Reinforcing Moderately and Severely Retarded Students for On-Task Behavior and Production Rate

Special educators are recognizing the need to implement comprehensive programs of career development for moderateiy and severely disabled students in public schools. Several professionals have advocated simulated i work activity as a significant component of any comprehensive program (Lynch, 1979, 1982; Mithaug, 1979; Wehman & Hill, 1981). Mithaug, Mar, and Stewart (1978), Wehman (1981), and Lynch (1982) outline the general work behaviors they believe are most important in the future career preparation of moderately and severely handicapped students. Common to these outlines are behaviors such as production rate, attending to task, accuracy, independence, and duration. The current investigation centers on two of these measures: production rate and attending to task.

[1]  W. Kiernan,et al.  Prevocational and vocational education for special needs youth : a blueprint for the 1980s , 1982 .

[2]  P. Wehman,et al.  Competitive Employment for Moderately and Severely Handicapped Individuals , 1981, Exceptional children.

[3]  Baker Rj,et al.  The relationship between attention to work task and production rate of a mentally retarded client. , 1980 .

[4]  F. Rusch.  A Functional Analysis of the Relationship Between Attending and Producing in a Vocational Training Program , 1979 .

[5]  S. Harris,et al.  Teaching spontaneous-functional speech to autistic-type children. , 1979, Mental retardation.

[6]  Dennis E. Mithaug,et al.  The Relation between Programmed Instruction and Task Analysis in the Prevocational Training of Severely and Profoundly Handicapped Persons , 1979 .

[7]  D. E. Bostow,et al.  Indirect facilitation of on-task behavior produced by contingent free-time for academic productivity1. , 1978 .

[8]  M. Cohen,et al.  Retarded adult's discrete work performance in a sheltered workshop as a function of overall productivity and motivation. , 1975, American journal of mental deficiency.

[9]  C. Thornton.  Competitive employment: New horizons for severely disabled individuals , 1981 .

[10]  A. Cuvo,et al.  The relationship between attention to work task and production rate of a mentally retarded client. , 1980, Mental retardation.

[11]  R. Karen.  Behavior Modification in a Sheltered Workshop for Severely Retarded Students. , 1974 .