A note on the use of peer assistance and praise to increase engagement and productivity on a vocational assembly task

An ABCBA withdrawal design was employed to examine the effects of peer prompting and attention, and staff assisted peer prompting and attention, on task engagement and productivity of two women with severe mental handicaps on a vocational assembly task. Results indicated that: both engagement and productivity were greater in each of the two intervention conditions when compared with baseline; the addition of instructor assistance resulted in further increases in productivity and engagement; and peers were effective in prompting and praising, contingent on disengaged and engaged behaviour respectively.