etadd_46(4) - Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities

Figure 1. MP3 Player (Model: SM-320V). Pine
Technology, Ltd.
segments on the device. In addition, media
players such as video iPods now feature video
playback (see section titled Handheld Computers
and Handheld Video Players).
In the only identified study evaluating use
of a media player with audio playback, Taber-
Doughty (2005) used a D’music MP3 Player
(Pine Technology, Ltd) (Figure 1) to deliver
auditory prompts while comparing the effects
and efficiency of student choice and task performance
between prompting methods (MP3
player, system of least prompts, and picture
prompts). Data were collected for the percent
of task steps completed independently and
the duration of task completion for the tasks
of operating a copying machine and making
purchases using a debit card machine. Results
demonstrated that each system was effective
and efficient for five high school age students
with moderate ID and that students’ performances
were superior when using their system
of choice.
Although the experimental design did not
meet the criteria for inclusion in the current
literature review, one additional study was
identified which used a portable cassette
player to prompt students with moderate intellectual
and visual disabilities (Lancioni,
O’Reilly & Oliva, 2001). The study demonstrated
that although more sophisticated devices
may be available, researchers and practitioners
are still finding value in lighter tech
systems. An interesting finding and focus of
the study was that following task mastery using
step-by-step auditory instructions, the partici-
pants were able to complete tasks when two
auditory steps from the original instructions
were clustered together.
Cellular/Smartphones
In addition to meeting basic communication
needs, it is suggested that use of cell phones by
persons with disabilities can address safety issues
(i.e., being lost, being stranded if a wheelchair
breaks down) or be used as a memory
aid (alarms and reminder features) (Bryen,
Carey, & Friedman, 2007). In their survey of
cell phone use by 83 persons with intellectual
disabilities, Bryen et al. found that in addition
to day-to-day communication, cell phones
were most often used for emergencies, storing
phone numbers, and storing calendar information.
In the current review, two of the three
studies which evaluated use of cell phones by
persons with moderate intellectual disabilities,
used a cell phone as an intervention for the
emergency situation of being lost in the community.
In the first study, Taber, Alberto,
Hughes, and Seltzer (2002) found that 14
middle school students were able to use a cell
phone to dial a number by copying a phone
number from a printed card and to describe
their physical location. Sessions were first conducted
at school and then generalized to a
community setting. In a final phase, students
also dialed a different phone number than the
one used during training.
Because some students had difficulty dialing
the phone number in the first study, speed
dialing was used in a second study by Taber,
Alberto, Seltzer, and Hughes (2003). In addition
to the change in dialing, they also evaluated
six secondary age students’ abilities to
answer a cell phone and describe their location
to the caller for those students who were
not able to recognize that they were lost. Once
again, training took place in the school setting
and then generalization sessions occurred in
two community settings. Results were again
supportive of cell phone use by students with
moderate intellectual disabilities when lost in
the community. One interesting result of each
of these studies was that in addition to some
issues with operation of the cell phone itself,
students had the greatest amount of difficulty
describing their physical location.
In spite of their potential benefits, Bryen et
486 / Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities-December 2011