Training and generalization of reach-grasp behavior in blind, retarded young children.
Graduated prompting can teach blind toddlers with severe ID to reach and grasp objects, and brief probes show generalization to silent toys when you switch to verbal cues.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team worked with blind toddlers who had severe intellectual disability. None could reach and grasp toys on their own.
Therapists used graduated prompting. They started with full hand-over-hand help. They slowly gave less help until the child did the action alone.
What they found
Every child learned to reach and grab toys placed in different spots. When therapists later used only verbal cues like “get the car,” the kids still grabbed new, silent toys.
Skills dipped for some kids when prompts stopped, but the children relearned quickly once prompting returned.
How this fits with other research
Rojahn et al. (1987) extended the same graduated prompting to older children with ID. Instead of reach-and-grasp, they taught intermittent self-catheterization. The method still worked in just a few sessions.
Cox et al. (2017) kept the prompting idea but added progressive DRO. They taught children with ASD and ID to lie motionless for MRI scans. It shows prompting plus extra reinforcement can tackle very different goals.
Foran‐Conn et al. (2021) compared graduated prompting head-to-head with responsive prompt delay. Both styles taught new skills, so you can pick the faster one that fits your learner.
Why it matters
If you work with young children who have both visual impairment and ID, start reach-and-grab lessons early. Use graduated prompting and test with verbal-only trials to check real learning. The same prompt-fading logic works for daily living, medical care, or lying still for scans.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The effects of a graduated prompting treatment procedure were analyzed in three phases of an experiment on the training and generalization of reaching-grasp responding in 2- to 4-year-old blind, severely or profoundly retarded children. In Phase 1, we used a multiple-baseline across-subjects design to investigate the effectiveness of the treatment on midline reach-grasp responding. In Phase 2, we used a reversal design to investigate the effects of repeated implementations and withdrawals of the treatment. In both phases, generalization to right and left positions was measured. In Phase 3, in a multiple-baseline across-responses design, the treatment was implemented in right and left positions. Also in Phase 3, shift of stimulus control from toy-sound to verbal instructions was measured. The results showed that the graduated prompting procedure was effective in training reach-grasp responding in all three children; for one child, the effects were durable over repeated applications of the treatment procedure, but were not maintained during withdrawals; for another child, the treatment procedure was effective in teaching reach-grasp responding in all three positions; and for the same child, training of reach-grasp responding generalized to toys presented without sound, given only the verbal instruction.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1984 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1984.17-57