The study assessed object permanence construct performance in 20 severely handicapped students (4 to 14 years old) who were differentiated by treatment (prompt) condition and motor ability level. Results revealed a trait (motor ability) x treatment interaction. (Author/SB)

Findings indicated that (1) stable preference measures could be obtained, (2) high preference objects resulted in higher motivation to perform and hence higher levels on each scale, (3) performance of this population is not stable, and (4) ordinality was violated in nearly 20 percent of the administrations of the scales. (Author)

The learning of categories by six severely handicapped students (8 to 18 years old) was measured within the context of manual sign training. As expected, results supported the best example theory of categorization which suggests that some objects are more representative of their category than others. Implications for classroom material selection…