardon , 2013. Given the wide age ranges of children who respond to VM and the rapid response times that have been reported, introducing it as an early technique to support skill development is recommended.…”

Tapping into Technical Talent: Using Technology to Facilitate Personal, Social, and Vocational Skills in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

“…ESM approaches have proliferated, taking many forms, including video modeling and virtual reality (Cardon 2013;Cardon and Wilcox 2011;Grynszpan et al 2008;Pennington 2010;Ploog et al 2013). Video modeling, which provides videotaped examples of models (self, peers, adults, and Disney characters) demonstrating various behaviors, has been used widely.…”