Using Video Modeling Plus a System of Least Prompts to Teach People With Intellectual Disability to Participate in Faith Communities.

The team filmed short clips that show each step of taking part in a worship service. They used a chest-mounted camera so the video feels like the viewer’s own eyes.

Three adults with intellectual disability watched the clips. After each clip, staff gave only the help needed—this is called a system of least prompts.

The goal was to see if the adults could learn to find a seat, stand for songs, and drop money in the collection plate. Skills were first tested in a fake church room, then at real Sunday services.

All three adults quickly reached 80–a large share correct steps in the practice room. They kept the skills when they went to actual church.

Two of them needed no extra help after four Sundays. The third needed only a gentle elbow tap.

Parents reported their sons now sat through the whole service without loud questions or walking out.

Petry et al. (2007) used video modeling alone for social play in kids with autism. Victoria et al. added least prompts and moved the same idea to faith settings for adults with ID.

Wilson et al. (2020) also mixed video modeling with prompts for cooking skills in teens with ASD. Both studies found faster mastery than prompting alone, showing the combo works across ages and tasks.

Piraneh et al. (2022) swapped social stories for video clips when teaching toothbrushing. The faith study swaps social stories for video clips when teaching church routines. Together they say: if the task is physical and sequenced, video beats a story.

Many families skip worship because they fear stares or meltdowns. A two-minute POV video plus light prompting can change that. You can film your own clips in any house of worship—pews, kneelers, hymnals—and teach the steps before Sunday. The learner arrives already knowing what to do, dignity intact, family included.