Comparison of effectiveness and efficiency of constant-time delay and most to least prompts in teaching of daily living skills for children with mental retardation

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness and efficiency (in terms of meeting the criteria in training errors, total training time and number of trials) of constant- time delay and most-to-least prompts procedures in teaching daily living skills (sewing and cooking soup) to children with mental retardation. ?Adapted Alternating Treatment Design? which was one at the single subject designs, was used as a research design. The subjects of the study consists of 2 boy between the ages of 12 and 13 who are mentally retarded. Subjects are from the school at? TSK Gülsav Özel Eğitim İlköğretim Okulu ve Rehabilitasyon Kursu?, in Ankara during 2005-2006 education year. In order to collect the data, a teacher interview form, a skill checklist, criterion-referenced tests and data record sheets to use during constant-time delay and most-to-least prompts procedure, efficiency form, procedural reliability forms and social validity form were developed and used. Constant-time delay and most-toleast procedures instruction plans were prepared and applied by the investigator. Visual graphical analysis method was used in the analysis of the data. According to the results, both procedures were equally effective in teaching daily living skills. In acquisition of sewing skill, most-to-least prompt procedure was more efficient than constant-time delay procedure in terms of training errors through criterion and training time through criterion. In acquasition of cooking soup, constant-time delay procedure was more efficient than in terms of total training time through criterion and number of trials through criterion, there was no significiant difference between the two procedures in terms of training errors through criterion. Maintanence and generalization data were showed that students maintained the skills 12,18 and 28 day after the teaching and the skills were generalized to different location, tools and individuals. Regarding these results, both stragies in viii maintanence and generalization at the daily living skills were found to have similar effectiveness.