Combination Audio/Visual Self-prompting System for Teaching Chained Tasks to Students with Intellectual Disabilities

This study evaluates the use of a combination audio and visual prompting system to increase independent task completion by students with moderate intellectual disabilities. The prompting system involved the use of a currently available, electronic, augmentative communication device which employs the use of picture overlays and recorded speech for both visual and auditory prompting and feed-back to the listener. Four children, 10-13 years of age, diagnosed with moderate intellectual disabilities served as study participants. An A-B-A-B (withdrawal) design, replicated across two behaviors and four subjects, was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the auditory-picture prompting system on the number of steps of a chained task performed independently. Results indicate that a substantial difference in performance existed when the self-prompting device was used.