Using Video Modeling to Improve Social Skills in Preschoolers with Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to determine whether video modeling can be an effective intervention in improving social skills in preschoolers who have been identified in having a delay in this area. This study included three to five year old students who are on active IEPs that receive intervention targeted in their social skills development. Students viewed a short video of the targeted social skill they are working on, and then were observed and rated based on the level of support needed to perform the skill. As students were able to perform the skill with minimal support, the intensity of the video modeling decreased, and data was recorded to determine whether they were able to continue to complete this skill without the use of the video models. The data supported that video modeling is an effective intervention to increase social skills in preschoolers with most the students in the study. There was an exception with two students, however they both had substance exposure while in utero, so it is not able to be determined if that was a factor that inhibited them from being successful during this study without more research. In my future work video modeling will continue to be used as an intervention strategy as students target social skills. If this is continued to be studied, collecting samples from subjects who all have substance exposure or do not have substance exposure would help determine the effectiveness on video modeling with less variables