Teaching Young Adults with Intellectual Disability Grocery Shopping Skills in a Community Setting Using Least-to-Most Prompting

Zukerman et al. (2019) worked with young adults who have intellectual disability. They wanted to see if least-to-most prompting could teach real grocery shopping in a real store.

Each learner got an iPad with a picture list. Staff started with no help. If the shopper got stuck, they gave slightly more help each time until the item was found.

All participants learned to find every item on the iPad list. One shopper later used the same skill with a brand-new list and a mixed-up order.

The skills stuck without extra teaching. Shoppers kept finding items correctly when staff faded all prompts.

Sarber et al. (1983) did something similar decades earlier. They used behavioral skills training to teach listing, navigating, and buying in under nine hours. Gil keeps the grocery theme but swaps in least-to-most prompting and an iPad.

Durand et al. (1990) and Buskist et al. (1988) both found constant time delay works faster than system-of-least-prompts for sight words and cooking. Gil chose the slower least-to-most route, yet still reached mastery. The difference: Gil’s shoppers needed to think on their feet in a busy store, where a fixed delay could block traffic or feel awkward.

Villante et al. (2021) also handed adults a mobile device. Their learners used iPod flowcharts to solve job problems. Both studies show a tablet or iPod can guide adults with ID through new tasks with little staff talk.

If you support adults with ID, you can hand them an iPad list and use least-to-most prompting during real grocery runs. Start silent, add hints only when needed, and pull back as soon as the item lands in the cart. The skill can spread to new lists and new stores without extra lessons, giving your clients a real shot at independent shopping.