The paper reviews 26 studies using the delayed prompt procedure in applied and laboratory settings with developmentally disabled children and adults and others. Results suggest that the delayed prompt procedure is an efficient teaching strategy, with subjects typically acquiring discriminations within a few training sessions or limited number of…

The Sequential Prompt Reduction Technique (SPRT) was used with a 5-year-old severely retarded boy to develop his play skills. The SPRT has four components: identification of a desired terminal behavior, establishment of task sequences, delineation of prompts, and establishment of a prompt sequence. (DB)

Manipulation of mechanical restraint properties were conducted in separate studies with two profoundly retarded adolescents who exhibited both self-restraint and self-injurious behavior. Techniques included prompting, differential reinforcement, and stimulus fading. Results suggested that stimulus fading and transfer may be valuable components in…

Effects of an intervention and fading package (teacher prompting and contingent praise) on social initiations of three withdrawn preschool subjects were investigated. Among reported results was that abrupt removal of prompting resulted in similarly abrupt reductions in subjects' social initiations, whereas response-dependent fading maintained…

Twenty-one vocational rehabilitation clients were taught four different assembly tasks utilizing a different teaching method (short task-preresponse prompting, long task-preresponse prompting, short task-error-correction prompting, and long-task error-correction prompting). Preresponse prompts yielded fewer errors than error-correction prompts.…

Describes three methods used by researchers to elicit original metaphors and similes: structured tasks using poetry ideas, definitions and models, and supporting the thesis of a paper. (CRH)

Research part of a Senior Honors Thesis submitted to Kent State University by Patricia Sorce, who was a National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research Participant while conducting this research. (VM)

A report is given of a study on how young children develop social skills in situations where rules are adapted to the flow of conversation. (JD)

The article reports the findings of two studies involving comprehension and retention in learning disabled (N=96) and normally achieving (N=64) second and sixth graders. Results were interpreted to support J. Torgesen's conceptualization of learning disabled children as inactive learners. (Author/SBH)

A study examined the impact of a peer-mediated intervention consisting of songs and finger plays, attention to photographs of desired behavior, and peer verbal cues, on two preschoolers with developmental delays. The intervention resulted in increases in engaged and on-task behavior, interactive play, and appropriate participation in circle/story…

Effects of type of prompt on the use of external strategies were examined with 272 children (ages 7-17) with or without mental retardation. A task requiring memory for object placement was performed under one of four conditions: no prompt, verbal prompt, physical prompt, verbal and physical prompt. Results suggested that strategy use by older…

This study assessed effectiveness of peer delivered simultaneous prompting (SP) in teaching the expressive identification of community signs to four students with developmental disabilities. Results showed that the tutors delivered the SP reliably and tutees were able to expressively identify community signs. Tutees maintained acquired skills one…

A study compared a 4 s constant time delay and a simultaneous prompting procedure on teaching receptively identifying animals to three children (ages 7-10) with mild/moderate mental retardation. Both procedures were effectively implemented by sibling tutors, simultaneous prompting was more efficient, and constant time delay resulted in more…

A study involving three preschoolers with developmental disabilities examined whether or not the use of a simultaneous prompting procedure would result in an increase on the percentage of correct responding of receptively identifying occupations from picture cards. Results found simultaneous prompting was effective. Maintenance and generalization…

Two methods of prompting were compared for their relative effectiveness in teaching a group of autistic students, age 12-20, to discriminate line drawings used in picture communication books. Students required fewer trials to criterion and made significantly fewer errors in the delayed-prompting technique compared to the fading-of-prompts design.…