Teaching autistic children conversational speech using video modeling

Efficacy of the Video Modeling Technique as a Facilitator of Non-invasive Dental Care in Autistic Children: Randomized Clinical Trial

This study aims to evaluate the video modeling technique during the dental appointment. A blinded randomized clinical trial was composed of 2 groups, consisting of 20 autistic children (4 to 12 years) in each group: control (did not watch the video before the consultation) and intervention (watched the video before the consultation). The primary outcome was the mean number of visits to perform a dental appointment. The number of consultations was analyzed by T-test or Mann-Whitney test. The results showed that the mean number of consultations in the intervention group was 1.5 (± 1.53) and in the control group 2 (± 1.77) (p ≤ 0.05). The video modeling technique can be effective in minimizing the number of dental consultations in autistic children.

Increasing Social Communication by Teaching Texting to Autistic Children

Objectives

In the present study, we increased the social communication of four autistic children by teaching texting conversation skills on smart phones.

Methods

A multiple baseline design across two dyads was used to assess the texting conversation intervention, with additional generalization probes taken across texting partners and FaceTime® sessions. One-month maintenance probes were also assessed.

Results

All four participants increased their conversational texting, and their conversation content was novel. Generalization across texting partners occurred, and skills were maintained. Appropriate verbal content spoken during FaceTime® probes was also observed.

Conclusions

Results are discussed in terms of the potential benefits of teaching autistic children social communication through text.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Childhood Apraxia of Speech Among Children With Autism: Narrative Review and Clinical Recommendations

PURPOSE

Treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and low verbal ability is a largely neglected area of study. Existing research focuses on language abilities; however, a subset of children with ASD also has speech sound disorders (SSDs). The purpose of this tutorial is to provide clinicians with evidence-based recommendations to guide speech assessment and treatment among children with ASD, low verbal ability, and suspected childhood apraxia of speech (CAS).

METHOD

Multifaceted search procedures were used to identify studies that have assessed or treated speech sound production among children with ASD. A narrative review and synthesis of the literature is followed by practical clinical recommendations based on best available evidence.

CONCLUSIONS

It is critically important to consider all possible hindrances to the development of functional communication ability for children with ASD. Speech sound production has been identified as a key predictor of expressive language outcomes, yet there are very few studies that address assessment and treatment of SSDs among children with ASD. Less is known about the presentation of CAS among children with ASD and low verbal ability. More research is needed to determine whether existing speech assessment and treatment methods are appropriate for children with ASD, if modifications are needed, or if new methods should be designed.

Through the Looking Glass: A Scoping Review of Cinema and Video Therapy

Background: Cinematherapy and video treatments are artistic therapeutic techniques by which the individuals are exposed to their psycho-physical difficulties through the stories of the characters on the screen who are coping with the same issues that the patients are. Although these techniques are increasingly common within modern art therapies, there are neither comprehensive classifications of the different approaches nor agreement on their effectiveness. We performed a scoping review, describing different methodological approaches and outcome measures in cinematherapy and video treatments.

Methodology: We searched articles in PubMed, PsycINFO and Google Scholar. We included: (i) articles in which subjects were treated for their difficulties with videos or films, (ii) articles written in English. Review articles and papers describing a research protocol without data collection were not included.

Results: We analyzed 38 studies. Thirty-six reported a positive effect of the treatment. Seven studies used classical cinematherapy, adopting a qualitative approach to measure the therapy outcome. Thirty-one studies used different video treatments, 8 of which were defined as randomized controlled trials with specific objective therapy outcomes. Studies were mainly focused on behavioral and psychological difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Schizophrenia.

Conclusion: Studies using video treatments more often rely upon structured experimental designs; on the contrary, those who used classical cinematherapy produced descriptive results. A more standardized methodological approach in terms of experimental design, procedure, and objective outcome measure is needed to provide evidence on the effectiveness of these techniques, promoting its application in the clinical field.

