Association for Behavior Analysis International

Mathematical competence is imperative for having a range of daily living, leisure, and career opportunities. Individuals with severe disabilities, including moderate to severe intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder, have difficulty with mathematical problem solving in part due to the chained nature of problem solving. Each step is dependent upon correct execution of the one before, and errors in prior steps can prevent arrival at a correct solution. Pictorial self-instruction has a history of effectiveness for teaching chained tasks to students with severe disabilities, but is only recently being used in chained mathematical tasks. This symposia will include (a) a conceptual model for teaching chained mathematical tasks to students with severe disabilities, (b) report of the impact of peer-assisted pictorial self-instruction on chained mathematical tasks for students with severe disability, (c) report of the impact on technology-based pictorial self-instruction on chained mathematical tasks for students with autism spectrum disorder, and (d) report of the effects of pictorial self-instruction with generalization across iDevices on personal finance chained tasks for students with Down syndrome.

Teaching students with severe disabilities to solve mathematical problems is not only an important academic skill, but also a functional skill important in adult life. The model is constructed on four foundational components: (a) build on research from early literacy for text comprehension of the word problem (e.g., Browder, Trela, & Jimenez, 2007; Mims, Hudson, & Browder, 2012); (b) adapt research on schema-based instruction for solving word problems (Jitendra et al., 2009; Jitendra & Hoff, 1996); (c) apply research on teaching mathematics to students with severe disabilities: task analysis and prompting (Browder, Spooner, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Harris, & Wakeman, 2008; Browder et al., 2012), and (d) use research on generalization and peer tutors (Carter, Sisco, Melekoglu, & Kurkowski, 2007; Cushing, Clark, Carter, & Kennedy, 2005; Spooner, Kemp-Inman, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Wood, & Ley Davis, 2015; Stokes & Baer, 1977). The theoretical foundations of the model and its instructional components will be demonstrated. The model served as the conceptual framework around which instruction was built.

Research reveals that the academic accomplishments of students with severe disabilities increase through interaction with typically developing peers in an integrated environment (Brinker & Thorpe, 1984, Westling & Fox, 2009). Moving students with severe disabilities toward independence in inclusive educational settings is an aspiration of many professionals and families within the field of special education. Mathematical tasks within general education classes are typically chained and require a high level of metacognition, which are two areas of weakness for students with severe disabilities. The intense level of individual instruction required by students with severe disabilities presents a barrier to inclusive mathematics instruction if teachers or other adults are the only intervention agents. This presentation will prevent findings from a single-case research study that used a multiple probe across participants design to examine the effects of using peer-mediated pictorial instructoin to teach students with severe disabilities to solve chained mathematical tasks. Results found a functional relation between intervention and mathematical problem solving. The significance of these findings, including the ability of peers to deliver systematic instruction with a high degree of fidelity, along with directions for future research will be discussed.

The current study evaluated the effects of a treatment package that included pictorial self-instruction on a technology platform to teach middle school students with autism and moderate intellectual disability to independently complete chained mathematical tasks. Participants learned to solve and discriminate between two types of word problems. Participants were taught how to use an iPad that displayed a task analysis with embedded verbal and specific verbal prompts. In addition, participants were taught key vocabulary terms related to math problem solving. Results of the multiple probe across participants design show a functional relation between constant time delay and acquisition of mathematics vocabulary terms as well as between pictorial self-instruction and mathematical problem solving. The findings of this study provide several implications for practice for using pictorial self-instruction and offer suggestions for future research in this area.

Solving mathematical problems related to purchasing and personal finance is important in promoting skill generalization and increasing independence for individuals with moderate intellectual disability (ID). Using a multiple probe across participants design, this study investigated the effects of a treatment package that included pictorial self-instruction on solving chained mathematical tasks related to personal finance. Middle school students with moderate intellectual disability were taught to use a calculator and a task analysis to solve word problems related to items being on sale or needing to leave a tip. The results showed a functional relation between the treatment package and the ability to both solve problems and generalize across devices (e.g., classroom calculator, iPhone, iPad). Findings of this study provide several implications for practice and offers suggestions for future research.