The study investigated relationships between type of prompt and type of task by teaching 32 mentally retarded adults two tasks (visual discrimination and a motoric assembly task) using two types of prompts (gestural and physical guidance). Results failed to support either the traditional response prompts hierarchy or the existence of a prompt-task…

The engineering technique of motion study was evaluated as a means to identify efficient movements and improve the productivity rates for three severely retarded adults performing a mailing task. After receiving training on the most efficient movements, subjects improved production rates and maintained the improved rates. (DB)

The effects of three interventions (peer initiation, reinforcement, and prompting) delivered by nonhandicapped students (4th graders) on the social initiation behavior of untrained peers toward a student with severe handicaps were examined. Results indicated the prompt procedure produced the highest levels of positive social initiation from…

To investigate the concept of sports training, a survey was conducted of 170 Special Olympics coaches in Ohio. The survey sought to determine who was responsible for training Special Olympians, their qualifications, and their specific needs and interests concerning preparation for coaching responsibilities. (Author/JDD)

This article presents guidelines for providing individuals with severe disabilities with a wide range of personal choices. It provides a rationale for teaching all individuals to participate in meaningful choice-making; describes basic types of choices; and suggests ways to generalize choice-making skills across settings, times, and people. (DB)

Four students (ages 10-14) with moderate mental retardation learned chained tasks with constant time delay and with the system of least prompts. Both strategies produced criterion-level performance; however, constant time delay was more efficient than least prompts in terms of number of sessions, percent of errors, and direct instructional time to…

This paper reviews the rationale and behavioral interventions commonly used for teaching compliance to individuals with mental retardation and the role of ethics in the use of such interventions. The paper examines issues in deciding whether compliance is an appropriate objective for an individual and whether interventions designed to achieve…

The article provides a review of behavioral staff training (focusing on antecedent, contingency management, and multi-faceted procedures) in special education settings, primarily institutions. Techniques are discussed according to such criteria as evaluation of staff behavior, changes in client behavior, inclusion of follow-up observations, and…

A home safety assessment and training methodology for mothers with mental retardation was evaluated. Although the overall number of implemented safety precautions increased, the variability of results among the four mothers suggests additional training or support services are needed. (Author/DB)

Four interdisciplinary staff teams at a public residential facility for persons with mental retardation improved the timeliness of submitting evaluation reports during a period when timeliness was reinforced. Performance deteriorated during the nonreinforcement phase. (Author/DB)

The study taught three moderately mentally retarded adolescents to: (1) communicate an emergency (dial 911), (2) apply first aid for minor injuries, (3) apply a plastic bandage to a minor injury, (4) apply first aid for choking. The maintenance of skills rarely practiced is discussed. (DB)

A review of 25 studies found that demonstrations of successful generalization of skills by persons with profound mental handicaps were characterized by: several trained exemplars, trained behaviors likely to be reinforced in natural settings by natural consequences, use of training stimuli common to the generalization setting, and training in…

The study with four adults with moderate and severe mental handicaps found that both backward and concurrent chaining training strategies were equally effective in teaching use of a fast food restaurant and a supermarket. (Author/DB)

The paper presents a seven-step model that job coaches may use to teach self-management to employees with severe disabilities in supported employment settings. Steps include: identifying the problem, establishing a range of acceptable behavior, selecting self-management procedures, training self-management skills by withdrawing external…

The paper examines "Decision Rules" in the evaluation of intervention techniques to promote skill generalization with mentally retarded persons. Two studies are reported which demonstrated that use of Decision Rules to select training strategies resulted in 80 percent or above skill generalization. (DB)