Teaching Cooking Skills to Young Women with Mild Intellectual Disability: The Effectiveness of Internet Websites

The purpose of this preliminary study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using streaming video websites to improve, maintain, and generalize the cooking (meal-making) skills of four young women (18-22 years old) diagnosed with intellectual disabilities. A pre-experimental design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based multimedia program. Instruction consisted of supported viewing and imitation of cooking videos available online, with students searching for a video of the desired recipe, viewing it, and then imitating the video’s sequence of steps to complete the cooking task. Results were assessed by means of a questionnaire administered to each participant’s primary caregivers, and indicated that the structured use of the websites was effective in improving students’ meal-making skills. Implications and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

[1]  D. Gast,et al.  Using a Personal Digital Assistant to Increase Independent Task Completion by Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder , 2009, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[2]  Belva C. Collins,et al.  Using Video Prompting to Teach Cooking Skills to Secondary Students with Moderate Disabilities. , 2005 .

[3]  P. Schloss,et al.  Teaching Meal Planning to Youth with Mental Retardation in Natural Settings , 1997 .

[4]  David F. Cihak,et al.  Generalized use of a handheld prompting system. , 2007, Research in developmental disabilities.

[5]  Scott Bellini,et al.  A Meta-Analysis of Video Modeling and Video Self-Modeling Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders , 2007 .

[6]  Kevin M. Ayres,et al.  Intervention and Instruction with Video for Students with Autism: A Review of the Literature. , 2005 .

[7]  Howard P. Parette,et al.  Using Microsoft®PowerPoint™ to Support Emergent Literacy Skill Development for Young Children At-Risk or Who Have Disabilities , 2008 .

[8]  Kathleen McCoy,et al.  Video Modeling for Individuals with Autism: A Review of Model Types and Effects , 2007 .

[9]  L. Mechling,et al.  Comparison of Static Picture and Video Prompting on the Performance of Cooking-Related Tasks by Students with Autism , 2008 .

[10]  M. O'Reilly,et al.  Evaluation of a Video Prompting and Fading Procedure for Teaching Dish Washing Skills to Adults with Developmental Disabilities , 2007 .

[11]  Monica E. Delano.  Video Modeling Interventions for Individuals with Autism , 2007 .

[12]  Nelson Pacheco da Rocha,et al.  VICAID: Development and evaluation of a palmtop-based job aid for workers with severe developmental disabilities , 2001, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[13]  David L. Gast,et al.  Evaluation of a Portable DVD Player and System of Least Prompts to Self-Prompt Cooking Task Completion by Young Adults With Moderate Intellectual Disabilities , 2008 .

[14]  Linda C. Mechling.  Effects of Multimedia, Computer-Based Instruction on Grocery Shopping Fluency , 2003 .

[15]  P. Sturmey.  Video Technology and Persons with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities , 2003 .

[16]  Michael D. Coyne,et al.  Quality Indicators for Group Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research in Special Education , 2005 .

[17]  Timothy E. Morse,et al.  Teaching Elementary Students with Moderate Intellectual Disabilities How to Shop for Groceries , 2000 .

[18]  J. Bourret,et al.  Combining video modeling and least‐to‐most prompting for establishing response chains , 2007 .

[19]  Jesse W. Johnson,et al.  The Effectiveness of Using a Video iPod as a Prompting Device in Employment Settings , 2009 .

[20]  M. Wagner,et al.  Youth Employment (NLTS2 Data Brief) , 2003 .

[21]  L. Mechling.  High Tech Cooking: A Literature Review of Evolving Technologies for Teaching a Functional Skill. , 2008 .