Use of a Handheld Prompting System to Transition Independently Through Vocational Tasks for Students With Moderate and Severe Intellectual Disabilities
By Cihak, David F.; Kessler, Kelby; Alberto, Paul A.; Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 102-110Publication Date: March 2008
Study assessed the effectiveness of a handheld computer as a prompting system to facilitate the independent transitions from task to task for students with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities in a community vocational setting. One female and three male students, 16 to 17 years old and with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities, participated in the study. The prompting device consisted of an Axium X30 onto which photographs representing the tasks to be performed accompanied by verbal prompts were loaded. Students listened to the prompts via headphones. After completion of a task, students advanced the prompting system by pressing an arrow button on the computer. Community instruction during which the tasks were performed was at a grocery store for two students and at a restaurant and a department store for the remaining two. Ten vocational tasks were chosen for each student, such as stocking shelves, gathering shopping carts, sweeping, and setting tables. An independent transition was defined as the student’s ability to move from task to task without relying on an individual for directions. Effectiveness of the prompting system was assessed using a multiple-probe design across participants. Analysis of the data revealed that students successfully used the system to increase independent transitions from task to task. Independent transitioning was maintained at a 100 percent level for up to nine weeks. Study limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
Published by: Council for Exceptional Children (Website:http://www.cec.sped.org)
Division on Developmental Disabilities (DDD) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) (Web Site: http://www.dddcec.org )
