Six profoundly retarded institutionalized adolescents were taught two tasks of comparable difficulty using different prompting procedures (either an antecedent or consequent procedure). Results showed greater gains were made with the antecedent prompting procedure. (Author/DB)

Nineteen vocational rehabilitation clients were trained to assemble 12-part apparatuses via a forward chaining or whole task training sequence with a one-second progressive or an unlimited prompt delay. Less training time but more prompts were required in whole task than in forward chaining conditions. Whole-task unlimited delay yielded most…

Two studies examined on the effectiveness of behavioral training for improving prevocational work performance of three blind, severely retarded women. Combined response-contingent prompting and reinforcement procedures increased the quantity of tasks completed. Data also demonstrated that attentional behavior was enhanced following training and…

A systematic prompting system involving four levels of prompts (self-initiating, motivational, content related, and literal) increased the number of sentences written as well as decreased the average prompt level for three youths (14-15 years old) with behavior disorders. Ratings by independent judges were significantly higher for compositions…

Two experiments were conducted to assess the relative effectiveness of stimulus shaping and "traditional" prompting procedures with six low-functioning retarded children (one-six years old). Stimulus shaping procedures required less training time than to criterion, resulted in fewer errors, required fewer and less intrusive therapist's prompts,…

Several factors can inhibit retrieval when extralist cues are provided: degree of control in accessing the domain of information specified by the test cue; size of the search set defined by test cue; and strength of the cue, both in relation to its target and to its category name. (Author/PN)

Research is reviewed on stimulus overselectivity in autistic children, and educational implications are discussed in terms of language acquisition, social behavior, observational learning, generalization, and prompting and prompt fading. Approaches to circumvent the problem of overselectivity are also described. (CL)

A clock-light cuing device was successfully used in classrooms to control disruptive student behavior. Students were made aware of inappropriate behavior (which caused the light to be turned off) and of the time lost until the behavior was verbally identified and corrected. An accumulation of a specified amount of time in which the light was on…

A color coded "extra prompt" procedure was compared to a "no extra prompt" procedure in teaching 20 autistic children and adolescents how to lace shoes. (Author/SB)

The effects of training using tactile (physical guidance), visual (modeling), auditory (verbal instructions) prompting, and a combination of all three methods were compared by teaching 32 mildly to severely retarded vocational rehabilitation clients (18-50 years old) the construction of four assembly tasks. (Author)

Both interventions produced dramatic and comparable increases in positive social behavior in training sessions; however, post-treatment responding was not observed for either intervention during generalization assessment. (Author/DLS)

Assessed was the effectiveness of using prompts (extra "guiding" stimuli) for teaching 16 normal (6 to 9 years old) and 8 autistic children (7 to 12 years old). (Author/SBH)

Combined fading with the introduction of prompts designed to encourage learners to identify the underlying principle illustrated in each worked-out solution step. Across 2 experiments, this combination produced medium to large effects on near and far transfer without requiring additional time on task. Thus, the instructional procedure is highly…

Children, ages 3 and 5, examined a "sick" teddy bear. Interviews with real props, toy props, or verbal prompts were conducted three days and one year later. After three days, real items and toys facilitated memory compared to verbal prompts, but reports with toys were less accurate than both. After one year, real items still helped…