Article+Review

Here is my article review about video modeling and children with autism.





Running Head: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ARTICLE REVIEW

Teaching Socially Expressive Behaviors to Children with Autism through Video Modeling Shadra Tomei University of West Georgia **Introduction **  Children with autism often have difficulty expressing themselves. “Approximately fifty percent of all children with autism remain nonverbal,” (Charlop, Carpenter, & Greenberg, 2010). This causes problems in school when children with autism want to communicate with others and help others understand them. It is essential to find ways to encourage and assist students with autism in expressing themselves. Teachers need to make sure they can effectively communicate with all students in order for learning to take place. Technology is a beneficial tool in improving communication. **Summary **  This article describes a case study completed with three adolescent males to increase socially expressive behaviors through the use of video modeling. The four target behaviors of this study were: verbal comments, intonation, gestures, and facial expressions. These students rarely displayed socially expressive behaviors before this study. They watched a video of a play with a therapist (who presented social cues) and a student (who demonstrated the socially expressive behaviors) multiple times. The three males watched the videos multiple times over several months. They then put their new social skills into practice. “Results indicated that video modeling led to rapid acquisition of socially expressive behaviors,” (Charlop, Carpenter, & Greenberg, 2010). **Analysis and Reflection **  This article was extremely interesting to me. When educators want their students to do something a certain way, they model it. Once a student sees what you want them to do, they demonstrate it. This is the theory behind video modeling. It is easy to see why it is effective. Video modeling is an individualized intervention that has several reasons for its success: 1) video modeling incorporates a reinforcing activity into teaching, 2) it takes advantage of the visual strengths of children with autism, and 3) effective videos will focus the children’s attention on the relevant clues.  **Counseling/Educational Implications **   Effective communication is a key factor in a child’s education. This article has significant implications for assisting students with autism in communicating and expressing themselves. Students with autism are at developmentally lower ages than their actual ages and overcoming any communication challenges are important. Video modeling is a cost efficient way of using an intervention for students struggling with communication. It is easy to train someone on how to use video modeling with students with autism so therefore it is a highly effective strategy.  Socialization is another key aspect of strong communication skills. Students with autism often have difficulty in social situations. Video modeling proves to be a successful way to teach them proper social skills and expressions. Counselors can step in and assist teachers with this. Counselors work with students on socialization skills and expressing themselves in appropriate ways so I know they have insight in using technology to help students meet their needs. Collaboration with the counselor and special education teachers will be beneficial in successful use of video technology for students with autism. **Conclusion **  Video modeling is a technology-based intervention that is proven successful with students. Technology is the way of the future and I am about encouraged by the new ways of using technology to assist students with special needs. This article is beneficial to special education teachers, regular education teachers, media specialists, technology support staff, and parents of children with autism. At my school, there are ten children with autism in the mildly intellectually disabled class. This article could have a profound influence on how these children can communicate with others. I am excited to share it with my colleagues. It will be interesting to see what the future holds in assisting students with disabilities with innovative technologies. **References ** Charlop, M., Dennis, B., Carpenter, M., & Greenberg, A. (2010). Teaching Socially Expressive Behaviors to Children with Autism Through Video Modeling. //Education & Treatment of Children//, //33//(3), 371-393. Retrieved from Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection database.