Effects of Joint Video Modeling on Unscripted Play Behavior of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Three preschoolers with autism watched short clips of two kids playing pretend together.

After each clip, the children got to play with the same toys while teachers stayed quiet.

The team counted how many new, unprompted play words each child said during free play.

All three kids started using more pretend-play words right after the videos.

Their new talk stayed high even when the videos stopped, showing the skill stuck.

Kids also used the words with new toys and new classmates, not just the video set.

Gotham et al. (2015) used written scripts to spark peer talk; D et al. swapped paper for video and still saw gains.

Macpherson et al. (2015) showed iPad clips during kickball and boosted compliments; this study used the same video trick but aimed it at indoor pretend play.

Strang et al. (2017) later taught Brazilian parents to run video modeling at home, proving the idea can travel beyond classrooms.

You can add joint video modeling to circle time in under five minutes. Just film two kids sharing a toy script, hit play, then hand over the props. No extra staff, no laminated cards, and the pretend talk keeps rolling after the screen closes. Try it next week if you want richer peer play without adult cues.