Rhythm and timing as vulnerabilities in neurodevelopmental disorders

Millions of children are impacted by neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), which unfold early in life, have varying genetic etiologies and can involve a variety of specific or generalized impairments in social, cognitive and motor functioning requiring potentially lifelong specialized supports. While specific disorders vary in their domain of primary deficit (e.g. autism spectrum disorder (social), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (attention), developmental coordination disorder (motor) and developmental language disorder (language)), comorbidities between NDDs are common. Intriguingly, many NDDs are associated with difficulties in skills related to rhythm, timing and synchrony though specific profiles of rhythm/timing impairments vary across disorders. Impairments in rhythm/timing may instantiate vulnerabilities for a variety of NDDs and may contribute to both the primary symptoms of each disorder as well as the high levels of comorbidities across disorders. Drawing upon genetic, neural, behavioural and interpersonal constructs across disorders, we consider how disrupted rhythm and timing skills early in life may contribute to atypical developmental cascades that involve overlapping symptoms within the context of a disorder's primary deficits. Consideration of the developmental context, as well as common and unique aspects of the phenotypes of different NDDs, will inform experimental designs to test this hypothesis including via potential mechanistic intervention approaches. This article is part of the theme issue 'Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology'.

Model Teachers or Model Students? A Comparison of Video Modelling Interventions for Improving Reading Fluency and Comprehension in Children with Autism

Video modelling (VM) interventions have been used to improve the fluency of individuals with learning disabilities and reading difficulties; this study aimed to replicate these findings with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) students. Four children with ASD (aged between 8 and 15) experienced two VM interventions, across 10 sessions, during an alternating treatments design: VM using a teacher model, and feedforward video self-modelling (FFVSM) where the student acted as the model. For two participants, FFVSM was found to be an effective intervention but overall, results for both interventions were inconsistent with previous research. Talking Mats Interviews were used to include these individuals within the social validation process of behavioural research.

Supporting Social Play Skill Acquisition and Generalization of Children with Autism Through Video Modeling

This study assessed the effects of portable video modeling on social interactions of four children with autism, three boys and one girl, 4- to 5-year-olds, in preschools in Iceland. Participants were shown 1-min videos on a small handheld device where a peer model initiated social interactions and played with two peers. A multiple-probe-across-participants design showed that video modeling reduced latency to social initiation and increased reciprocal play and language use per 5-min play sessions. Improvements generalized to other peers, a larger group, and to the main classroom and were maintained post intervention. These preliminary findings suggest that video modeling with a handheld device could support the acquisition and generalization of social play of preschool children with autism in natural settings.

Autism-Centered Therapy for Childhood Apraxia of Speech (ACT4CAS): A Single-Case Experimental Design Study

Purpose A subset of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has speech sound disorders, including childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). To date, virtually all speech treatment studies consider ASD an exclusionary criterion, resulting in little scientific evidence for treatment of CAS for children who also have ASD. This study proposes and tests a novel approach, Autism-Centered Therapy for Childhood Apraxia of Speech (ACT4CAS), as a theoretically and clinically informed speech treatment option for this population. Method Using a multiple-baseline design within and across participants, three children with co-occurring ASD and CAS received 11-18 treatment sessions. Treatment targets were individually designed and matched with untreated control words. Probes were administered at the start of each session to assess speech production accuracy perceptually. Changes in production accuracy were examined through visual inspection and quantified with effect sizes. Results Findings were mixed, with one child showing significant gains for half of the treated targets at follow-up and two children showing no clear improvement. Conclusions Preliminary evidence suggests potentially positive treatment effects for ACT4CAS when implemented as intended, although treatment intensity and disorder severity likely influence treatment outcome. Replication and comparison of ACT4CAS to other speech treatments is needed. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14110445.

Telemedicine Treatment and Care for Patients with Intellectual Disability

In recent years, telemedicine has been developing very dynamically. The development of new technologies allows their use in the treatment of dermatological, cardiological, endocrine and other diseases. However, there are few reports on the use of digital technologies in the mental health care of people with intellectual disabilities. Intellectual disability is a disease that affects a large number of people. Patients suffering from intellectual disability encounter barriers that make it difficult for them to fully use telemedicine, however, these barriers can be overcome with appropriate support and adaptation. A review of the literature on telemedicine solutions in the care of people with intellectual disabilities indicates that the applications support the communication of these people with the doctor, enable simple behavioral interventions, stimulate cooperation in treatment, provide simple medical education as well as record medical data for the doctor. The authors present the potential risks related to the use of telemedicine solutions for people with intellectual disabilities as well as the project of creating a new, multi-module telemedicine system.

