Abstract
Behavioral procedures have been used to teach manual communication skills to individuals with mental retardation, although few studies have examined the assessment of generalization of such skills beyond the teaching environment. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of directed rehearsal for teaching and facilitating the generalization of manual signs by six hearing-impaired adults with mental retardation. The effects of directed rehearsal, alone and combined with positive reinforcement for correct responses, were compared to a no-training control condition in an alternating treatments design. Although directed rehearsal was superior to the no-training control condition in teaching manual signs, the procedure was more effective when combined with positive reinforcement. The combined procedure was used to facilitate the generalization of learned signs across a number of variables. The results showed that there were high levels of generalization by all participants across novel phrases, settings, and trainers but variable levels of generalization to another response mode by some subjects. Further, increased levels in overall vocal communication were found for most participants.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barlow, D. H., & Hayes, S. C. (1979). Alternating treatments design: One strategy for comparing the effects of two treatments in a single subject.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 12, 198–210.
Beykirch, H. L., Holcomb, T. A., & Harrington, J. F. (1990). Iconicity and sign vocabulary acquisition.American Annals of the Deaf, 135, 306–311.
Bryen, D., Goldman, A., & Quinlisk-Gill, S. (1988). Sign language with students with severe/profound mental retardation: How effective is it?Education and Training in Mental Retardation, 23, 129–137.
Carr, E. G. (1979). Teaching autistic children to use sign language: Some research issues.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 9, 345–359.
Catania, A. C. (1984).Learning. (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Faw, G. D., Reid, D. H., Schepis, M. M., Fitzgerald, J. R., & Wetty, P. A. (1981). Involving institutional staff in the development and maintenance of sign language skills with profoundly retarded persons.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 14, 411–423.
Fristoe, M., & Lloyd, L. L. (1977). Manual communication for the retarded and others with severe communication impairment: A resource list.Mental Retardation, 15, 18–21.
Gaines, R., Leaper, C., Monahan, C., & Weickgenant, A. (1988). Language learning and retention in young language-disordered children.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 18, 281–295.
Griffith, P. L., & Robinson, J. H. (1980). Influence of iconicity and phonological similarity on sign learning by mentally retarded children.American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 85, 291–298.
Iacono, T., & Parsons, C. (1986). A comparison of techniques in teaching signs to the intellectually disabled using an alternating treatments design.Australian Journal of Human Communication Disorders, 14, 23–34.
Jeanes, R. C., & Reynolds, B. E. (1982).Dictionary of Australasian signs. Melbourne, Australia: Victorian School for Deaf Children.
Karlan, G. R., Lentz, A., Brenn-White, B., Hoddur, P., Egger, D., & Frankoff, D. (1982). Establishing generalized, productive verb-noun phrase usage in a manual language system with moderately handicapped children.Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 47, 31–42.
Kiernan, C., Reid, B., & Jones, M. (1982).Signs and symbols: Use of non-vocal communication systems. London: Heinemann.
Kohl, F. L. (1981). Effects of motoric requirements on the acquisition of manual sign responses by severely handicapped students. AmericanJournal of Mental Deficiency, 85, 396–403.
Lenz, M., Singh, N. N., & Hewett, A E. (1990). Overcorrection as an academic remediation procedure: A reappraisal.Behavior Modification, 15, 64–73.
Linton, J. M., & Singh, N. N. (1984). Acquisition of sign language using positive practice overcorrection.Behavior Modification, 8, 553–566.
Luftig, R. L. (1982). Increasing probability of sign language learning of severely mentally retarded individuals: A discussion of learner, sign production, and linguistic variables.Applied Research in Mental Retardation, 3, 81–97.
Mace, F. C., Lalli, J. S., & Shea, M. C. (1992). Functional analysis and treatment of self-injury. In J. K. Luiselli, J. L. Matson, & N. N. Singh (Eds.),Self-injury: Analysis, assessment, and treatment (pp. 122–152). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Mirenda, P., Iacono, T., & Williams, R. (1990). Communication options for persons with severe and profound disabilities: State of the art and future directions.Journal of the Association for Persons With Severe Handicaps, 15, 3–21.
Oliver, C. B., & Halle, J. W. (1982). Language training in the everyday environment: Teaching functional sign use to a retarded child.Journal of the Association for the Severely Handicapped, 7(3), 50–62.
Poulton, K. T., & Algozzine, B. (1980). Manual communication and mental retardation: A review of research and implications.American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 85, 145–152.
Salisbury, C., Wambold, C., & Walter, G. (1978). Manual communication for the severely handicapped: An assessment and instructional strategy.Education and Training of the Mentally Retarded, 13, 393–397.
Schaefer, B. (1980). Teaching signed speech to nonverbal children.Sign Language Studies, 26, 29–63.
Silverman, F. (1989).Communication for the speechless (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Sisson, L. A., & Barrett, R. P. (1984). An alternating treatments comparison of oral and total communication training with minimally verbal, mentally retarded children.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 17, 559–566.
Stokes, T. F., & Baer, D. M. (1977). An implicit technology of generalization.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 349–367.
Striefel, S., Wetherby, B., & Karlan, G. R. (1978). Developing generalized instruction following behavior in the severely retarded. In C. E. Meyers (Ed.),Quality of life in severely and profoundly mentally retarded people: Research foundation for improvement (pp. 267–326). Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Deficiency.
Walker, M. (1981). What is the Makaton vocabulary? Special Education:Forward Trends, 8(3), 19–20.
Wells, M. E. (1981). The effects of total communication training versus traditional speech training on word articulation in severely mentally retarded individuals.Applied Research in Mental Retardation, 2, 323–333.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Conaghan, B.P., Singh, N.N., Moe, T.L. et al. Acquisition and generalization of manual signs by hearing-impaired adults with mental retardation. J Behav Educ 2, 177–205 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00947119
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00947119