Autism Parenting Magazine Issue 74 (Member's Dashboard) | Page 49

AUTISM THERAPY Simple Ways To Improve Eating Habits When Your Child has ASD By Melissa M. ROOT, PhD Does your child only eat very specific foods? Are you concerned your child isn’t getting the right nutrition? Does your child gobble down his/her meal? A simple solution is available, and the only equipment you need is your smartphone or a tablet. The solution is video self-mod- eling (VSM), and it is proven to work with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The examples included in this article have successfully helped children just like your son or daughter to bypass eating challenges— usually very quickly! This article is the second in a series that focuses on ways to use VSM to help your child with challenges common to children with ASD. It provides examples of how to create VSM videos to help your child with eating problems. The examples are purposefully general. You can tailor them to meet your child’s cir- cumstances. What is video self-modeling? VSM uses carefully created, short videos of your child that show your child’s brain exactly what to do in specific situations. The videos are edited or thought- fully created so only positive and successful behav- iors are shown. All errors and unhelpful behaviors are removed from the final video, so your child only sees success. Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 74 | 49