Perspective taking refers to the ability to determine mental states of others in order to explain or predict behavior. In typically developing children, this skill appears around age 4 years (Baron-Cohen, Leslie, & Frith, 1985), but it is delayed or absent in children with autism. In the present study, video modeling was used to teach perspective taking to three children with autism. A multiple-baseline design across children and within child across tasks was used to assess learning. Generalization across untrained similar stimuli was also assessed. Video modeling was a fast and effective tool for teaching perspective-taking tasks to children with autism, resulting in both stimulus and response generalization. These results concurred with previous research that perspective taking can be taught. Unlike other studies, however, wider ranges of generalization were found.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alcantara, P.R. (1994). Effects of videotape instructional package on purchasing skills of children with autism. Exceptional Children , 61, 40—55.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington DC: Author.
3.
Baron-Cohen, S. (1989). The autistic child's theory of mind: A case of specific developmental delay. Journal of Child Psychiatry , 30, 285—297.
4.
Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A.M., & Frith, U. (1985). Does the autistic child have a “theory of mind?” Cognition, 21, 37—46.
5.
Chandler, M., Fritz, A.S., & Hala, S. (1989). Small-scale deceit: Deception as a marker of two-, three-, and four-year-olds' early theories of mind. Child Development, 60, 1263—1277.
6.
Charlop, M.H., & Milstein, J.P. (1989). Teaching autistic children conversational speech using video modeling. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 22, 275—285.
7.
Charlop-Christy, M.H., & Kelso, S.E. (1997). How to treat the child with autism: A guide to treatment at the Claremont Autism Center. Claremont, CA : Claremont Autism Center.
8.
Charlop-Christy, M.H., Le, L., & Freeman, K. (2000). A comparison of video modeling with in vivo modeling for teaching children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, 537—552.
9.
Dunn, L.M., & Dunn, D.M. (1997). Peabody picture vocabulary test: Third edition . Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
10.
Fantz, R.L. (1964). Visual experience in infants: Decreases in attention to familiar patterns relative to novel ones. Science, 146, 668—670.
11.
Frith, U. (1989). Autism: Explaining the enigma. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
12.
Gopnick, A., & Slaughter, V. (1991). Young children's understanding of changes in their mental states. Child Development, 62, 98—110.
13.
Happe, F.G.E. (1994a). An advanced test of theory of mind: Understanding of story characters' thoughts and feelings by able autistic, mentally handicapped, and normal children and adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 129—154.
14.
Happe, F.G.E. (1994b). Wechsler IQ profile and theory of mind in autism: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 35, 1461—1471.
15.
Happe, F., Ehlers, S., Fletcher, P., Frith, U., Johansson, M., Gillberg, C., et al. (1996). “Theory of mind” in the brain: Evidence from a PET scan study of Asperger syndrome. Neuroreport: An International Journal for the Rapid Communication of Research in Neuroscience , 8, 197—201.
16.
Ihrig, K., & Wolchick, S.A. (1988). Peer versus adult models and autistic children's learning: Acquisition, generalization, and maintenance . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 18, 67—79.
17.
Matson, J.L., & Swiezy, N. (1994). Social skills training with autistic children . In J. L. Matson (Ed.), Autism in children and adults: Etiology, assessment and intervention (pp. 241—260). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
18.
Ozonoff, S., & Miller, J.N. (1995). Teaching theory of mind: A new approach to social skills training for individuals with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 25, 415—433.
19.
Perner, J., Frith, U., Leslie, A.M., & Leekam, S.R. (1989). Exploration of the autistic child's theory of mind: Knowledge, belief and communication. Child Development , 60, 689—700.
20.
Schopler, E., & Mesibov, G. B. (Eds.). (1983). Autism in adolescents and adults. New York: Plenum Press .
21.
Schreibman, L. (1988). Autism. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
22.
Siegler, R.S. (1986). Children's thinking. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Simon and Schuster.
23.
Stokes, T.F., & Baer, D.M. (1977). An implicit technology of generalization. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 349—367.
24.
Swettenham, J. (1996). Can children with autism be taught to understand false belief using computers?Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 157—165.
25.
Taylor, B.A., Levin, L., & Jasper, S. (1999). Increasing play-related statements in children with autism towards their siblings: Effects of video modeling. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 11, 253—264.
