The following research reports have been designed as one page summaries of the research evidence for interventions that are commonly used in programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism. They provide an easy to read overview of the research available at the time each report was written. The MUSEC Briefings, which for many years fulfilled this role, are no longer being produced. The aim is to update these Briefings and to investigate interventions not yet addressed. All InSpEd research reports are reviewed by relevant members of the Expert Panel before being published online.
Graduated Guidance
Support Needed
Individuals with disabilities may require physical supports to (a) learn behaviours, particularly chained motor behaviours that enhance independence (e.g., showering, toileting, dressing) or (b) allow them to engage in leisure skills (e.g., fine art, sport, technology) without assistance.
Proposed Intervention
Graduated guidance is a systematic prompting procedure used to teach chained skills. This strategy uses physical prompting that is faded in response to an individual’s physical performance of a behaviour or skill. This procedure requires fading of the prompt intensity from a more intrusive physical prompt (e.g., full physical prompt such as hand-over-hand) to less intrusive physical prompts (e.g., partial physical prompt such as a gentle touch) as the learner demonstrates the behaviour with greater physical independence. When using graduated guidance, physical prompts can be paired with verbal prompts. All prompts should be removed once the individual can perform the behaviour independently; however, shadowing of the learner should continue in case assistance is required.
Most to Least Prompting
Support Needed
Learners with disabilities may require prompted support to successfully learn a new skill, or perform a newly acquired skill, before performing the skill independently.
Proposed Intervention
Most-to-least (MTL) prompting involves the use of the most-to-least intrusive prompt hierarchy to deliver prompts across sessions. MTL prompting is a fading strategy that is commonly used to teach new skills where the most intrusive prompt is used until the learner demonstrates success with that prompt. Then the next most intrusive prompt is used until all prompts are faded out entirely. For example, a prompt hierarchy can progress from a physical prompt, to a verbal prompt, to a gestural prompt, before the prompt is no longer required.
System of Least Prompts
Support Needed
Individuals with disabilities may need prompted support to successfully perform all the steps within a chained task or would benefit from attempting a skill independently before receiving support to perform the desired skill.
Proposed Intervention
The system of least prompts (SLP), also known as least-to-most prompting, is a systemic prompt-fading procedure that makes use of a pre-determined hierarchy of at least three prompts during implementation, beginning with the least intrusive prompt and increasing the level of assistance through the provision of additional and more intrusive prompts. An example would be a prompt hierarchy that progresses from a gestural prompt, to a verbal prompt, and then a physical prompt. The SLP is particularly well suited to the teaching and mastery of chained tasks (e.g., making a cup of tea) as it allows learners to attempt a set of steps independently before receiving support to perform any remaining steps.
Simultaneous Prompting
Support Needed
Learners may need to be provided with information about how to perform a new behaviour or skill using a strategy that allows for prompt fading or removal as instruction advances.
Proposed Intervention
Simultaneous prompting is a near errorless evidence-based strategy that involves two types of daily trials, probe trials and instructional trials. Simultaneous prompting begins with probe trials, where a target stimulus is presented but response prompts and response correction are not provided. These trials are used to evaluate learner acquisition of a behaviour or skill. Instructional trials, delivered after several probe trials, involve the delivery of a response prompt (e.g., verbal, visual, physical) at the same time that the target stimulus is presented. Therefore, a zero-second delay is imposed so that learners do not have the opportunity to provide an unprompted response. Instructional trials involve praising of correct responses and correction of incorrect responses and continue until the targeted behaviour of skill is achieved.
Response Prompting for Students with Disabilities
Support Needed
Students with disabilities, including those with intellectual disabilities and autism, may have difficulty independently acquiring new skills or correctly performing skills already acquired.
Proposed Intervention
Response prompting is an error reducing intervention that combines prompts with systematic instructional strategies that can be used to support students to correctly perform a skill or behaviour. Prompts are ordered in a hierarchy from least to most intrusive: verbal (direct or indirect), gestural, model, and physical (full or partial). To encourage students to perform the skill or behaviour independently, more intrusive prompts should be replaced by the use of less intrusive prompts over time and all prompts should be faded over sessions. Prompts can be delivered through various systematic instructional strategies, including: graduated guidance, constant time delay, progressive time delay, simultaneous prompting, the system of least prompts, and most-to-least prompting.
Canine Assisted Learning in School Settings for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Support Needed
Children with disabilities, including those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), commonly have difficulties with learning, particular with developing social and communication skills. They may also lack motivation to learn.
Proposed Intervention
Canine assisted therapy involves the presence of dogs or interaction with dogs in the pursuit of a goal. The use of dogs in school settings has included situations where dogs are present in the classroom with no set activity, dogs sitting near a child, dogs being present while a child reads aloud, dogs performing motor tasks before or with a child, children interacting with a dog or being involved in dog training and dogs as an element in interventions for social skills, communication and emotional well-being.