Three preschool children with significant behavioral and developmental delays were taught to participate and respond to teacher commands during large group instruction, important skills for later mainstreaming. Techniques included increasing "opportunities to respond" through increased rates of teacher commands to the group and instituting a group…

The author reviews principles of developmental programing for students with developmental delays. The stages of this approach begins with eye contact and other readiness skills and continues through instruction in cognitive, math, leisure, and independent functioning skills. (CL)

This study evaluated an hierarchical intervention with four young children with significant developmental delays. Picture cues and correspondence training were provided at three levels of intrusiveness. Two children required only less intrusive levels of instruction while the other two required the entire intervention package to reach criterion.…

This study investigated the effects of a Direct Instruction (DI) reading comprehension program implemented with students who had developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and reading delays. There is little research in the area of reading comprehension for students with ASD and no research as to the effectiveness of…

Described is the Pre-Vocational Training Unit, a Canadian day program which offers training in personal adjustment, communication and language skills, social and educational skills, physical fitness, motor dexterity, and basic vocational skills to severely developmentally handicapped individuals (17 to 53 years old). Available from: Journal of…

Two studies compared the effectiveness of two procedures (multiple examples across trials and within trials) in teaching 10 students (ages 10-20) with moderate disabilities functional word discriminations. The first procedure was superior in acquisition; the latter procedure, however, was better under generalization for most participants.…

The article defines the component skills required to learn effectively from pictures, and reviews research on the development of those skills with developmentally disabled individuals. (Author/DB)

This commentary on the use of gentle teaching with individuals with developmental disabilities examines the method's assumptions, describes its use of behavioral techniques, and criticizes its ineffectiveness. (JDD)

A progressive time delay procedure in individual instructional sessions using massed-trial presentation was compared to distributed trials presented during transitions from one activity to another. Results with four preschool children with developmental delays indicated that both procedures were implemented reliably, were comparable in efficiency,…

This study, involving six individuals with mental retardation or emotional disturbance, compared the effectiveness of four stimulus control procedures on attainment of sight vocabulary. Results indicated no clear advantage for any one of the four procedures (stimulus shaping, stimulus fading, time delay, and trial and error). (JDD)

Five elementary students with developmental disabilities were taught health and safety facts using either classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) or traditional teaching methods. Comparison indicated that both CWPT procedures and traditional teacher-led procedures produced similar outcomes. Discussion focuses on advantages of using CWPT to acquire basic…

Programmed Instruction combined with experimenter-provided prompts (physical, verbal, and gesturing) was used to teach pointing with a computer mouse. Three preschoolers who scored at least 1 year below their chronological age levels participated. During the pre-assessment, none of the participants demonstrated pointing. However, they could press…

The manual examines ways in which nonprofessional group home health care workers can enhance the communication and interaction skills of developmentally disabled clients. The communication process is explored in terms of information exchange, both verbal and nonverbal. Examples of vocal, nonvocal, and echolalic speech are offered and suggestions…

Described is the A.N.S.U.A., A New Start for the Under Achiever, an Australian parent group which Exposes the treatment theories of C. Delacato and G. Doman for developmentally disabled children. (CL)