Select high school students in Ms. Bracken’s speech group have been busy creating movies.  Making movies in speech?  The movies, referred to as video self-modeling, target a particular social pragmatic skill and are used as a teaching tool to promote acquisition and generalization of skills.  Video modeling involves watching a video of a model or oneself and then imitating or modifying the behavior seen in the video. Results from studies indicate that video modeling and video self-modeling are effective intervention strategies for addressing social-communication and functional skills in adolescents and teens.

Benefits of using this strategy include the following:

  • Promotes the acquisition of new skills
  • Enhances performance of existing skills (increases mastery and fluency, and decreases anxiety)
  • May be combined with other strategies (coaching, social problem solving, self-monitoring, etc.)
  • Allows for the use of “hidden” supports and prompt fading
  • Increases self-confidence through the viewing of successful behavior

Students take part in the entire creative process, including script writing and video editing. Ms. Bracken has seen growth from students not only in targeted areas, but also problem solving, flexible thinking, and vocal quality (volume and tone). The videos are created in various locations around school, and also the work setting when applicable.  They are used in speech sessions and with any teachers/counselors that work directly with students to promote the above mentioned skills.