Behavioral Technology for Instructional Readiness

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application seeks support for an STTR Phase II project to complete development of a computer-based product intended for teaching children with moderate to severe mental retardation, autism, and other intellectual disabilities. The product is primarily targeted to those students who lack the behavioral prerequisites to participate in computer-assisted instruction In the Phase-I project period, we successfully adapted well-developed and extensively researched behavioral methods for use by parents, teachers, and other helping professionals. These methods include procedures for identifying and evaluating potential positive reinforcers, establishing consequences for use during instruction, verifying that consequences are in fact effective as positive reinforcement, shaping appropriate responses (e g, pointing to indicate a selection), and teaching basic visual discrimination skills. Phase-I field test results showed that the software prototype could be used effectively in typical teaching situations. While the proposed product will be ideally suited to prepare students for computer-based instruction, its components will be useful separately or in combination to help prepare children with severe mental retardation for other forms of instruction with similar behavioral prerequisites. Examples include "discrete-trial" methods, augmentative/alternative communication training, and virtually any instructional situation that requires attention to visual teaching materials, clear and unambiguous selection responses, and effective feedback.