Teaching mentally retarded students to tell time

Abstract

This study evaluated a program for teaching handicapped students to tell time to the nearest 5-minute interval. Four adolescents with IQs of 42 or below participated. The target skills were trained in six phases, each of which consisted of two or more steps. A modified multiple probe technique was used for each subject. The data indicated that all subjects completed the program in 14.2–19.6 hours of individual training time. The mean percentage of correct responses during training was 87.9. Frequently occurring discrimination errors, the relative efficacy of the program, and the social relevance of the skill are discussed.