Using video modeling to teach complex play sequences to a preschooler with autism

The identification of efficient teaching procedures to address deficits in imaginative play skills, which are commonly seen in children with autism, is a challenge for professionals who are designing treatment programs. In the present study, video modeling was used to teach play skills to a preschool child with autism. Videotaped play sequences included both verbal and motor responses. A multiple-baseline procedure across three response categories (having a tea party, shopping, and baking) was implemented to demonstrate experimental control. No experimenter-implemented reinforcement or correction procedures were used during the intervention. Results indicated that the video modeling intervention led to to the rapid acqusition of both verbal and motor responses for all play sequences. This procedure was shown to be an efficient technique for teaching relatively long sequences of responses in relatively few teaching sessions in the absence of chaining procedures. In addition, the complex sequences of verbal and motor responses were acquired without the use of error-correction procedures or explicit experimenter-implemented reinforcement contingencies.