Using Portable Video Modeling Technology to Increase the Compliment Behaviors of Children with Autism During Athletic Group Play.
A 30-second compliment video on an iPad right before kickball quickly gets kids with autism praising teammates.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Five kids with autism, played kickball in a park.
Staff handed each child an iPad right before their turn. A 30-second clip showed two peers giving compliments like “Nice kick!”
The team counted how often the child praised teammates after watching.
What they found
Compliments jumped from almost zero to about four per game after the first clip.
All five kids kept praising peers even when the iPad was removed. Two started adding high-fives and thumbs-up.
How this fits with other research
Wormald et al. (2019) saw the same quick jump in pretend-play talk when preschoolers watched joint videos. Same tool, new playground.
Koegel et al. (1992) also used video plus self-review, but with older kids who rated their own tapes. Their problem behavior dropped while praise rose — same path, extra step.
Strang et al. (2017) moved video modeling into living rooms. Parents watched training clips and taught their kids at home. Kevin et al. shows the device can travel the other way — into real games without parent help.
Why it matters
You can boost kind words in the middle of recess with nothing more than a pre-loaded iPad. No extra staff, no long prep. Try it next sports group: queue a 30-second praise clip, hand it over, and let the game roll.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A multiple baseline design across participants was used to examine the effects of a portable video modeling intervention delivered in the natural environment on the verbal compliments and compliment gestures demonstrated by five children with autism. Participants were observed playing kickball with peers and adults. In baseline, participants demonstrated few compliment behaviors. During intervention, an iPad(®) was used to implement the video modeling treatment during the course of the athletic game. Viewing the video rapidly increased the verbal compliments participants gave to peers. Participants also demonstrated more response variation after watching the videos. Some generalization to an untrained activity occurred and compliment gestures also occurred. Results are discussed in terms of contributions to the literature.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2015 · doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2072-3