Research Cluster

Video Modeling for Social and Play Skills

This cluster shows how short videos of kids playing can teach children with autism to start games, share toys, and talk with friends. Watching peers on a screen helps kids copy greetings, pretend play, and kind words without long adult lessons. The skills last and show up in new places, like different classrooms or playgrounds. A BCBA can use these quick clips to make social time fun and easy to learn.

56articles
1981–2025year range
5key findings
Key Findings

What 56 articles tell us

  1. Self-video modeling outperforms peer modeling for teaching social skills to higher-functioning children with autism.
  2. Animated video modeling works as well as human video modeling for many children with autism — data should guide the choice.
  3. Video modeling combined with self-monitoring reliably boosts turn-taking and on-topic conversation in high school students with ASD.
  4. Video modeling can teach autistic preschoolers to engage in pretend play with imaginary objects, and the skill generalizes to new scenarios.
  5. A short video-modeling script plus in-vivo rehearsal taught children with ASD to refuse abduction lures from strangers and familiar adults, with the skill holding up in new settings.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions from BCBAs and RBTs

Video self-modeling involves filming the client performing the skill correctly — sometimes using editing to remove errors — and playing it back for them to watch. Research shows it works especially well for social skills compared to peer or adult models.

Yes. Multiple studies show video modeling can teach children with autism to refuse abduction lures, avoid household chemicals, and respond correctly during earthquake drills, with skills that transfer to real settings.

Animated video modeling works just as well as human video modeling for many children with autism. Try both and let your data pick the one that produces faster and stronger learning for your client.

Plan generalization from the start. Add brief role-play practice after viewing, run probes in the natural setting, and provide performance feedback before fading supports. Generalization does not happen automatically for all learners.

Yes. Research shows strong results for teaching menstrual hygiene, tooth brushing, medication safety, and other personal care routines using video modeling, sometimes combined with simulation practice.