Teaching job-related problem-solving skills may increase the likelihood that individuals with developmental disabilities obtain and maintain employment (Kaye et al., 2011; Peck & Kirkbride, 2001; Unger, 2002). In this study, we evaluated the use of electronic-based flowcharts on an iPod Touch as a form of self-instruction to increase problem…

Previous research suggests that language-training procedures for children with autism might be enhanced following an assessment of conditions that evoke emerging verbal behavior. The present investigation examined a methodology to teach recognizable mands based on environmental variables known to evoke participants' idiosyncratic communicative…

This bridge study evaluated the effects of contingency-specifying instructions (CSIs) and incomplete instructions (IIs) in terms of establishing instructional control of appropriate behavior. Results suggested that instructional control and maintenance were achieved with CSIs but not with IIs. Results are discussed in terms of the potential use of…

Web-based software was used to deliver and record the effects of programmed instruction that progressively added formal prompts until attempts were successful, programmed instruction with one attempt, and prose tutorials. Error-contingent progressive prompting took significantly longer than programmed instruction and prose. Both forms of…

This study tested whether conditioning to one member of a compound stimulus can be blocked by presence of a second member to which the response was previously conditioned. Eight mentally retarded students (ages 7-9) were presented with words, sometimes accompanied by pictures. Six students performed best when words were presented without pictures.…