Using Video Modeling to Teach a Meal Preparation Task to Individuals with a Moderate Intellectual Disability

A single-subject study implementing an AB design with 3 replications was conducted with 4 adolescents having multiple disabilities, including moderate cognitive impairments, to demonstrate the efficacy of a video modeling and video-prompting intervention to teach a food preparation skill. Each participant was taught to prepare a different food item using a task analysis comprising 50 to 64 steps. Within 12 training sessions, each participant achieved criterion performance, completing at least 90% of their cooking task steps independently. Three out of 4 participants maintained their food preparation skill in a maintenance probe taken 6 weeks after instruction ended. The fourth participant completed 89% of the task’s steps independently during the maintenance probe. The findings of this study are consistent with those of earlier studies and suggest that video modeling may be a very effective and efficient method for promoting independence, participation, and self-determination among individuals with moderate intellectual disabilities. This study extends the literature base by focusing on longer, more complex meal preparation tasks than earlier studies.