Evaluating Behavioral Skills Training to Improve Bowling Form of Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Green-Short et al. (2025) taught three adults with intellectual disabilities how to bowl better. The team used Behavioral Skills Training: explain, model, practice, and feedback. They tracked form steps like stance, swing, and release across 18 games.

Every adult’s form score jumped from about 30 % to 90 %. Strikes and spares did not rise; the final pin count stayed flat. Clean form did not equal more points.

Mammarella et al. (2022) also gave adults with IDD a brief BST package. Their clients learned to sit through a real dental exam without sedation. Together, the two studies show BST can open doors to both leisure and health-care settings.

Quiroz et al. (2023) used one BST session to teach kids to avoid allergenic foods. Both papers got big skill gains, but the kids also kept themselves safe, while the bowlers did not score higher. The difference is the payoff: safety kept, pins did not.

Briggs et al. (2024) scoped 51 studies and found most teams trim BST steps to save time. Green-Short used the full four-step package; future replications could test a leaner version and see if form gains hold.

If you want adults with IDD to look like bowlers and feel included in league night, BST works fast. Add reinforcement or competitive games if you also want the scoreboard to change.