The study found that simulation instruction on two representative teaching examples for each of two job task sequences resulted in concurrent generalized performance by four severely retarded adults. (Author/DB)

Self instruction and external instructional methods were compared with 19 mentally retarded adults. Results indicated that participants receiving verbal self-instructional training in the complex sequencing task achieved and sustained a higher level of performance than participants receiving external instruction. (Author/DB)

Results of withdrawing instructional components and trainers after a previous study using picture recipe cards to teach three mentally retarded adults to prepare meals indicated (from self reports and roommate reports) maintenance of trained skills during a 10-month period. (Author/DB)

Two adults with developmental disabilities were trained to increase their prompt and polite acknowledgments of coworker initiations by means of daily review of interactions of the previous day which had been recorded. The review included self-evaluation, praise, corrective feedback, and role-play. Behavior changes were maintained during follow-up…

Programmed identity-matching training was given to five participants with severe mental retardation and histories of failures in assessments and training attempts. When an intermediate goal of establishing one-trial discrimination learning was eliminated, four participants completed the program and passed tests for generalized identity matching…

The study evaluated two simulation methods (either on-self or using a doll) of general case instruction in teaching menstrual care to four severely/profoundly retarded adolescents and women. Results indicated limited generalization after training using a doll, high levels of generalized responding following on-self instruction, but decreased…

Principles of motion economy were assessed with two vocational tasks for two adults with severe to profound mental retardation. The motion economy-based task analysis was not superior in acquisition, but once each task was mastered, it enhanced fluency across both tasks for both participants. (Author/DB)

Five profoundly mentally retarded adolescents and adults were taught to respond to an auditory-visual complex stimulus. Later, the auditory component alone was presented, and three subjects did not respond. These subjects then received a fading program which successfully established auditory stimulus control with two subjects. (MSE)

Two adults with severe mental retardation were assessed for correct pointing responses to line drawings of required eating utensils. Following tact intervention, mands for two of three utensils emerged. Results suggest transfer from tact variables to the conditioned establishing operation may be facilitated by cultivating a minimal mand…

A study examined the effects of mastery training and explicit feedback on the selection behavior of two adults with severe mental retardation across two different vocational task designs. Selection behavior was affected by task efficiency only when efficiency was made more salient by pairing task cues with work incentives. (Contains references.)…

A study of the acquisition of mands (requests) and tacts (labels) relating to food and eating utensils in three individuals with severe mental retardation revealed that responses acquired as tacts did not readily occur as mands, but spontaneous manding was developed through a stimulus control transfer procedure. (MSE)

Two experiments with a total of 17 adolescents or adults with severe mental retardation evaluated the potential of exclusion procedures (selection of an undefined object in comparison with a defined object) as a means of training basic naming skills. Reliable exclusion and naming performance were demonstrated in nearly all subjects. (DB)

Active Support, a package of procedures which includes activity planning, support planning, and training on providing effective assistance, was evaluated in five community residences serving 19 adults with severe mental retardation. Findings indicated that the likelihood of a resident engaging in activity significantly increased following staff…

The study compared the effectiveness of (1) reinforcement of other behavior, (2) verbal reprimands, and (3) movement suppression time-out in eliminating self injury and aggressive behaviors in two severely mentally retarded adult males. Improvements were only apparent when movement suppression was paired with either or both of the other…

Forty-nine adults with severe intellectual disabilities in 13 small staffed homes in England were evaluated for their participation in meaningful activities and adaptive behavior. Residents of homes which implemented the "active support" model of care showed significantly increased engagement in meaningful activities and adaptive…