A program for increasing manual signing by a nonvocal adult within the daily environment
✍ Scribed by Christine L. Schuebel; Joseph S. Lalli
- Book ID
- 101712222
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1992
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 367 KB
- Volume
- 7
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1072-0847
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
An instructional program was implemented to increase an adult's repertoire of manual signlanguage skills. The participant was a 39-year-old male with mental retardation who had never demonstrated vocal speech. The program used modified incidental teaching strategies consisting of modeling, verbal prompts, physical guidance, positive reinforcement, and naturally occurring reinforcers within the participant's daily environment. The teaching program was implemented by eight direct care personnel who interacted with the participant and five other residents in a community living arrangement (CLA) on a daily basis. Results indicated that the participant learned to independently use manual signing during structured interactions and that the independent levels of responding were maintained for the duration of this study. Results are discussed regarding the potential benefits of teaching manual signs to nonvocal individuals.
An additional handicap for persons with severe disabilities can be the lack of an effective communication system. An alternative system, such as sign language, can be useful in addressing the needs of nonvocal, severely disabled individuals. Kiernan (1985) defined signing as ". . . any language or system in which information is primarily transmitted through the use of hand postures and movements of the hands and arms" (p. 612).
A number of researchers have demonstrated that individuals with severe disabilities can acquire manual signs (Faw, Reid, Schepis, Fitzgerald,