Video Modeling and Social Skills Learning in ASD-HF

Autism spectrum disorders represent a heterogeneous group of clinical situations, and are mainly represented by a deficit of social communication. In this study, we compare two strategies to enhance communicative/social skills, namely self-video modeling and peer video modeling. The subjects were divided into two groups treated via the method of self-video modeling (group 1) or peer video modeling (group 2). For both groups of subjects affected by ASD-HF (Autism Spectrum Disorder-high-functioning), three different activities were proposed: (a) interacting with a salesperson while making a purchase, (b) initiating and maintaining a conversation with peers, and (c) starting and maintaining an enjoyable activity with a peer. The ability to rapidly accomplish the task was used as the main criteria to appraise the groups’ responses to the proposed activities. In group 1, the use of self-video modeling procedures demonstrated a faster and correct execution of the three proposed tasks (especially task 3) when compared to group 2. In group 2, the use of peer video modeling has instead led to a slower acquisition of abilities to process and perform the tasks. The use of self-video modeling speeds up the acquisition of skills to perform communicative/social tasks, compared to peer video modeling’s slower performance in subjects with ASD-HF. Results could be related to either the amount of time the subject is exposed to the task or to the capacity of ASD-HF subjects to self-value one’s own actions more than others. In our work, we have tried to reset the differences in exposure time. Therefore, self-video modeling is demonstrated to be more effective, as it produces a response to the signification/mirroring characteristic of ASD-HF.

The effectiveness of using colors in L1 and L2 vocabulary development of autistic children

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of using colors and learner’s intelligence quotient (IQ) in teaching new vocabulary in Arabic (L1) and English (L2) to children with autism spectrum disorder (henceforth, ASD).

Design/methodology/approach

To this end, 12 autistic children whose ages ranged between 7 and 12 were observed while they were being taught ten new words. The children were divided into two groups based on their IQ: Low (70–74) and High (76–79). The children were also divided into two groups: Group 1 studied the words written in a black font, whereas Group 2 studied the same words, but written in colors (each letter in the word in a different color), and an illustrative picture was provided with each word for both groups. The pictures were also different in color in the former group, while the picture was in black and white in the latter. The children involved in the study have a relatively slight ability to read letters based on an annual language assessment conducted by the center, and they learn a new word by learning its shape and by repetition. The experiment took place over a two-week period that involved teaching, revising and testing.

Findings

The results of the study showed that the children’s IQ played a crucial role in learning L1 and L2 vocabulary. The results also demonstrated that using colors had no significant impact on the children’s performance in the test. Finally, the results showed that teaching new words to children with ASD through repetition and drilling could be regarded as a useful technique. The study concludes with some recommendations for further studies.

Originality/value

The study shows that using pictures is a very useful tool in teaching L1 and L2 vocabulary to children with ASD.

"Mom Let's Go to the Dentist!" Preliminary Feasibility of a Tailored Dental Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Italian Public Health Service

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show worse oral health than their peers. Their access to health services is, at present, inadequate: few high-quality interventions have been designed and implemented to improve their care procedures so far. The purpose of this study is to describe an experience of dental care supported by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), for children with ASD in a public health service. In our study, 59 children (mean age 9.9 years; SD = 5.43) participated in the MyDentist project. It integrates classic dental care techniques with new practices for desensitization and fear control, delivered through an enhanced customized ICT-based intervention aiming at familiarizing the child with ASD with the medical setting and procedures. Two questionnaires were filled out by parents to describe the acceptability of the MyDentist experience for their children. Significant results were shown from T0 (before initiating MyDentist) to T1 (after 6 months of the MyDentist experience) regarding improved oral hygiene and cooperation during dental treatments. Families positively assessed the use of ICT support. In conclusion, the project demonstrated acceptability by parents, suggesting that public health dental care and prevention can be successfully implemented without resorting to costly pharmacological interventions (with potential side effects), taking better care of children's health.

