Acquisition and Generalization of a Behavior Chain of a Daily Living Skill for an Adolescent With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability: Use of Animation Self-Modeling

The purpose of the present study was to examine effects of Animation Self-Modeling on the acquisition and generalization of a long behavior chain of a daily living skill for a 15-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability whose developmental age (DA) was 5-7. The targeted daily living skill was his sweeping the entrance and veranda at his home by himself. The intervention was conducted in an environment simulating the entrance and veranda at his home. The research design was a multiple baseline design across settings that used in vivo modeling and Animation Self-Modeling as variables. Animation Self-Modeling, which is based on Video Self-Modeling, is characterized by the use of a frame advance and remove background, and the use of words and diagrams for emphasis. The results showed that Animation Self-Modeling was more effective than in vivo modeling, and also that it was effective for producing generalization to his home. Possible reasons for the effectiveness of Animation Self-Modeling in the acquisition and generalization of a behavior chain are discussed.