Spelling Practice Intervention: A Comparison of Tablet PC and Picture Cards as Spelling Practice Methods for Students with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

The present study compared a spelling practice intervention using a tablet personal computer (PC) and picture cards with three students diagnosed with developmental disabilities. An alternating-treatments design with a non-concurrent multiple-baseline across participants was used. The aims of the present study were: (a) to determine if participants could independently practice the spelling of simple words; (b) to compare participants’ preference for one instructional delivery method over the other; and (c) to determine whether their preference would influence the frequency of their spelling practice. Findings revealed that participants had distinct preferences with regard to instructional delivery method. Further, participants improved their spelling and acquired vocabulary words independently over the course of the intervention. Finally, participants acquired spelling skills faster when using their preferred instructional delivery method. The findings extend previous tablet PC-implemented studies with children with developmental disabilities. That is, the findings are consistent with previous technology-implemented research on writing skills with students with developmental disabilities.