Advances in Our Understanding of Behavioral Intervention: 1980 to 2020 for Individuals Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

There are three branches of science of behavior analysis [i.e., experimental analysis of behavior, behavior analysis, and applied behavior analysis (ABA)]. ABA can be defined as a systematic approach to understanding behavior of social interest. For the past 40 plus years, researchers have evaluated ABA and ABA based procedures (e.g., behavioral intervention) as they relate to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and have implemented behavioral intervention in clinical settings for individuals diagnosed with ASD. In this paper, we discuss some of the pivotal contributions in the field of ABA in research and clinical practice. Additionally, we provide recommendations for the science and clinical practice of behavioral intervention in the next 40 years.

A Comparison of Video Modeling and Video Prompting by Adolescents with ASD

Video-based instruction has been effective in teaching a range of skills, including functional living skills, to individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Few studies have compared the efficacy and efficiency across video modality-specifically, comparing video modeling to video prompting. Consequently, practitioners have little empirical guidance when selecting between procedural variations of video-based instruction. Using an adaptive alternating-treatments design with a baseline, we evaluated the comparative effectiveness of point-of-view video modeling and video prompting on the percentage of meal preparation tasks completed correctly and on-task behavior with 4 adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. We found video modeling to be effective and efficient in the acquisition of meal preparation skills across 3 of the 4 participants. Across participants, video prompting resulted in more errors than video modeling did. Skills generalized to an untrained location and were maintained at a 3-week follow-up. Stakeholders reported procedures, goals, and outcomes as socially valid.

Using video modeling to teach play comments to dyads with ASD

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often display deficits in social and conversational skills. One method used to improve social deficits includes video modeling. When targeting conversational skills, few studies have included individuals with ASD as conversational partners. We evaluated the effects of video modeling on commenting (i.e., scripted statements) during leisure activities with dyads of children with ASD using a multiple-probe-across-activities design. Video modeling alone was found to be effective in increasing scripted statements for 3 of 6 participants. Video modeling, tangible reinforcement, and additional prompts were necessary for the remaining participants. Results maintained 1 and 3 weeks after mastery. Procedures, goals and outcomes were reported as socially valid. Limitations and areas of future research are discussed.

Modeling Training of Child's Echoic Conversational Response for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: To Be a Good Listener

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulties in responding to conversation with verbal language. These students often repeat what they hear, and their echoic behavior has a potentially communicative function. We define the echoic behavior when an individual repeats a peer's topic word with appropriate prosody within 3 s as the child's echoic conversational response. In this study, we examined the acquisition of the child's echoic conversational response skills and whether these skills could provide and generalize natural conversation for 4 students with ASD. During the training, students were instructed to imitate the topic word that the experimenter had used in the latest conversation. Students learned the child's echoic conversational response skills and improved their conversation skills. They even showed a slight generalization for nontraining materials through trainings and improvements in responding with new verbal responses. These findings suggested that expanding speakers' repertoires for students with ASD might facilitate improvement of natural conversation skills.

Teaching conversational speech to children with autism spectrum disorder using text-message prompting

The present study was designed to teach conversational speech using text-message prompts to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in home play settings with siblings and peers. A multiple baseline design across children was used. Children learned conversational speech through the text-message prompts, and the behavior generalized across peers and settings. Maintenance of treatment gains was seen at 1-month follow-up probes. Social validity measures indicated that parents of typically developing children viewed the participants' conversational speech as much improved after the intervention. Results are discussed in terms of the efficacy of text-message prompts as a promising way to improve conversational speech for children with ASD.

The Role of Context in Psychosocial Stress among Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Piloting a Semi-structured, Videogame-based Paradigm

BACKGROUND

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterised by altered social patterns, often associated with increased stress. While puberty is associated with increased stress, there is limited research on stress response to social interaction in adolescents with ASD. The study investigated stress response to semi-structured, videogame-based interaction in adolescents with and without ASD, and the impact of puberty.

METHOD

Twelve adolescents with ASD and 12 typically developing (TD) peers participated in a semi-structured, videogame-based social interaction. Stress was measured via salivary cortisol.

