Teaching social perception skills to adolescents with autism and intellectual disabilities using video‐based group instruction

Stauch et al. (2018) tested video-based group instruction in a public high-school classroom. Five teens with autism and intellectual disability watched short clips of peers demonstrating social-perception skills. The class met daily for a few weeks. Skills included reading facial expressions and noticing social cues. A multiple-baseline design tracked each teen across three target behaviors.

Four of the five students learned the skills and kept them two weeks later. Some teens also used the skills in a different classroom without videos. The fifth student needed extra teaching trials. Overall, the package worked for most kids with minimal extra help.

Maddox et al. (2015) ran almost the same setup and got mixed results: only three of four students kept the skills, and generalization was shaky. The 2018 study looks like a successful replication, showing the package can work if you tighten procedural details.

Sasson et al. (2022) added peer mediation at recess. They also saw big gains for kids with autism and ID, proving the video idea travels beyond the classroom.

Gilmore et al. (2022) reviewed sixteen group social-skills trials. Their meta-analysis backs the 2018 result: teens with autism usually improve, but real-life social participation gains stay small. The single-case data and the group-data now tell the same story.

You can run this in any high-school room with a projector and willing peers. Show two-minute clips, then have students practice immediately. Track each kid with simple frequency sheets. If one student stalls, add extra models or live coaching. The low cost and high social validity make VGI a first-line tool for adolescents with ASD and ID.