Written by Mary Beth Palo
Video Modeling is a scientifically proven method of teaching and
has been approved by the CEC (Council for Exceptional Children). Studies have
been around for many years, but video modeling seems to have just recently
surfaced into the mainstream.
I made my own video modeling about 10 years ago having no idea
of how effective it was. I made videos out of pure desperation to teach my
autistic child.
Video Modeling provides so many lessons, moments, pictures, cues
and more. These visuals simply cannot be replicated in one on one teaching to
the extent the teaching can be done in video. VM provides repetition without
needing a teacher. There are no distracters in VM - no one to attend to - no
demands being placed on you and no actions needed. VM is simply watching. Most
children with autism are visual learners; which explains the attraction and
success.
Autistic children can and do learn skills through one on one
teaching. Many times these skills acquired tend to be robotic and are not
easily generalized. A one on one setting is not real life. Proper VM can
provide more than skill generation, but also a stepping stone to generalization
along with social skill teaching. As a simple example, a video can show 2
children doing a puzzle. So, they are learning an academic skill of doing a
puzzle, while at the same time, taking turns, sharing, and social initiation
and talking if able. Another example of a video is of 2 children playing catch.
The children are learning the gross motor skills of catching and throwing,
following directions, language skills and appropriate timing of employing
language such as "throw it", "catch it", "over
here", "nice catch", etc.... You can see that the opportunities
of providing video of real life can be much more inclusive than one on one
skill teaching. And again, the repetition of a video is key!
Once skills are obtained, generalization easily occurs by
setting up a scene as shown in the movie, mimicking the scene and then
beginning to change the environment of the scene. As an example, child learns
to build a sand castle from video. Mimic the scene and build a sand castle.
Expand and begin to generalize by going to park and build castle, take a child
to play with and build castle, build castle at beach, have 3 or 4 children work
together, etc...
Children love children! Children learn through play and having
fun. This is what I have learned through the years and what I employ in my
videos. VM is super effective but can also be a lot of fun and a very diverse
teaching tool. Video can teach functional skills, play skills, social skills,
language skills and much more. Teaching skills through video and fun are the
most effective. Children do not know they are learning - they think they are
having fun watching kids play!
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