A multiple-probe design across response chains and students was used to evaluate the combined instructional effects of progressive time delay, general case training, and observational learning on the food and drink preparation skills of three children with autism. All instruction was delivered in a group learning arrangement. The data suggested that these students acquired and maintained the targeted skills through the use of these instructional techniques. In addition, students were able to acquire response chains by observing the other student in the group and appeared to generalize the acquired skills to similar response chains. The implications for future research are discussed.
Alberto, P.A., & Troutman, A.C. (1995). Applied behavior analysis for teachers (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
2.
Ault, M.J., Gast, D.L., & Wolery, M. ( 1988). Comparison of progressive and constant time delay procedures in teaching community-sign word reading. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 93, 44-56.
3.
Barbara, R., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (1983). An alternating treatment comparison of oral and total communication training programs with echolalic autistic children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 16, 379-394.
4.
Billingsley, F., White, O.R., & Munson, R. ( 1980). Procedural reliability: A rationale and an example. Behavioral Assessment, 2, 229-241.
5.
Browder, D.M., Hines, C., McCarthy, L.J., & Fees, J. ( 1984). A treatment package for increasing sight word recognition for use in daily living skills. Education and Training of the Mentally Retarded, 19, 191-200.
6.
Browder, D., & Snell, M.E. ( 2000). Teaching functional academics. In M. E. Snell & F. Brown (Eds.), Instruction of students with severe disabilities (pp. 493-542). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
7.
Browder, D.M., Snell, M.E., & Wildonger, B.A. (1988). Simulation and community-based instruction of vending machines with time delay. Education and Training of the Mentally Retarded, 23, 175-185.
8.
Carothers, D.E., & Taylor, R.L. ( 2004). How teachers and parents can work together to teach daily living skills to children with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 19, 102-104.
9.
Collins, B.C., & Stinson, D.M. ( 1995). Teaching generalized reading of product warning labels to adolescents with mental disabilities through the use of key words. Exceptionality, 5, 163-181.
Doyle, P.M., Schuster, J.W., & Meyer, S. ( 1996). Embedding extra stimuli in the task direction: Effects on learning of students with moderate mental retardation. The Journal of Special Education, 29, 381-399.
12.
Duker, P.C., Van Deursen, W., de Wit, M., & Almen, A. ( 1997). Establishing a receptive repertoire of communicative gestures with individuals who are profoundly mentally retarded. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities , 32, 357-361.
13.
Farmer, J.A., Gast, D.L., Wolery, M., & Winterling, V. (1991). Small group instruction for students with severe handicaps: A study of observational learning. Education and Training in Mental Retardation, 26, 190-201.
14.
Fickel, K.M., Schuster, J.W., & Collins, B.C. ( 1998). Teaching different tasks using different stimuli in a heterogeneous small group. Journal of Behavioral Education , 8, 219-244.
15.
Frederick-Dugan, A., Test, D.W., & Varn, L. ( 1991). Acquisition and generalization of purchasing skills using a calculator by students who are mentally retarded. Education and Training in Mental Retardation, 26, 381-387.
16.
Gardill, M.C., & Browder, D.M. ( 1995). Teaching stimulus classes to encourage independent purchasing by students with severe behavior disorders. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 30, 254-264.
17.
Godby, S., Gast, D.L., & Wolery, M. ( 1987). A comparison of time delay and the system of least prompts in teaching object identification. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 8, 283-306.
18.
Griffen, A.K., Wolery, M., & Schuster, J.W. (1992). Triadic instruction of chained food preparation responses: Acquisition and observational learning . Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, 25, 193-204.
19.
Hall, M.G., Schuster, J.W., Wolery, M., & Gast, D.L. ( 1992). Teaching chained skills in a non-school setting using divided half instruction. Journal of Behavioral Education , 2, 257-279.
20.
Lancioni, G.E., & O’Reilly, M.F. (2002). Teaching food preparation skills to people with intellectual disabilities: A literature overview. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 15, 236-253.
21.
McCurdy, B.L., Cundari, L., & Lentz, F.E. ( 1990). Enhancing instructional efficiency: An examination of time delay and the opportunity to observe instruction. Education and Treatment of Children, 13, 226-238.
22.
McDonnell, A.P. ( 1996). The acquisition, transfer, and generalization of requests by young children with severe disabilities. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 31, 213-234.
23.
National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
24.
O’Neill, R.E., Faulkner, C., & Horner, R.H. ( 2000). The effects of general case training of manding responses on children with severe disabilities. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 12, 43-60.
25.
Parker, M.A., & Schuster, J.W. (2002). Effectiveness of simultaneous prompting on the acquisition of observational and instructive feedback stimuli when teaching a heterogeneous group of high school students. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities , 37, 89-104.
26.
Schuster, J.W. ( 1998). Cooking instruction with persons labeled mentally retarded: A review of literature. Education and Training in Mental Retardation , 23, 43-50.
27.
Snell, M.S. ( 1982). Analysis of time delay procedures in teaching daily living skills to retarded adults. Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 2, 139-155.
28.
Sprauge, J.R., & Horner, R.H. ( 1984). The effects of single instance, multiple instance, and general case training on generalized vending machine use by moderately and severely handicapped students. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 17, 173-278.
29.
Steere, D.E., Pancsofar, E.L., Powell, T.H., & Butterworth, J. (1989). Enhancing instruction through general case programming. Teaching Exceptional Children, 21, 22-24.
30.
Stinson, D.M., Gast, D.L., Wolery, M., & Collins, B. ( 1991). Acquisition of nontarget information. Exceptionality, 2, 65-80.
31.
Tawney, J.W., & Gast, D.L. ( 1984). Single subject research in special education. Columbus, OH: Merrill.
32.
Tekin-Iftar, E., Acar, G., & Kurt, O. ( 2003). The effects of simultaneous prompting on teaching expressive identification of objects: An instructive feedback study. International Journal of Disability, Development, and Education, 50, 149-167.
33.
Tekin-Iftar, E., & Kircaali-Iftar, G. (2004). Ozel egitimde yanlissiz ogretim yontemleri (2. baski) [Errorless teaching procedures in special education (2nd ed.)]. Ankara, Turkey: Nobel Yayin Dagitim.
34.
Wolery, M.Ault, M.J., & Doyle, P.M. ( 1992). Teaching students with moderate to severe disabilities: Use of response prompting strategies. New York: Longman.
35.
Wolery, M., Ault, M.J., Gast, D.L., Doyle, P.M., & Griffen, A.K. ( 1991). Teaching chained tasks in dyads: Acquisition of target and observational behaviors. The Journal of Special Education , 25, 198-220.
36.
Wolery, M., Bailey, D.B., & Sugai, G.M. ( 1988). Effective teaching: Principles and procedures of applied behavioral analysis with exceptional students. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
37.
Wolery, M., & Gast, D.L. ( 1990). Efficiency of instruction: Conceptual framework and research directions. Unpublished manuscript, Vanderbilt University , Nashville, TN.
