Training and generalization of laundry skills: a multiple probe evaluation with handicapped persons.

Teachers used a prompt ladder plus plastic tokens to teach laundry skills to students with developmental delays. They started with hand-over-hand help, then moved to gestures, then just verbal cues, and finally no help at all.

Each student learned to sort, wash, dry, and fold clothes. The team tracked progress across several behaviors in a multiple-baseline design. After mastery, they tested the kids in a real laundromat to see if skills would stick.

All students learned the full laundry routine. They kept the skills for 10 months and used them perfectly in the public laundromat. Observers said the kids looked like their non-disabled peers.

Beahm et al. (2023) updated the same idea with a phone app instead of plastic tokens. Adults with developmental disabilities also gained daily-living skills, but staff said the digital version took more setup time. The 1982 tokens were simpler and still worked.

Hansen et al. (1989) later compared two prompt styles for teaching banking skills. They found that a shrinking prompt ladder, like the one used here, beat time delay for speed. The laundry study gave early proof that the ladder works.

Neef et al. (1986) showed the same package—prompts plus tokens—can teach mealtime behaviors. Together, these studies build a line of evidence that the combo works across chores, meals, and money skills.

You can teach an entire daily living skill in one chain with nothing fancier than a prompt hierarchy and a handful of tokens. The skills last almost a year and transfer to the real world. Try writing a task analysis for any chore you want, set up your prompt levels, pick a token the learner likes, and start data. You will likely see quick gains and durable maintenance without special tech.