RESULTS

There were no significant between-group differences in cortisol. Pubertal development was correlated with cortisol in ASD (r = -0.901, p < 0.0001), but not TD (r = 0.022, p = 0.949).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings contribute to a fuller picture of the developmental trajectories of physiological stress in ASD, including the importance of context, structure, and puberty. The current investigation underscores the necessity of incorporating varied social contexts when assessing stress and social interaction.

Increasing Opportunities for Question-Asking in School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Effectiveness of Staff Training in Pivotal Response Treatment

Deficits in question-asking are common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Furthermore, their opportunities to self-initiate questions are often hindered by directive behavior of their conversation partners. This study assessed the effectiveness of staff training in pivotal response treatment (PRT) on staff member-created opportunities and self-initiated questions of school-aged children with ASD. Generalization and maintenance were also assessed. Participants were 14 staff members and children with ASD attending an inpatient treatment facility. Data showed that PRT resulted in significant increases in both staff member-created opportunities and child-initiated questions. Generalization to group situations and collateral changes in children's language, pragmatic, and adaptive skills, and maladaptive behaviors did not occur. Implications for clinical practice and directions for future research are discussed.

Generalized Effects of Conversation Skill Training

Three high school students with severe disabilities were taught to initiate and maintain a conversation independently through a 4-min session with a communication book adaptation. Instruction occurred across a variety of school settings with several regular education students serving as communication partners. For each of the three students, an analysis of the generalized effect of conversation training revealed that conversation initiation and “turntaking” skills generalized to “conversation opportunities” in settings and with partners not included in instructional sessions. Additionally, increases in conversation skills and component behaviors (greeting and commenting) were accompanied by decreases in inappropriate social interaction behaviors.

Acquisition and Generalization of Functional Words in Community Grocery Stores Using Videotaped Instruction

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of videotaped instruction for acquisition and generalization of functional sight words used in a community grocery store. The participants were three young adults with mental retardation who attended a public high school. The young adults were taught sight words using videotaped instruction in school. Generalization and maintenance were assessed in a community grocery store. Using a multiple baseline across participants design, the intervention was demonstrated to be effective in fostering acquisition of functional words in the classroom, as well as generalization to the community site. Results were maintained after a 5-month follow-up period. Advantages of videotaped instruction for practitioners were discussed and include (a) more efficient use of teacher time, (b) increased opportunities to review and practice, (c) bringing the natural setting into the classroom, and (d) reliability of training. Future research needs include replications in a variety of other community settings, across types and degrees of disabilities, and across skill areas. The need to explore the efficacy of videotaped instruction for teaching comprehension of functional sight words is also discussed.

Using applied behavior analysis and smart technology for meeting the health needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities

OBJECTIVE

Individuals with intellectual disabilities often have special healthcare concerns such as diabetes, kidney disease, severe allergies, progressive illnesses, respiratory weaknesses, and obesity. Smart technology can be an asset for individuals with intellectual disabilities for better managing their healthcare needs.

METHODS

A critical review of the literature related to applied behavior analysis, smart technology, and health needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities was conducted.

RESULTS

This discussion paper describes factors that contribute to the successful use of smart technology for the health issues of individuals with intellectual disabilities.

CONCLUSIONS

We see key components in developing appropriate access and use of smart technology for the health of people with intellectual disabilities being: (a) systematic instructional methods for consistent and accurate use of the technology, (b) modifying the current technology for people with intellectual disabilities,

Using Video Modeling for Generalizing Toy Play in Children With Autism

The present study examined effects of video modeling on generalized independent toy play of two boys with autism. Appropriate and repetitive verbal and motor play were measured, and intermeasure relationships were examined. Two single-participant experiments with multiple baselines and withdrawals across toy play were used. One boy was presented with three physically unrelated toys, whereas the other was presented with three related toys. Video modeling produced increases in appropriate play and decreases in repetitive play, but generalized play was observed only with the related toys. Generalization may have resulted from variables including the toys' common physical characteristics and natural reinforcing properties and the increased correspondence between verbal and motor play.

