The authors of this article argue that deficit in socially skilled behaviour is often one of the distinguishing characteristics that sets people with intellectual disability apart from their non-disabled peers. The need for social skills training to take place within the context of real life daily situations has been emphasised in more recent…

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a life skills training program taught as part of physical education lessons. Seventy three, seventh grade students were assigned either in an experimental or in a wait-list control replication group and received an abbreviated version of GOAL, a school-based intervention designed…

A teaching approach which used general case procedures for selecting teaching examples was effective in teaching four severely retarded high school students basic telephone skills. Trained skills generalized to nontrained telephone situations and telephone use was continued (at 18 months after training) as a part of each student's lifestyle.…

A forward-chaining, partial-task training method was found effective in teaching bill paying skills via check writing to four adults with developmental disabilities attending a day treatment program. The skills were maintained over a two-month follow-up and generalized across novel types of bills. Bank personnel and teachers validated the improved…

Discusses the need for expanded work placement programs to enable special needs students to enter the work place efficiently. Outlines a career education progression for the development of work and daily living skills. (CT)

A home safety assessment and training methodology for mothers with mental retardation was evaluated. Although the overall number of implemented safety precautions increased, the variability of results among the four mothers suggests additional training or support services are needed. (Author/DB)

The study with four adults with moderate and severe mental handicaps found that both backward and concurrent chaining training strategies were equally effective in teaching use of a fast food restaurant and a supermarket. (Author/DB)

Deficits in theory of mind (ToM), evident in most individuals with autism, have been suggested as a core deficit of autism. ToM difficulties in young siblings of children with autism (SIBS-A) compared to siblings of typically developing children (SIBS-TD) would place the former within the broad phenotype. We examined ToM's possible associations…

In an effort to contribute to our knowledge of "what works" in correctional practices, this project evaluates the empirical research on adult educational programs and recidivism from the mid-1990s to the present. The studies are summarized, integrated, and rated according to the University of Maryland Scale for Scientific Rigor. We conclude that…

The kit is a multilevel assessment and reporting instrument for continuously evaluating the progress of multiply handicapped and retarded children receiving instruction in basic living skills. The TRAC System is designed to pretest a child to prescribe individual instruction and to then monitor the child's progress in his or her program. The…

The study evaluated the use of simulated instruction on vending machine use as an adjunct to community-based instruction with two moderately retarded children. Results showed concurrent acquisition of the vending machine skills across trained and untrained sites. (Author/DB)

The validity of using self report to assess competence on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales was investigated with 16 mentally retarded adults. Self report and informant report showed close agreement for both daily living skills and socialization. Higher functioning subjects provided more information regarding problem behaviors than did their…

Two teaching strategies (constant time delay and increasing prompt hierarchy assistance) were compared in teaching four severely handicapped high school students to purchase snack items at a convenience store and fast food restaurant. Results indicated the time delay procedure was more effective. (DB)

Three-day life skills re-education program, embedded in 10-week new employee basic training had no long-term effects on alcohol and drug knowledge and attitudes. Findings suggest that primary prevention program targeting adults may be too late to affect alcohol and drug habits, life skills approach may work best in secondary prevention efforts,…

Discusses the preparation of foster adolescents for employment. Emphasizes the development of an independent-living plan that includes employment as a subgoal, and indicates how foster youths can acquire fundamental work attitudes and skills in day-to-day placement situations. (RJC)