This study examined the effectiveness of using "subject-performed tasks" to improve memory efficiency of eight autistic children. The procedure involved instructing children to carry out and later remember a series of actions. The procedure's effectiveness was attributed to autistic subjects' lack of verbal encoding strategies and…

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)

The study with three blind and mentally retarded adults with additional disabilities found that general case simulation instruction in housekeeping skills led to generalization to untrained settings. Degree of generalization was inversely related to the severity and complexity of participant disability. (Author/DB)

Two experiments with five individuals having severe mental retardation identified some problems and limits in training reversals of previously learned discrimination tasks using stimulus control shaping methodology. (DB)

The problem of teaching relational discriminations to people with mental retardation is examined. The limitations of several commonly used teaching procedures are discussed and alternative approaches to simple-discrimination learning are described. Results of two preliminary single-subject studies demonstrating the feasibility of these approaches…

This study compared types of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), namely, reward DRO (reward for omission of problem behavior), escape DRO (termination of instruction contingent on omission of problem behavior), and combined DRO. The combined DRO approach was most effective in reducing behavior problems of three adolescents with…

A sequence of choice levels was implemented using constant time delay to teach choice making to five children with severe intellectual disabilities. Evaluation indicated that both the specific sequence of choice levels and constant time delay were effective in teaching these students to make choices. It also found that individual preferences…

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 study, with 32 adolescents with mild mental retardation and controls, found that imagery practice facilitated the execution of the reaction time component of a motor task and sometimes facilitated performance of the movement time component of the motor task. (DB)

Three high-school students with severe disabilities were taught to initiate and maintain a conversation independently across a variety of school settings with nonhandicapped students as communication partners. The conversation initiation and "turntaking" skills generalized to conversation opportunities in other settings and with other…

The effects of social interaction skill interventions on the social behavior of four preschool children with behavioral handicaps were evaluated. Findings indicated unique effects for social skills training and contingency management intervention. Results are discussed in relation to the role of reciprocal interaction and behavioral trapping for…

The study's results showed that the self-instruction procedure used by four severely retarded adults led to improved vocational skills as indicated by increased work production rates and a concomitant decrease in the number of errors. (Author/DB)

Comparison of two strategies for reducing drooling in two adults with moderate mental retardation found both the use of brief cues and the use of flexible cues equally effective for Subject 1 but the use of flexible cues more reliably effective with Subject 2. Neither subject achieved independent skill without the use of cues. (DB)

Following training in a communication repair strategy (showing), 10 children (ages 4 to 9) with hearing loss showed a greater (but not statistically significant) tendency to use this repair behavior than similar untrained subjects. The children used more explicit repair behaviors when asked questions that requested more information. (DB)