Teaching complex social skills to children with autism; advances of video modeling

Although there has been a corresponding explosion of literature regarding the treatment of the social deficits in autism, the establishment of more complex social behaviors still remains a challenge. Video modeling appears as one approach to have the potential to successfully address this challenge. Following an introduction to modeling that constitutes the basis of this procedure, the current paper explores those video modeling studies that have targeted the promotion of complex social skills. It is suggested that this approach could be an effective addition to peer-mediated treatment procedures, especially for children with autism who cannot always be in environments where peers are present. Further, the likely success of video modeling seems to be dependent upon the prior elimination of behaviors that interfere with the development of imitation skills

Behavior analytic methods

Behavior analysts typically conceptualize social skills as behaviors, or series of behaviors, that mediate the responses of others. As such, practitioners may assess and teach social skills using the principles of learning derived from operant conditioning (e.g., positive reinforcement). In the current chapter, we first discuss the conceptualization of social skills from a behavior analytic standpoint. That is, social skills are behaviors that are evoked by environmental stimuli and reinforced by others. Next, we describe behavioral assessments that may be useful to conduct prior to teaching social skills to children such as task analysis, preference assessment, and functional assessment. Finally, we review teaching strategies that may be adopted by practitioners to teach the social skills identified by assessments. These strategies include prompting, fading, chaining, shaping, and discrete trial training. We also discuss how to adapt reinforcement schedules to teach social skills and present multiple methods to promote the generalization of the newly learned skills

Generalized effects of video modeling on establishing instructional stimulus control in children with autism: Results of a preliminary study

Video modeling has been suggested as a powerful treatment tool that has concentrated on increasing a variety of skills in children with autism. However, it has rarely been examined as a behavioral procedure for eliminating kinds of behaviors (e.g., noncompliance), a target that is often included in children’s support plans. The present study provides preliminary effects of video modeling on establishing instructional stimulus control over a simple behavior (cleaning up a toy) that required the termination of an ongoing activity. Three children with autism participated, and experimental control was accomplished using a multiple-baseline-across-subjects design. The results showed that this procedure can be effective for children with lower baseline levels of disruptive behaviors and more developed imitation skills. Successful responding generalized across stimuli and subjects and was maintained at a 1-month follow-up assessment. Specific guidelines for building video modeling into real teaching situations are also discussed

Using Constant Time Delay and eCoaching to Teach Employment Skills to Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability in a Community Work Environment

The goal of secondary education is to prepare students for greater levels of independence, especially in the areas of continued education and community employment. However, despite underlying potential, young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and comorbid intellectual disability (ID) are vastly underrepresented in the area of post secondary employment. This could be attributed to the unique characteristics and learning needs of these students, or it may be a function of the lack of effective, evidence-based teaching practices, implemented with fidelity. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness and participant perceptions of implementing the constant time delay (CTD) procedure, using a four second delay interval between presentation of the stimulus and providing a controlling prompt, when teaching students with ASD and ID during community-based instruction (CBI). Additionally, eCoaching, using bug-in-ear (BIE) technology, was used to coach the teacher interventionist. A multiple probe design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of the CTD with eCoaching intervention package on participants’ ability to independently sort and arrange clothing in sequential order by size in a local department store. The procedural fidelity of the teacher interventionist implementing CTD while receiving eCoaching, which consisted of real-time praise and corrective feedback, also was measured. Utilizing eCoaching while applying the CTD procedure resulted in consistently high rates of procedural fidelity. Correspondingly, the results demonstrated that young adult students rapidly acquired, generalized, and maintained the newly learned sorting skills up to three weeks post-intervention. All participants highly rated the CTD with eCoaching intervention package in terms of its effectiveness and desire for continued teaching and learning use of the procedure. Last, the discussion focuses on implications for practical application and future research

Developmental dyslexia: specific phonological deficit or general sensorimotor dysfunction?

