Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Effects of a Video Model to Teach Students with Moderate Intellectual Disability to Use Key Features of an iPhone

2012; Volume: 47; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

2154-1647

Kathryn Walser, Kevin M. Ayres, Erika Foote,

Family and Disability Support Research

This study evaluated the effects of video modeling on teaching three high school students with moderate intellectual disability to perform three activities on an iPhone 3GS. This study is a replication and extension of the Hammond, Whatley, Ayres, and Gast (2010) study in which researchers taught this same set of skills using a slightly different format of instruction and a less complex hand-held device. In the current study, a multiple probe design across three behaviors, replicated across three participants, was used to evaluate the effects of video modeling on participants’ capacities to (a) take a photograph of a person, (b) look at photographs by starting a slideshow, and (c) access and view a video. Generalization to a more complex home screen arrangement featuring multiple unused buttons not present during intervention was also measured following intervention. Results of the present study indicate that video modeling was effective in teaching target behaviors in a near-errorless fashion. Additionally, during generalization, students were able to navigate to each of the three tasks despite the addition of 14 other distracter buttons, not previously present without additional training. The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act defines assistive technology (AT) devices as those tools that help students with disabilities function in their environment (Wright, 2004). The range in what qualifies as a “device” is broad and can include things from specialized eating utensils to computer software that converts speech to text. Some of these are everyday items that simply require a low tech modification (e.g., fattening a pencil with a rubber grip) while others are more complex and specialized (e.g., Dynavox augmentative communication systems). In many cases the technology is specialized in some way, either by design or modification, to promote independence. Depending on how dynamic an individual’s needs are, the life-span of an AT device may be limited. Many years ago, Phillips and Zhao (1993) noted shifting user needs as one of the primary reasons individuals stopped using an AT device. Further, Brookes (1998) suggested that some families may decide not to utilize AT for their children because of the increased focus on the child and disability. Much of the research cited by Parette and Scherer (2004) focused on the stigma associated with AT and the influence on the user. The fear that AT may magnify the visual perception of an individual’s disability weighs heavily in the decision to use or forgo AT. However, solutions exist in more typical formats. Applications currently exist for the iPod and iPhone that put communication options (e.g., speech-to-text) in a “normal” device that does not look atypical across multiple environments. Within today’s technology-dependent population, the ubiquity of people using an iPhone or listening to an iPod in public is