Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions

The identification of efficient teaching procedures to address deficits in imaginative play skills, which are commonly seen in children with autism, is a challenge for professionals who are designing treatment programs. In the present study, video modeling was used to teach play skills to a preschool child with autism. Videotaped play sequences included both verbal and motor responses. A multiple-baseline procedure across three response categories (having a tea party, shopping, and baking) was implemented to demonstrate experimental control. No experimenter-implemented reinforcement or correction procedures were used during the intervention. Results indicated that the video modeling intervention led to the rapid acquisition of both verbal and motor responses for all play sequences. This procedure was shown to be an efficient technique for teaching relatively long sequences of responses in relatively few teaching sessions in the absence of chaining procedures. In addition, the complex sequences of verbal and motor responses were acquired without the use of error-correction procedures or explicit experimenter-implemented reinforcement contingencies.

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.

We examined the use of computer video models and video rewards to teach generative spelling to a child with an autism spectrum disorder. In Phase 1, Ana viewed video models of her teacher writing target words. After Ana wrote the words correctly, she watched videos of play routines unique to each training word. Ana rapidly learned to spell three five-word sets based on pictures and dictation. In Phase 2, Ana learned to spell four novel words (e.g., lore and tock) that were based on the elements of five words learned in Phase 1 (e.g., tore and lock) and arranged into a teaching matrix of three beginning consonants and three word endings. In Phases 3 and 4, Ana learned to spell subsets of four three-by-three matrices, then immediately proved capable of spelling the remaining words in each matrix. Ana also succeeded on generalization and maintenance tests at home and school throughout the study. Generative spelling thus may be derived from a teaching package that (a) involves video models and rewards and (b) arranges opportunities for learning to recombine initial consonants and word endings. Ana's proficiency in spelling helped her acquire literacy skills commensurate with her general school placement.

Video self-modeling (VSM) is a promising intervention to teach new skills and improve the use of existing skills in young children with autism. VSM includes observation and imitation of one's self on videotape that records specific desirable child behaviors. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of VSM for training young children with autism to make spontaneous requests in school settings. Four young children with autism participated. Experimental control was demonstrated using a multiple-baseline design across participants. Introduction of VSM led to a large increase in requesting behavior in all four children. VSM was effective in causing an increase in spontaneous requesting in young children with autism.

If many people with disabilities are to experience the benefits of positive behavior support (PBS), personnel in human service settings must be well versed in the values and practices of this approach. We describe a curriculum and methodology used to train supervisors in aspects of PBS on a statewide basis. The curriculum incorporated values of person-centered planning, ecologically valid practices, and principles of adult learning in conjunction with competency- and performance-based training. Selected components of the curriculum were initially evaluated experimentally with 12 supervisors. Observations during role-play activities and on-the-job applications indicated that the supervisors acquired the skills addressed in the training. Subsequently, the entire curriculum, which targeted 26 sets of skills related to PBS and involved 4 days of classroom training and 1 day of on-the-job training, was implemented with 386 supervisors across the state of South Carolina. Eighty-five percent of the supervisors successfully completed the training by demonstrating pre-established mastery-level performance for each set of skills. Acceptability measures suggested that all the trainees found the training useful, and 99.6% reported that they would recommend the training to other personnel. Results of the project are discussed in terms of the importance of training supervisors as one component of a systems-change process to enhance the practice of PBS on a large-scale basis.

Previous research has suggested that children diagnosed with autism have severe social deficits that require active intervention. As such, the current study investigated the effectiveness of peer and individual social skills training for a preschooler diagnosed with autism. The goal of the training was to increase the rate of reciprocal social interactions. Results indicated that the frequency of appropriate initiations and responses did increase and that these changes were socially valid (a) as measured by expert ratings of change and (b) in comparison to typical peer-to-peer social behavior. Results are discussed in terms of their applicability to classrooms serving children diagnosed with autism.

This article describes a family-wide prevention approach to positive behavior support (PBS) interventions during a period of potential crisis for a family with a child with autism. Specifically, the mother in this family was to have major invasive surgery that would require extensive time for recovery. Past functional assessment data and anecdotal evidence indicated that lack of predictability, structure, supervision, and systematic behavior supports all contributed to problem behaviors in this family. As a result, a multicomponent intervention plan was implemented to prevent such problems. The procedures included the following elements: (a) priming intervention, (b) stakeholder meeting, (c) coordination of services and schedules, (d) family-wide PBS plan, and (e) ongoing support. The outcome of this intervention was that the child with autism and her siblings showed decreases in their disruptive behaviors (as opposed to the expected increases), and the family experienced other family-wide collateral positive effects from this proactive intervention approach.