Video modeling interventions have been mostly effective for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in teaching social communication skills. However, differences in the effectiveness of these interventions have been noted. Participant motivation was suggested as one of the factors that can influence the effectiveness of video modeling. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of participant motivation on video modeling for teaching social communication skills to individuals with ASD. A combined multiple probe across participants and adapted alternating treatments design was used to examine the differential effects of two video modeling conditions (i.e., motivated and non-motivated) on social communication skills of four adults with ASD. Of the four participants, three participants responded to the intervention and performed more of target behavior during the motivated video modeling condition than the non-motivated video modeling condition, while one did not respond to the intervention. In addition, the three participants engaged in a higher percentage of the target behavior during motivated generalization sessions than non-motivated generalization sessions. The results demonstrated that participant motivation influenced the effectiveness of video modeling.

Self-monitoring involves teaching students to be aware of their own behavior, and be able to record whether the behavior happened or not. The present study uses meta-analysis of single case design (SCD) studies to evaluate the effectiveness of self-monitoring interventions that use electronic devices during implementation for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Eligible studies were accessed to determine design quality, and examine the use of self-monitoring for individuals diagnosed with ASD. Studies were evaluated against inclusion-exclusion criteria. The studies that met inclusion criteria (n = 15) were assessed with the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards for methodological rigor. The WWC standards were applied to baseline and intervention phases. There were a total of 12 studies with 32 students diagnosed with ASD that met SCD standards without, and with reservations. The 12 studies were evaluated using the Tau-U effect size metric to quantify the percentage of change that was attributed to the self-monitoring intervention. Overall, omnibus Tau-U was 0.96 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.89, 1.0]). Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.