Examination of Social Responding in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Impairments in reciprocal pretend play are well documented in children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The play of children with this disorder is characterized by deficits in spontaneous language, imitation, and social interaction. The effectiveness of many different behavioral teaching techniques has been examined in order to teach play skills to children with autism. The foundation for our research stems from the study conducted by MacDonald, Sacramone, Mansfield, Wiltz, and Ahearn (2009). The basis for their approach was founded upon the fact that children with autism have deficits in those behaviors listed above. Research supports the viability of these different interventions, but very few studies have directly compared their rates of effectiveness. The current study was designed to provide insight into the video-modeling technique. Researchers sought to tally the number of responses emitted by participants. Specifically, investigators were interested in learning how many motor and verbal behaviors were modeled after those depicted in the training video