Using video self-modelling to teach new skills to children with social interaction and and communication difficulties

Video self-modelling (VSM) is a behavioural intervention in which an observer views a short video of him/herself engaged in adaptive behaviour, in order to learn the behaviour and reproduce it more frequently, fluently or appropriately. While the past three decades have seen research in different domains of applied psychology which attests to the potential benefits of VSM in a variety of settings, including special education, it has received scant attention within the UK educational psychology community. An exploratory study was conducted to see if and how VSM could be integrated into the work of an Educational Psychologist working as an external consultant. VSM interventions were undertaken with two 10-year-old boys with social interaction and communication difficulties. One of these focused on developing anger management skills, and the other on improving writing performance. A mixed-methods approach was used with qualitative information from post-intervention participant and staff interviews being used in addition to experimental outcome measures. Post-intervention behaviour changes were observed in both cases, with fewer negative behavioural incidents, and more words written, respectively, however qualitative feedback raised questions about the effectiveness of VSM for one of the cases. Limitations of the research are discussed, as is the suitability of VSM as an addition to the repertoire of Educational Psychologists’ interventions.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

d_ae

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

d_ae

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Birmingham

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Hart, Robert Gerald Scott

• LC Special aspects of education