Investigating the Effects of Video-Enhanced Activity Schedules on Preacademic Skills for Young Children With Autism

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a clinician-implemented video-enhanced activity schedule and an embedded Premack contingency on on-task behavior, independent task completion, and challenging behavior for preschool-aged children with ASD.

Participants included four preschool-aged children with ASD and four registered behavior technicians in one clinic. The study utilized a concurrent multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effects of the video-enhanced activity schedule on child on-task behavior, independence, and challenging behavior.

Results indicated a functional relation between the implementation of the intervention and an increase in on-task behavior and independence; however, the results suggest a functional relation was inconclusive for reductions of challenging behavior. Social validity results indicated that participants perceived the intervention to be socially valid for instructional contexts.

Study findings suggest that video-enhanced activity schedules may be an effective instructional modification for increasing on-task behavior and independence for young children with ASD. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.