Teaching Social Skills to Students with Autism: a Video Modeling Social Stories Approach

Abstract

The present study evaluates the effects of a social story procedure as developed by Gray (2010). The social story alone was presented in a video modeled format to four middle school students who were eligible for the special education autism criteria and who were instructed primarily in a public middle school general education setting. Using a multiple baseline design across participants in their natural school setting, this study found consistent improvements in all participants' social responses when greeted by peer helpers. During the follow-up phase, participants' prosocial greeting responses remained consistent with intervention phase responses. One of the primary purposes of this study was to find more reliable evidence-based treatments and outcomes for those individuals afflicted with autism, a growing population within our society. Importantly, this study placed particular emphasis on a social story protocol as employed in the absence of other concurrent treatments. Participants were exposed to a video modeling protocol within a natural school setting. Social stories videos were focused on peer-interactive greeting behaviors. Techniques for establishing generalization of prosocial peer-interactive behaviors are discussed, and strategies for observing students during follow-up conditions are described.