Teaching Task Sequencing via Verbal Mediation

Abstract

This investigation examined the role of verbal mediation in teaching a woman with moderate mental retardation to sequence her job-related tasks. Following baseline, which consisted of pre-instruction and instructional feedback regarding job performance from a job coach, verbal-sequence training was introduced in multiple-baseline fashion across the set-up and clean-up periods of her job. Results indicated that learning to say the tasks in the sequence in which they were to be performed resulted in this employee doing her assigned tasks in the proper sequence. A scheduled change in the tasks to be performed further demonstrated that this employee was capable of mediating her own work behavior by saying she was not going to complete target tasks on designated days.