Description and Preliminary Evaluation of a Curriculum for Teaching Conversational Skills to Children With High-Functioning Autism and Other Social Cognition Challenges

PURPOSE

The purpose of this clinical focus article is to provide (a) a detailed description of a school-based intervention designed to teach children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HF-ASDs) and other social cognition challenges both the how and the why of conversation and (b) a preliminary evaluation of program outcomes.

METHOD

This pilot study involved (a) qualitative and quantitative analysis of video footage of participants' conversational skills at baseline, during intervention, and postintervention; (b) interviews with participants' speech-language pathologist (third author) about individual participant progress; and (c) interviews with instructors responsible for implementing the curriculum regarding overall program effectiveness. Participants were four elementary-aged children with HF-ASDs and other social cognition challenges with deficits in expressive language and auditory processing and comprehension.

RESULTS

Analyses of video-recorded footage indicated increases for all four participants in terms of peer-directed interactions, questions asked, use of wh-words to introduce new topics and/or extend conversation on existing topics, and attempts at conversational repair. Three participants also demonstrated increased use of attention-gaining behaviors. Qualitative analysis of transcripts, as well as in-depth interviews with the participants' speech-language pathologist and other program instructors, supported these findings.

CONCLUSIONS

Preliminary findings from this pilot study suggest that providing comprehensive instruction in many of the basic components required for successful conversation, including explanations for why these components are necessary, may be a promising means of teaching children with HF-ASDs and other social cognition challenges to engage in successful peer-to-peer conversation.

Behavioral Approaches to Promoting Play

A variety of techniques grounded in behavioral psychology, and more specifically in applied behavior analysis, have been established to increase and improve play skills in children with autistic spectrum disorders. This article introduces a set of efficacious methods, which range from highly structured techniques to more naturalistic strategies. It focuses on object play as other authors in the issue discuss social play in greater depth. Behavioral techniques that are reviewed include: discrete trial training, use of stereotyped behaviors to increase play skills, pivotal response training, reciprocal imitation training, differential reinforcement of appropriate behavior, in vivo modeling and play scripts, and video modeling. A discussion of expanding behavior techniques to teach more complex play as well as training in varied environments is also presented. References are provided to allow the reader to obtain more in-depth information about each technique.

A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparison Between Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) and Adult-Driven Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Intervention on Disruptive Behaviors in Public School Children with Autism

Children with autism often demonstrate disruptive behaviors during demanding teaching tasks. Language intervention can be particularly difficult as it involves social and communicative areas, which are challenging for this population. The purpose of this study was to compare two intervention conditions, a naturalistic approach, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) with an adult-directed ABA approach on disruptive behavior during language intervention in the public schools. A randomized clinical trial design was used with two groups of children, matched according to age, sex and mean length of utterance. The data showed that the children demonstrated significantly lower levels of disruptive behavior during the PRT condition. The results are discussed with respect to antecedent manipulations that may be helpful in reducing disruptive behavior.

The Effects of the Cool Versus Not Cool Procedure to Teach Social Game Play to Individuals Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study evaluated the utility of the cool versus not cool procedure for teaching three structured indoor games to eight children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study took place as part of a social skills group for individuals diagnosed with ASD, and this study was one component of that group. The cool versus not cool procedure consisted of the teacher demonstrating each game the cool (i.e., appropriate) and not cool (i.e., inappropriate) way and having the participants provide a rationale as to why the demonstration was either cool or not cool. This was followed by giving the participants the opportunity to role-play the game in front of the group. The teachers utilized unprompted performance probes with no programmed reinforcement to create opportunities for the participants to display the targeted behavior (s). A multiple baseline design across behaviors and replicated across participants was utilized. The results indicated that seven of the eight participants mastered each of the games taught.

Improvement in Social Competence Using a Randomized Trial of a Theatre Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The efficacy of a peer-mediated, theatre-based intervention on social competence in participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was tested. Thirty 8-to-14 year-olds with ASD were randomly assigned to the treatment (n = 17) or a wait-list control (n = 13) group. Immediately after treatment, group effects were seen on social ability, (d = .77), communication symptoms (d = -.86), group play with toys in the company of peers (d = .77), immediate memory of faces as measured by neuropsychological (d = .75) and ERP methods (d = .93), delayed memory for faces (d = .98), and theory of mind (d = .99). At the 2 month follow-up period, group effects were detected on communication symptoms (d = .82). The results of this pilot clinical trial provide initial support for the efficacy of the theatre-based intervention.

