The Effects of a Picture Activity Schedule for Students With Intellectual Disability to Complete a Sequence of Tasks Following Verbal Directions

Abstract

We investigated instruction of independent creation of picture activity schedules (PASs) and how four middle school students with intellectual disability used them to complete tasks independently. A withdrawal design (A-BC-B-A-B) was used to evaluate whether the intervention had an effect on the dependent variable and to test for generalization to a community setting in a pre/post format. After instruction on the PAS, participants learned to self-manage a strategy that served as a reminder for the tasks they needed to complete. All participants exhibited increased abilities to complete a sequence of three or five tasks following verbal directions when using the PAS as compared with the conditions where no PAS was utilized. In addition, these results generalized to the community setting of a mall food court. Our findings have implications for enhancing the independent functioning of individuals with intellectual disability and reducing reliance on others, with the potential for greater levels of self-determination.

Examination of the Evidence Base for Using Visual Activity Schedules With Students With Intellectual Disability

“…We retained articles that met inclusion criteria for further analysis. The comprehensive list included one of the 15 articles reviewed by Knight et al (2015; that is, Duttlinger, Ayres, Bevill-Davis, & Douglas, 2013 was the only study found to include participants with both ASD and ID). All articles used single-case research designs to evaluate effects of VAS.…”

Technology and the Treatment of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Each day people create their own SI materials to complete individual tasks (e.g., write down recipes, print out driving directions) and series of tasks (e.g., write down to-do list, input meetings and dates into electronic calendars). Duttlinger et al (2012) used least-to-most promoting to teach four middle school students, one with ASD, to create their own picture to-do list. As the teacher explained three to five tasks that needed completion, students placed corresponding BoardMaker pictures onto a strip of paper affixed with Velcro.…”

Evidence for the effectiveness of visual supports in helping children with disabilities access the mainstream primary school curriculum

“…However, despite their popularity for a wide range of students and their theoretically predicted effectiveness, there are surprisingly few empirical studies of the use of visual schedules. A number of studies have explored the use of visual supports with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (e.g., Dettmer et al., ) or more broadly with students with a range of mild intellectual disabilities (e.g., Duttlinger et al., ). However, a review of the literature on visual activity schedules against criteria for evidence‐based practice (Knight, Sartini and Spriggs, ) concluded that there is a need for more research into the impact of visual schedules for both academic and daily living activities for children with ASD.…”