Dyslexia research is now facing an intriguing paradox: it is becoming increasingly clear that a significant proportion of dyslexics present sensory and motor deficits; however, as this “sensorimotor syndrome” is being studied in greater detail, it is also becoming increasingly clear that sensory and motor deficits will play only a limited role in a general causal explanation of specific reading disability

Evaluation of three methods for teaching intraverbals to children with language delays

Direct instruction is often necessary to develop language or expand language use in individuals with language delays. Previous research has begun to identify certain training conditions that result in more efficient use of instructional time devoted to language development. Specifically, incorporating mands into the instructional arrangement, increasing the quality of reinforcement delivered for interspersed tasks, and including instructive feedback stimuli into the consequences of learning trials have all demonstrated more efficient learning of targeted language skills. The purpose of the current investigation was to compare three methods for teaching intraverbals (i.e., conversation skills) to individuals with deficits in this area. Specifically, mand to intraverbal transfer of control, mand interspersal, and instructive feedback conditions were compared using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across stimuli and multiple probe design. If mastery criteria for instructive feedback stimuli were not met, direct instruction was initiated for those intraverbals. In addition, generalization and maintenance probes were conducted to test for acquisition of symmetrical intraverbal behavior and retention of intraverbals over time, respectively. Training conditions incorporating mands into instruction did not result in faster acquisition of intraverbals relative to the instructive feedback condition. Two out of three participants acquired new intraverbals related to the instructive feedback stimuli; however, the third participant did not acquire intraverbals presented as instructive feedback even when direct instruction was initiated. Generalization was not explicitly programmed but was observed for two participants. Finally, no single training condition was associated with improved maintenance relative to the other conditions

Best Practices for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Resource Guide for Community Partners

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) present a unique challenge, and learning opportunity for professionals. The purpose of this study was to create a comprehensive and accessible handbook to empower those who work with children and youth with ASD in a community setting. The best practices and effective intervention programs for students with ASD were researched and evaluated. Four individuals from various community agencies voluntarily participated in a Needs Assessment Questionnaire and, based on their information, a Handbook on Best Practices for Children with ASD, including a resource section was created. The theoretical framework examined for this project was based on social-cognitive theory, specifically Bandura's (1986) theory of triadic reciprocity and reciprocal determinism. This theory places emphasis on the fact that behaviour must be evaluated in the course of normal development, and that what may be appropriate for an individual at one age or point in time, may not be at another. Once the handbook was complete, an Evaluative Questionnaire was circulated to determine its effectiveness and overall benefits in practice for community partners in the field. The results of this questionnaire contributed to a final copy of the handbook. Implications for future research were considered and the limitations of this study were examined

Virtual reality and naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder

© 2021 The Author(s).Background: Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI) have been evaluated as the most promising interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder. In recent years, a growing body of literature suggests that technological advancements such as Virtual Reality (VR) are promising intervention tools. However, to the best of our knowledge no studies have combined evidence-based practice with such tools. Aim: This article aims to review the current literature combining NDBI and VR, and provide suggestions on merging NDBI-approaches with VR. Methods: This article is divided into two parts, where we first conduct a review mapping the research applying NDBI-approaches in VR. In the second part we argue how to apply the common features of NDBI into VR-technology. Results: Our findings show that no VR-studies explicitly rely on NDBI-approaches, but some utilize elements in their interventions that are considered to be common features to NDBI. Conclusions and implications: As the results show, to date, no VR-based studies have utilized NDBI in their intervention. We therefore, in the second part of this article, suggests ways to merge VR and NDBI and introduce the term Virtual Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (VNDBI). VNDBI is an innovative way of implementing NDBI which will contribute in making interventions more accessible in central as well as remote locations, while reducing unwanted variation between service sites. VNDBI will advance the possibilities of individually tailoring and widen the area of interventions. In addition, VNDBI can provide the field with new knowledge on effective components enhancing the accuracy in the intervention packages and thus move forward the research field and clinical practice.publishedVersio