Using Film Study to Teach Perspective Taking in High School Students with Autism and Other Social Cognition Challenges

Abstract

This article provides a preliminary evaluation of outcomes for a group-therapeutic Film Study program designed by school-based mental health providers and a speech language pathologist to facilitate perspective-taking in seven high-school students with autism and other social cognition challenges. The Film Study program involved microanalysis of one film over the course of an academic year. Evaluation of outcomes were based on post-hoc qualitative analyses of Film Study lesson transcripts. Findings indicated that participants were more engaged and used more psychological state terms to describe characters’ points of view by the end of the program. Thematic analysis of transcripts also identified a number of changes in participants' perspective taking behaviors over time, including improved ability to (a) focus on characters’ perspectives as opposed to their own, (b) differentiate between thoughts and feelings, (c) engage in increasingly complex discussions of characters’ points of view and (d) respond to and build on one another’s comments. Results suggest that microanalysis of film may offer a promising means for school mental health providers to support adolescents with ASD to improve their perspective-taking skills through scaffolded practice.