Children with Autism Wearing Action Cameras: Changing Parent/Child Interactions Using Point-of-View Video Modeling

Abstract

Researchers have found that families list interventions targeting the development of social interaction skills among the most sought after treatments for their children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Green et al., 2006). Among the interventions labeled as evidence-based practices (EBPs) for teaching social behaviors to individuals with ASD, is video modeling (VM), a term referring to intervention techniques that provide individuals with opportunities to develop new skills by watching videos, rather than engaging in direct personal experience (Kasari & Patterson, 2012; Reichow & Volkmar, 2010; Wong et al, 2015). One VM approach, point-of-view modeling (POVM), employs a video production technique that simulates an experience from the vantage point of the viewer and is emerging as an effective intervention (Guta, 2015; Marino & Myck-Wayne, 2015). One possible reason for the popularity of VM techniques is the public’s increased access to video production technology and a better understanding about the importance of providing visual supports to individuals with ASD (Knight, Sartini, & Spriggs, 2015; Wong et al., 2015). Researchers have stated that a way to increase access to autism-related EBPs is to explore more interventions that parents and caregivers are able to implement with very little involvement from service providers (Pickard et al., 2016; Stahmer &Pellechia, 2015). My dissertation research involves the implementation of a parent-provided POVM intervention created to improve social interaction between parents and their children with ASD. A series of studies ultimately lead to my dissertation study. The first manuscript entitled “Autism-Related Insurance Mandates: Implications for Evidence-Based Practice” reviewed ways in which language from states’ mandated insurance coverage for ASD-related services both supported and acted as a barrier to the implementation of EBPs. The findings revealed that mandated insurance coverage allowed for positive changes to service delivery in the areas of collaboration, continuous care, and generalization. I also found a need for continued research aimed at creating autism-related EBPS that may be implemented within the framework of mandated insurance coverage, keeping services accessible to families. The second manuscript, “Social Interaction and Autism: Autobiographical Literature as Evidence” employed a qualitative approach to compare the personal experiences of individuals with ASDs learning about social interaction to recommendations derived from published research. The findings revealed differences between a systematic review’s recommended interventions targeting social interaction and the suggestions from autobiographical authors with ASD about which approaches they felt were most helpful. I found that all of the individuals with ASD wrote about the important roles that their parents played in learning about social interaction, yet very few of the recommended social skill interventions from the systematic review included parents as a part of the treatment protocol. I applied this knowledge to the development of the parent-provided intervention included in my dissertation study. The third manuscript entitled, “Using Point-of-View Video to Facilitate Social Interaction between a Parent and Their Child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Feasibility Study,” evaluated the feasibility of employing video from a GoPro® wearable camera to facilitate communication opportunities between a parent and their child with ASD. The results of this study confirmed the feasibility of designing an intervention that would be practical to implement while measuring effectiveness. This study also allowed me to create and validate a conversational coding structure with strong reliability. Ultimately, this feasibility study provided valuable information that allowed me to conduct a more in-depth assessment of the POVM intervention for my dissertation. My dissertation study is divided into two manuscripts. The first manuscript reports the quantitative effects of a parent-provided POVM on parent/child interaction. I found that the intervention had positive effects on features of the parent/child interaction, specifically increasing the number of conversational exchanges that matched (were cohesive in nature) between the parents and their children with ASD, and increasing the overall duration of parent/child interaction time.