Programmed Instruction to teach pointing with a computer mouse in preschoolers with developmental disabilities.

Programmed Instruction combined with experimenter-provided prompts (physical, verbal, and gesturing) was used to teach pointing with a computer mouse. Three preschoolers who scored at least 1 year below their chronological age levels participated. During the pre-assessment, none of the participants demonstrated pointing. However, they could press and release the mouse button. Programmed Instruction consisted of three stages, based on an analysis of the behavioral prerequisites for pointing. Stage 1 was designed to teach participants to move the mouse. Stage 2 was designed to teach participants to move the on-screen cursor onto specific items on the screen. Stage 3 was designed to teach participants to click on specific items on the screen. Experimenter-provided prompts were used to facilitate skill acquisition at each stage. The post-assessment showed that all participants learned pointing after intervention. The intervention package consisting of Programmed Instruction and experimenter-provided prompts was effective for teaching the hand-eye coordination required for pointing.

[1]  H A Mackay,et al.  Teaching computer-based spelling to individuals with developmental and hearing disabilities: transfer of stimulus control to writing tasks. , 1996, Journal of applied behavior analysis.

[2]  J. L. Durfee,et al.  A comparison of two computer input devices for uppercase letter matching. , 1999, The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

[3]  S. Lane,et al.  Classification of vowels and consonants by individuals with moderate mental retardation: development of arbitrary relations via match-to-sample training with compound stimuli. , 1998, Journal of applied behavior analysis.

[4]  Glenda Revelle,et al.  Slow and steady wins the race? Three-year-old children and pointing device use , 1996, Behav. Inf. Technol..

[5]  P. Touchette,et al.  Errorless learning: reinforcement contingencies and stimulus control transfer in delayed prompting. , 1984, Journal of applied behavior analysis.

[6]  Cheryl Missiuna,et al.  Motor Skill Acquisition in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder , 1994 .

[7]  J. Leung.  Teaching simple addition to children with mental retardation using a microcomputer , 1994 .

[8]  David F. Bicard,et al.  Assessment of impulsivity and the development of self-control in students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. , 2001, Journal of applied behavior analysis.

[9]  John King,et al.  Preschooler's Use of Microcomputers and Input Devices , 1992 .

[10]  Steven L. Miller,et al.  Temporal Processing Deficits of Language-Learning Impaired Children Ameliorated by Training , 1996, Science.

[11]  David Cohen,et al.  Programed instruction and teaching machines , 1964 .

[12]  Thomas E. Scruggs,et al.  Can Computers Teach Problem-Solving Strategies to Students with Mild Mental Retardation? , 1997 .

[13]  I. Scott MacKenzie,et al.  Fitts' Law as a Research and Design Tool in Human-Computer Interaction , 1992, Hum. Comput. Interact..

[14]  Steven L. Miller,et al.  Language Comprehension in Language-Learning Impaired Children Improved with Acoustically Modified Speech , 1996, Science.

[15]  H A Mackay,et al.  Constructed-response matching to sample and spelling instruction. , 1991, Journal of applied behavior analysis.

[16]  Karen Littleton,et al.  It is best to point for young children: a comparison of children's pointing and dragging , 1998 .

[17]  William J. McIlvane,et al.  Microcomputer-based programmed instruction in identity matching to sample for persons with severe disabilities , 1992 .