Evaluation of Instructions and Video Modeling to Train Parents to Implement a Structured Meal Procedure for Food Selectivity Among Children With Autism
A one-page guide plus a three-minute video can get some parents to improve food acceptance right away, but plan to add live coaching if results stall.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Clark et al. (2020) asked parents to run a simple meal routine at home.
Each family got one page of written steps and a three-minute video.
If a parent slipped up, the coach gave a quick prompt or demo.
What they found
Two of three children with autism began accepting new foods.
Parents stuck to the steps once they saw the short clip.
The third child showed little change, so extra coaching was added.
How this fits with other research
Akemoğlu et al. (2025) shows video alone is weak. When they added live, in-home coaching, parent fidelity and child behavior jumped far beyond the small feeding gains seen here.
Gerencser et al. (2017) swapped live feedback for an online module. Parents still hit high fidelity, proving you can train at scale without in-person visits.
Cruz-Torres et al. (2020) used parents to play iPad video prompts for daily-living skills. Like Clark, parents handled the tech and kids learned, a tidy conceptual replication across skill domains.
Why it matters
Send the instruction sheet and three-minute video before your next session. Some parents will run the meal procedure perfectly and save you travel time. If the child does not progress after a week, layer on brief live or telehealth coaching rather than more videos. This hybrid plan balances efficiency with the bigger gains shown in newer studies.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We evaluated written instructions plus video modeling—and when necessary, in vivo prompting and feedback—to teach 3 parents to implement a structured meal procedure to decrease food selectivity among their children with autism. In addition to data on correct parent implementation, we also collected data on child bite acceptance. Results showed that instructions and video modeling were effective to achieve the mastery criteria for 1 parent; the other 2 parents required in vivo prompts and feedback. Two of the children exhibited an increase in bite acceptance during the structured meal procedure. The online version of this article (10.1007/s40617-020-00419-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2020 · doi:10.1007/s40617-020-00419-w