Using video modeling to teach siblings of children with autism how to prompt and reinforce appropriate play
A quick homemade video taught typical siblings to prompt and praise play, lifting appropriate play for most of their autistic brothers or sisters.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked: Can a short video teach brothers and sisters to help their autistic sibling play better?
They filmed a two-minute clip that showed a typical kid giving play prompts and praise.
Three sibling pairs watched the video at home. Researchers then counted how much appropriate play happened during regular playtime.
What they found
Two of the three autistic children started playing more appropriately right away.
Their brothers and sisters kept using the prompts and praise without any extra rewards.
The third child showed smaller gains, but the video still taught the typical sibling what to do.
How this fits with other research
Glugatch et al. (2021) later swapped the video for a full behavioral-skills-training package plus a parent support group. They saw bigger play gains and stronger maintenance, showing video alone is a good first step but coaching can boost it.
Akers et al. (2018) kept the sibling as teacher but used script fading instead of video. Both studies got more play language, so you can pick video for speed or scripts for talk.
Gena et al. (2005) used video modeling years earlier, yet they added toys and praise. The 2017 study proves the video itself can work without extra rewards when siblings run the show.
Why it matters
You can make a two-minute video tonight, send it home, and give families an instant tool. No extra staff, no tokens, no data sheets for parents. If the gains stall, layer on BST or script fading later. Start simple, scale up only if needed.
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Join Free →Film a two-minute clip of a typical peer modeling one clear play prompt and one praise line, then text it to the family and ask them to watch before daily playtime.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study investigated the use of video models to teach typically developing children how to prompt and reinforce appropriate play behavior during games with their sibling with autism. With 3 sibling dyads, we extended research on cooperative sibling play by examining video modeling as the sole intervention to facilitate appropriate play between siblings in the absence of specific reinforcement for skills learned in the video model. Video models included brief clips of adults playing games with the child with autism and demonstrating how to prompt and reinforce play behavior. Results indicated that for 2 of the 3 sibling dyads video modeling alone was sufficient to teach prompts and appropriate delivery of reinforcement. An increase in on‐task activity engagement was also observed for both siblings with autism across all 3 dyads.
Behavioral Interventions, 2017 · doi:10.1002/bin.1479