Using simultaneous prompting to teach independent living and leisure skills to adults with severe intellectual disabilities.

Two adults with severe intellectual disability lived in a group home.

Staff used simultaneous prompting to teach three daily tasks: making juice, using a TV remote, and folding towels.

Sessions ran at the kitchen table. A prompt came right after the cue, then praise for correct copies.

Both adults met mastery on every skill after 12 to 28 short lessons.

They still did the tasks one to four weeks later with no extra teaching.

Liu et al. (2025) looked at 21 caregiver studies. Eighty-six percent showed the same pattern: home prompting lifts daily living skills.

Davis et al. (2018) pushed the idea further. Peers with Down syndrome gave the prompts and adults still learned social skills.

Burgio et al. (1986) seems to disagree. They faded prompts from full help to none and kept soccer skills for months. The trick is the goal: motor sport versus home routines. Both paths work for adults with severe ID.

You can teach useful home skills fast with one simple prompt script. No fancy gear, no long chains. Try it during down time in the group home or family kitchen. Track mastery, then step back and watch the skill stick for weeks.