Student’s Communication Needs and the Specific Goals
The intervention targets John, a grade three student diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He has a problem with social interaction and communication: he avoids eye contact when speaking to others, can rarely initiate a conversation with peers, repeats words and phrases over and over, and shows unusual mood or emotional reactions. The intervention will target and enhance his ability to ask for something, such as a break or specific rewards, ask for play, and express his feelings. Specifically, the intervention will target his ability to independently ask for breaks, effectively communicate his desires using expressive language or communicative devices, and initiate playful interaction with peers. It will also seek to improve the student’s ability to communicate a range of emotions verbally or using communicative devices, especially when communicating with peers and adults.
Background Information on Communication Aspects of ASD
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability and biologically based neurodevelopment disorder that affects a child’s communication and social interaction skills. The disorder presents core deficits categorized into two categories: social interaction/ communication and restrictive patterns of behaviors (Ibrahimagic et al., 2021). The language of people with ASD is often affected either in its usage or in its formal aspects. Research shows that there are different communication and linguistic function profiles in different societies, such as autism spectrum disorder and specific language impairment who also have a specific language disorder. Autistic children may possess skills that are atypical, delayed, and intact (Ibrahimagic et al., 2021). Expressive and receptive language abilities can significantly vary across the ASD spectrum; however, the universal impairments in the practical aspects of language and communication are among the defining aspects of the disorder. The language and speech therapy work may focus on developing language and communication skills, such as using simple gestures and establishing eye contact and peer contact.
Intervention Description
The intervention activity for John’s case is video modeling (VM). VM practice involves showing a student or individual a video demonstration of a particular action, behavior, or target skill to be learned by an autistic student. The approach is a powerful and effective tool to support skill acquisition and generalization with behavioral and emotional disorders (Zarate & Maggin, 2020). The video models can include peers, adults, and the students at which the skill development is aimed. The VM method is based on the behavioral theory of modeling and imitation and is thus deemed effective in achieving a positive change.
The teacher will take several steps to implement this tool for the target student effectively and must follow a five-step planning and evaluating guide to help implement the VM. Initially, instructors must consider critical aspects such as information on student preferences, the setting where the behavior occurs, and target behavior (Zarate & Maggin,2020). Step one involves planning for recording that involves identifying the target behavior that a student has difficulty in, which is, in this case, difficulty starting a conversation and expressing themselves. The teacher then plans to record the target behavior exhibited by peer or adult actors, tailoring it to fit the target student’s needs. Subsequently, the teacher develops a script that includes the chronological order of steps of the target behavior, including antecedent, expected behavior, and the likely consequences.
Next, teachers must review the school media consent policy to ensure that the filming aligns with the policy, after which all the preferred peers gather to act in the film. Teachers must ensure that they encourage the actors to exhibit the given behavior and avoid any unnecessary acts, also ensuring the filming is done in a setting where the target behavior must be shown to the target student (Zarate & Maggin, 2020). For this particular grade 3 student, the filming must be done in a class environment and show actors initiating conversations among themselves, asking for a break, and showing different emotions. Next, the teacher will allow John to watch the video before, during, or after the class in which John faced the challenge.
Once the skill is watched, the student can practice the target behavior while the teacher monitors. A teacher’s role at this stage will be to collect data and compare it with the baseline to establish improvements (Zarate & Maggin, 2020). Notably, teachers must give ample time for the learner to practice the skill, especially if it is complex. Finally, given the data analysis, the teacher must decide if to let the student continue to practice the skills until the goal is achieved or institute other measures. Ultimately, John will likely practice such behavior by observing other students acting a specific way, such as initiating an individual interaction, asking for breaks, and showing a range of emotions, thus improving his communication and interactive abilities.
Research to Support VM
VM is an evidence-based intervention that has shown support for learners with ASD, especially when addressing communication needs. Several research studies have shown a high efficacy of the VM intervention in students with ASD. A study by Ashori & Jalil-Abkenar (2019) conducted on male children with autism aged 6-8 years in two special schools to prove the efficacy of the video modeling showed that VM training had a significant and positive effect on the children’s social skills, such as the ability to interact in groups and initiate conversation. Another study by Abedi et al. (2018) found a positive correlation between video prompting and self-video modeling and the reduction of interaction and communication problems in children with ASD. The researchers also found that video modeling improves language restrictions and deficiencies, daily life skills, application command, spontaneous verbal requests, control of repetitive behavior, communication skills, and verbal and non-verbal communication.
References
Abedi, M., Esteki, M., Hassani, F., & Bagdasarians, A. (2018). A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Video Prompting and Self-video Modelling on the Reduction of Autistic Children’s Symptoms. International Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 11(4), 166-171. https://www.behavsci.ir/article_75594.html
Ashori, M., & Jalil-Abkenar, S. S. (2019). The Effectiveness of Video Modeling on Social Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Practice in Clinical Psychology, 7(3), 159-166.http://dx.doi.org/10.32598/jpcp.7.3.159
Ibrahimagic, A., Patkovic, N., Radic, B., & Hadzic, S. (2021). Communication and Language Skills of Autistic Spectrum Disorders in Children and Their Parents’ Emotions. Materia Socio-Medica, 33(4), 250-256. https://doi.org/10.5455/msm.2021.33.250-256
Zarate, K., & Maggin, D. M. (2020). Using and intensifying video modeling for Students With emotional and behavioral Disorders. Beyond Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074295620922536
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