This study examined the acquisition of cell phone use by middle school students with moderate cognitive disabilities. While in school and community settings, students were taught to identify when they were lost and follow a set of procedures for using a cell phone to call for assistance. Through the use of a five-level prompting system in conjunction with total task presentation, students acquired these new safety skills. A series of concurrent multiple-probe designs across groups was used to evaluate cell phone use and to permit generalization from school to community settings. For four participants, generalization was also made to a second phone call recipient. Results indicated that all students successfully acquired the skills of identifying when they were lost and then using a cell phone to call for assistance.

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews (JPCRR) is an open access, peer-reviewed medical journal focused on disseminating scholarly works devoted to improving patient-centered care practices, health outcomes, and the patient experience.

This study replicated previous findings that established a five-level, least-to-most prompting system in conjunction with total task presentation as a successful method for teaching students with moderate cognitive disabilities to gain assistance when lost in the community. The present investigation extended previous findings for those students who were unable to identify when they were lost or were unable to independently dial a cell phone to call for assistance. A multiple probe design across students was used to illustrate the effects of intervention on acquisition of cell phone use. The results indicated that all students successfully learned to either answer a ringing cell phone and provide the caller with detailed information about their physical location or use the speed dial function of a cell phone to call for assistance when lost in school and community settings. Limitations and suggestions for future investigations are provided.

Definitions of literacy that focus solely on reading words provide too narrow a framework for many students with severe disabilities. Obtaining information from the environment may be accomplished in a variety of modes, such as visual literacy, which is the ability to discern meaning conveyed through images. A component of visual literacy is picture reading. This study demonstrates the teaching of logo reading through time delay as an additional component of visual literacy. Visual literacy is discussed as a primary means of obtaining information for some students and as an additional means of literacy for students who can also learn to read Words.

Access to public community job-training sites can be restricted if students with moderate mental retardation exhibit behavior unacceptable to nondisabled coworkers or the general public. The authors conducted a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) in public community settings to determine the function of each student's problem behavior. They used a multiple-baseline-across-time sample design with behavioral probes embedded within a withdrawal to determine a functional relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The use of self-operated auditory prompts matched to maintaining functions was the function-based intervention. Problem behavior was reduced to criterion for all four students during job training in public community settings.