Using the System of Least Prompts to Teach Self-Help Skills to Students Who are Deafblind
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Authors
GRATTAN, JILL
Issue Date
2020
Type
Dissertation
Language
Keywords
deafblind , functional self-help skills , multiple disabilities , self-help , system of least prompts
Alternative Title
Abstract
To date, few evidence-based practices (e.g., in orientation and mobility, communication, literacy) have been identified for working with students who are deafblind (Ferrell, Bruce, & Luckner, 2014). No evidence-based practices have been identified for teaching basic self-help skills such as dressing (Ferrell et al., 2014; Parker, Davidson, & Banda, 2007). The present study examined the efficacy of the system of least prompts (SLP, least-to-most prompting) to teach three functional self-help skills (i.e., hand washing, hand drying, and an entry routine) to four school-aged students with vision and hearing impairments and multiple disabilities. The participants received individualized instruction in each of their classrooms as part of ongoing classroom routines (i.e., routines in which the targeted student was not independent and required prompting). A multiple probe across participants design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the system of least prompts to teach the aforementioned self-help skills. Though mastery criterion was not achieved, all participants increased the level of independence within the targeted self-help skills. Effect sizes, both PND (range: 73 to 100%) and Tau-U (range: 0.6818 to 1.0), indicated the system of least prompts was an efficacious instructional practice; however, it may not be the most efficient prompting strategy.