Daniel's Social Challenges

Daniel's Social Challenges 
Daniel is a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who is being tested and educated in the video (Autism Behavioural Intervention Association, 2014). During play, children with ASD learn imitation to mirror the moves or actions of another person, usually another child they are playing with (Bravo & Schwartz, 2022). From the video, Daniel seems to have trouble maintaining focus and attention to the educator, a person whom he needs to imitate in order to play with. When Daniel gets distracted or lost, the educator calls for his attention or points toward the location of the next action to guide Daniel.
There are many possible intervention strategies that a professional could utilize to address Daniel’s needs. Bravo & Schwartz (2022) notes two possible interventions: discrete trial teaching (DTT) and contingent imitation (CI). Discrete trial teaching involves tools such as prompts, prompt fading, reinforcements, and error correction. This was already seen in practice in the video as the educator continually redirects Daniel when he does not pay attention. On the o...