Video Modeling

Modeling behavior is often used in the treatment of autism. However, many children diagnosed within the autism spectrum of disorders have difficulty with imitation, making modeling a particular challenge. Video modeling is a technology that may be more effective in the treatment of autism than live modeling. One reason for this is that many autistic children will focus their attention on a video better than they will on a live subject. The video modeling approach is consistent and can be repeated a countless number of times. Video modeling can be introduces in a step-by-step approach that is systematic in nature. The benefit of this approach is the steps are always identical when repeated through the video. The systematic approach can be adjusted according to the child's specific needs as well. The video modeling approach can also be designed to block out distractions so the child focuses on the specific behavior. More advanced videos can add a few distractions here and there until the approach is faded from the child's program.