The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

This presentation is divided into three parts. First, we review the literature on ASD and perspective taking/theory of mind, and provide a theoretical justification for why film study offers a promising means of addressing perspective taking deficits. Second, the bulk of the presentation is dedicated to the “how to” of film study, providing professionals with a set of strategies for using film study with their students/clients. And third, we share preliminary outcomes from our pilot study.

One of the hallmarks of HFA is difficulty assuming others’ perspectives. Why is this? Klin et al. (2003) argue that the inability to intuitively make sense of social contexts, and to interpret dynamic, rapidly-changing social cues requiring second-by-second integration of both verbal and visual input, is at the very core of autism. In response to (1) the critical need for developing perspective taking skills in students with HFA, (2) the failure of most studies to show that teaching students to pass narrowly constructed theory of mind tests results in their ability to assume others’ perspectives in more naturalistic social contexts, and (3) the promise of film study for improving empathy and social understanding in other populations, a team of school mental health providers and a speech language pathologist devised a Film Study program designed to facilitate improved perspective taking in high-school students with HFA via in-depth microanalysis of popular films.

How do we do it? Film Study focuses the microanalysis of one feature-length film over the course of the academic year. Students are prompted to interpret characters’ points of view as they watch the film. The film is paused frequently to analyze characters’ dialogue, facial expressions, and body language in light of the interpersonal and sociocultural contexts portrayed in the film narrative. For each film, a teachers’ guide is created by the clinicians leading the class. Some of the questioning strategies include: 1) thought and feeling bubbles, 2) turning off the dialogue and focusing on nonverbal cues, 3) enacting the dialogue with changes in tone, 4) identifying subtexts of dialogue, character motivations and knowledge, and 5) consideration of context (e.g., type of relationships involved, cultural, and/or historical context).

Program evaluation included both quantitative and qualitative analysis of Film Study lesson transcripts, as well as evaluations of seven participant’s progress by the instructional team. Findings indicated that participants were more engaged and used more psychological state terms by the end of the nine month program. Instructor evaluations indicated significant growth in social and emotional awareness, and thematic analysis of transcripts identified a number of changes in the patterns of participants' discourse between the beginning and the end of the program, including improved ability to (a) focus on characters’ points of view (POVs) as opposed to perseverating on their own POVs, (b) distinguish between thoughts and feelings, and (c) discuss changes in characters’ POVs over time. These results suggest that the microanalysis of film may offer a promising means of supporting adolescents with HFA to improve their perspective-taking skills through scaffolded practice.