Maintaining Vocational Skills of Individuals with Autism and Developmental Disabilities through Video Modeling

Abstract

A modified pre/posttest control group design was used to measure the effectiveness of video modeling on the maintenance of vocational tasks for six students with autism spectrum disorder and/or developmental disabilities. Each student was assigned two vocational tasks at their employment settings and their independence with each task was measured prior to and following a two week break. One task was assigned to the video modeling condition, while the other task served as the control for each participant. Participants reviewed videos while on break and the results indicated that all students increased their independence with both tasks following the video modeling procedure. Findings were surprising yet consistent across learners. Plausible explanations for the results are shared.