Training a Retarded Client's Mother and Teacher through Sequenced Instructions to Establish Self-Feeding

Abstract

A parent and teacher were trained in home and school settings to administer a self-feeding program to a profoundly retarded adult woman. During the treatment period, a written sequenced instructional program specifying trainer contingencies, verbal instructions, nonverbal cues, and physical prompts was introduced. In order to assess the experimental effects of the program, a multiple baseline design across trainers and settings was employed. During training an increase in both the parent and teacher's appropriate use of instruction and attention occurred, and a high stable rate of self-feeding responses developed across settings. After training, eight postcheck probes across different meals, settings, and trainers indicated maintenance of and suggested generalized changes in the woman's self-feeding behavior.