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…

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 characteristics of the skill clusters involved in community living response chains were studied, focusing on the length of the chain, the response classes contained in the chain, and the implicit variations within the chain. Instruction of response chains can be enhanced through consideration of the stimulus control strategies used.…

The handbook describes a method of teaching communication skills to students with severe disabilities (severely and profoundly retarded, trainable mentally retarded, autistic, deaf blind, and severely multihandicapped). In the interrupted behavior chain procedure, a routinized activity in a natural setting is interrupted and the child is taught to…

Three adolescents with moderate mental handicaps were taught bedmaking skills through a technique which involved dividing the entire chain into sections, teaching the first section in a total cycle fashion, and adding instruction on subsequent sections in a forward chaining manner. The technique promoted skill acquisition and substantial…

By inserting a typical instructional trial into an ongoing sequence of behaviors, three students, aged six-seven, with severe disabilities were taught to request items or events within interrupted behavior chain contexts. The strategy was effective in establishing initial communicative responses in the three learners. Responses generalized to…

The article provides guidelines and examples for developing individualized instructional programs in either concept development or motor skill development for moderately and severely handicapped learners. (DB)