We evaluated the use of a video prompting procedure for teaching three adults with developmental disabilities to make popcorn using a microwave oven. Training, using a 10-step task analysis, was conducted in the kitchen of the participant's vocational training program. During baseline, participants were instructed to make popcorn, but were given…

A program evaluation was completed for a Virtual Reality (VR) pilot project intended to aid deaf children in learning various life skills which they may be at risk of not adequately learning. Such skills include crossing the street safely, exiting a building during a fire drill, and avoiding situations in which strangers may harm them. The VR was…

A cross-sequential design was used to examine changes related to aging in adults with and without Down syndrome (ns = 55 and 75, respectively). Adults received yearly neuropsychological and medical evaluations. Support for precocious aging in adults with Down syndrome was evident only on a test of verbal fluency, with weaker support obtained on a…

"Picture Exchange Communication System" (PECS) training was implemented with 5 nonspeaking adults with mental retardation who were not currently using any type of functional communication system. A modified ABAB, single-subject design was used to assess the effectiveness of PECS in enhancing the functional communication skills of these…

This document is an evaluation report on a program in which 288 students aged 6 to 20 received supplementary career education and daily living skills instruction under the ECIA, Chapter 1, Part B Institutionalized Facilities Program. The students resided in 10 institutions for the neglected and delinquent. The evaluation summary states that: (1)…

Mastery of sixteen "life skills" tasks will be a Seattle Public Schools graduation requirement beginning in 1981. Five forms of the Minimum Competencies Performance Test, which will be used to measure mastery of those tasks, are presently being developed and field tested. This report presents the results of the analysis of the first…

Six retarded young adults were trained to select grocery items using picture cards as cues and to reject either (1) maximally different negative examples or (2) minimally different negative examples. Training with minimally different negative examples was functionally related to improved rejection of nontrained negative items in a nontrained…

Describes a mathematics education research project conducted among seventh graders with the goal of identifying important processes, skills, and understandings needed by students to use mathematical ideas in everyday situations. Discusses information utilization skills required for solving a written problem containing extensive verbal and…

The author relates issues for preretirement education to a set of relevant activities, each with its own learning component. He discusses life management skills, the transition to retirement, preparation for retirement, and cultivating the desire to learn. Trends in the United Kingdom affecting retirement preparation are listed. (CT)

The viability of a short-term residential facility for the mentally retarded was examined, using client discharge and developmental growth data. Discharge for the profoundly retarded was not achieved. Findings highlighted the restraints imposed on evaluating one component of a large service delivery system. (MH)

Uses action research methods to describe one classroom in order to urge English educators to invite their students to participate in literacy and social action. Suggests ways that Mikhail Bakhtin's literary theory can help English teachers and English educators discover and better understand the link of word and deed. (NH)

This report responds to a New York State Legislature request to provide a reliable estimate of the number of persons with developmental disabilities in the state prison system, while evaluating current practices for identifying such inmates and meeting their needs. Major findings included the following: (1) contrary to many estimates, the study…

The Summer Training and Education Program (STEP) provides 14 and 15 year olds with a paid summer experience that combines work, remediation in reading and math, and life skills instruction. This national, federally funded program is a response to data which show that poor academic performance and teenage pregnancy are important contributors to…

The Neglected and Delinquent Pupils Project provided pre-vocational, vocational and life skills training to 450 students in grades 9-12 who resided in two group homes or a correctional facility for the neglected or delinquent. The curriculum methodology and organization were determined by each institution based on the needs of the students,…

The objective template matching procedures of D. J. Bem were evaluated with 14 group homes for the developmentally disabled. Placement requirements were described in terms of minimum adaptive behaviors required, maximum maladaptive behavior tolerated, and required level of supervision. Environmental templates were developed and matched with client…