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TEACHING MENDING SKILLS TO MENTALLY RETARDED ADOLESCENTS
Author(s) -
Cronin Kathleen A.,
Cuvo Anthony J.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1901/jaba.1979.12-401
Subject(s) - mentally retarded , multiple baseline design , task (project management) , psychology , baseline (sea) , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , medical education , psychiatry , medicine , intervention (counseling) , oceanography , management , geology , economics
This experiment presents a model for analyzing community living skills and teaching them to mentally retarded adolescents. A task analysis of three mending skills was developed and validated, aided by consultation with persons having expertise in home economics and mental retardation. The task analysis was modified to compensate for the constraints imposed by the trainees' disabilities. Five moderately retarded youths received training on sewing hems, buttons, and seams. Sewing skills were acquired rapidly and maintained. The behavior generalized from trained to untrained tasks on their common components for all subjects. A multiple baseline across participants combined with a multiple baseline across responses demonstrated the combined effectiveness of an objectively validated, detailed task analysis; graduated sequence of prompts; and response consequences in training and maintaining community living skills with mentally retarded adolescents.