Effects of picture prompts on the acquisition of complex vocational tasks by mentally retarded adolescents.
Short video clips on a tablet can speed up social skill learning for some preschoolers with autism, but not every child needs them.
01Research in Context
What this study did
McLean et al. (1983) asked if short video clips on a tablet could help preschoolers with autism learn social skills faster. They used picture prompts on the tablet to guide each child through play and greeting tasks. Four children took part in a multiple-baseline design across kids.
What they found
Two children learned the social skills faster when the tablet showed brief video models. The other two learned just as quickly with only picture prompts. Overall, the study found positive results for using video-enhanced activity schedules.
How this fits with other research
Gena et al. (2005) came before this work and showed both video and live modeling worked for teaching feelings to preschoolers with autism. Their in-home study set the stage for later tablet tests.
Wilson (2013) is a conceptual replication. In a classroom, some kids did better with video, others with live modeling. The mixed results echo the 1983 finding that video helps some, but not all, children.
Jones et al. (2014) extend the idea by showing a quick peer-video viewing can shift social responses from adults to peers. This builds on the 1983 work by moving the benefit beyond the first learning stage.
Why it matters
If you run tablet-based programs, try adding a 10-second video model before each step. Track each child for one week. If speed picks up, keep the clip. If not, drop it and stay with pictures. This simple tweak can save teaching time for some kids without hurting the others.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Social communication deficits are one of the two core characteristics demonstrated by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and require explicit instruction as soon as the deficit is discovered. The present investigation examined the use of video-enhanced activity schedules using tablet technology for teaching social interaction to children with ASD. A multiple probe across participants design was used to teach four preschool aged participants with ASD to show something they had accomplished to peers, and to demonstrate specific social conventions when doing so. An adapted alternating treatment design was also used to compare the differential effects of video enhanced activity schedules to electronic schedules without video. Two participants acquired social skills faster in the video enhanced activity schedule condition, and the other two participants learned at a comparable rate across interventions.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1983 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1983.16-417