An examination of the effectiveness of video modelling intervention using a speech-generating device in preschool children at risk for autism

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether preschool children at risk for autism would learn to request a preferred object using a speech-generating device (SGD) following a video modelling (VM) intervention and generalize requesting behaviours to preferred objects across stimuli and communication partners.

METHOD

A single-subject multiple baseline design across participants (n = 3) was used to assess the effects of VM intervention on requesting behaviour. Intervention consisted of having each participant view a VM of two adults demonstrating the requesting of a preferred object using the SGD. Additionally, a least-to-most-prompting technique was employed to facilitate the production of a correct response.

RESULTS

All three participants demonstrated the ability to request preferred objects following the intervention and were able to generalize the newly acquired requesting behaviour across stimuli and people.

CONCLUSIONS

Study findings indicate that a VM treatment package is effective in facilitating communication in children with little or no functional speech.

Effective Behavioural Strategies for the Defining Characteristics of Autism

The following review paper describes the outcomes of data-based behavioural intervention strategies for the defining characteristics of autistic disorder as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The results of relevant evaluations of behaviour analytic procedures are reviewed for each of the four potential areas of difficulty under each of the main criteria for autistic disorder, which are: (a) impairment in social interaction, (b) impairment in communication, and (c) restrictive, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interests, and activities (DSM-IV). The current areas of research activity as well as those domains that have received comparatively little attention by behavioural researchers are identified, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Peer-mediated theatrical engagement for improving reciprocal social interaction in autism spectrum disorder

The hallmark characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is poor reciprocal social communication. Interventions designed to improve this core deficit are critically needed. Social skills interventions such as direct training, peer mediation, and video modeling have contributed to improvements in various social skills in children with ASD. This paper reviews existing social competence interventions available for children with ASD while highlighting hypothesized critical components for advancing, maintaining, and generalizing skills, which include (1) peer mediation, (2) active learning, and (3) implementation in supportive, natural contexts. As a framework for these approaches, this conceptual paper describes SENSE Theatre, a novel intervention that combines trained peers that facilitate the performance-based theatrical treatment delivered in a supportive, community-based environment. A review of previous research shows early feasibility, setting the stage for more rigorous studies to aid in developing a standardized intervention package.

Assessing stimulus control and promoting generalization via video modeling when teaching social responses to children with autism

We taught social responses to young children with autism using an adult as the recipient of the social interaction and then assessed generalization of performance to adults and peers who had not participated in the training. Although the participants' performance was similar across adults, responding was less consistent with peers, and a subsequent probe suggested that the recipient of the social behavior (adults vs. peers) controlled responding. We then evaluated the effects of having participants observe a video of a peer engaged in the targeted social behavior with another peer who provided reinforcement for the social response. Results suggested that certain irrelevant stimuli (adult vs. peer recipient) were more likely to exert stimulus control over responding than others (setting, materials) and that video viewing was an efficient way to promote generalization to peers.

Effects of video modeling on communicative social skills of college students with Asperger syndrome

INTRODUCTION

Empirical support regarding effective interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) within a postsecondary community is limited. Video modeling, an empirically supported intervention for children and adolescents with ASD, may prove effective in addressing the needs of individuals with ASD in higher education.

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated the effects of video modeling without additional treatment components to improve social-communicative skills, specifically, eye contact, facial expression, and conversational turntaking in college students with ASD.

METHOD

This study utilized a multiple baseline single-case design across behaviors for two post-secondary students with ASD to evaluate the effects of the video modeling intervention.

RESULTS

Large effect sizes and statistically significant change across all targeted skills for one participant and eye contact and turntaking for the other participant were obtained.

CONCLUSION

The use of video modeling without additional intervention may increase the social skills of post-secondary students with ASD. Implications for future research are discussed.