Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities

focus.sagepub.com In recent years, a growing number of researchers have dem-onstrated the effectiveness of video-based instruction on stu-dents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Corbett and Abdullah (2005) suggest that video-based instruction is par-ticularly well suited for students with ASD because it can be adapted in such a way as to allow instruction to match their learning and behavioral characteristics. Researchers have identified how some of the features of ASD can be addressed in video-based instruction. For example, overselective atten-tion (Lovaas, Schreibman, Koegel, & Rehm, 1971) and avoidance of face-to-face attention (Charlop-Christy, Le, & Freeman, 2000) may be overcome by using video-based instruction. In addition, some individuals with ASD show a strong preference for visual stimuli (Kinney, Vedora, & Stromer, 2003; Shipley-Benamou, Lutzker, & Taubman, 2002). Cardon and Azuma (2012) found that children with ASD showed a preference for a video recording of a puppet show over an actual live show with the same puppets. Video-based instruction is grounded in Bandura’s (1977) research on Social Learning Theory. Observational learning refers to a process in which an individual acquires a new skill or obtains information by observing the actions of a model. Modeling is defined as the process by which an indi-vidual or model demonstrates a behavior that can be imi-tated. Video modeling involves an individual watching another person, or him- or herself in the case of video self-modeling, perform a skill or behavior on a video, then imi-tating the actions of the model. Over the past several decades, video modeling and video-based instruction have been used to teach a vast array of skills to a diverse group of individuals (Charlop-Christy, et al., 2000). Video modeling has been used to teach students with ASD a variety of skills, including self-help (Lasater & Brady, 1995; Schreibman, Whalen, & Stahmer, 2000), social language (Maione &amp