The study compared the effectiveness of a traditional training procedure (least-to-most restrictive prompt sequence) and a prescriptive training procedure (utilizing ongoing behavioral assessment data to identify discriminative stimuli) with four severely/multiply handicapped students (ages 11-19). Results indicated both procedures were effective…

Three severely handicapped adolescents were trained, using a picture prompt package, to complete three complex vocational or daily living tasks. All students required many training sessions to learn the first training task, but generalized their use of the pictures across settings without additional training. They needed substantially reduced…

Three autistic children (ages 9-11) received spontaneous communication training using a time delay, modeling, and food reinforcement procedure. Results showed gains in 2 spontaneous responses ("please" and "thank you") and 1 verbally prompted response ("you're welcome"). Gains were validated socially with 10 adults. (Author/JDD)

A sibling training procedure consisting of direct prompting and modeling across three pairs of siblings revealed that direct prompting was effective for increasing reciprocal interactions between severely retarded and nonhandicapped siblings and increasing levels of initiations and responsiveness to initiations. (CL)

Three severely retarded adult males were taught to use a side-of-the-foot soccer pass, using a nine-step stimulus-response chain. Intensive physical prompts were provided initially, then systematically faded. The three trainers achieved the no-prompt criterion after 24, 29, and 22 sessions, respectively. (Author/JW)

Three mentally handicapped students (aged 13, 36, and 40) with maladaptive speech received training to answer questions with verbal labels. The results of their cues-pause-point training showed that the students replaced their maladaptive speech with correct labels (answers) to questions in the training setting and three generalization settings.…

Three adolescents with severe mental retardation were trained to request snacks from visible three-item snack sets. During subsequent stimulus control assessment sessions, one subject requested food items when no food items were present, two frequently requested a missing item when the two other items were visible, and all subjects requested…

This study examined a system for fading teacher prompts to children who served as peers in peer-initiation interventions for young children with disabilities (n=6). Results indicated that social interaction continued at the levels found during intervention and was maintained during a short maintenance period. (Author/DB)

Tactile cues were provided to a 19-year-old deaf, blind, and mentally retarded individual to guide her performance on packaging tasks. The tactile prompts effectively guided her on the training task and were also generalized to novel tasks and cues. Continued use of the cues was necessary to maintain performance. (Author/JDD)

Verbal prompting and graduated physical guidance procedures were found to substantially increase independent and social play in two interrelated experiments with eight profoundly mentally retarded adults. Independent and social play remained in the subjects' repertoire for 12 months following termination of programmed maintenance. (Author/JW)

The study assessed the efficacy of time delay and peer modeling procedures in increasing spontaneous verbalizations of affection in four autistic children (ages 6-8). Results indicated that the time delay was a quick and effective procedure for all subjects. Peer modeling was unsuccessful in teaching the target behavior. (Author)

This study demonstrated that written specific task analyses combined with end-of-trial performance feedback were effective in promoting the acquisition and generalization of functional cleaning tasks by 11 young adults with mild disabilities. Performance transferred to natural discriminative stimuli. (Author/DB)

Prompting, modeling, and differential reinforcement were used to teach three nonverbal adults with severe to profound mental retardation to exit their group homes at the sound of the house fire alarm. All three learned to exit independently in less than two minutes in all or the majority of surprise fire drills. (Author/JDD)

Four adults with brain injuries were trained to use written checklists that identified potential in-home hazards. The checklist alone was sufficient to increase appropriate responses to many hazards, and individualized task analyses, subsequently faded to natural conditions, remediated the others. Generalization occurred to some degree, and skills…

A retrospective review of 51 studies from 22 journals (1976 to 1990) concerning generalization of social skills training with preschool children was conducted. Strategies employed by the most successful studies were identified, such as addressing functional target behaviors; using prompts, positive reinforcement, and feedback strategies; and…