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Abstract
The Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program has previously been used to teach functional life skills and prevent problem behavior in typically developing preschool children. The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend the PLS research by teaching functional communication skills to students with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). A multiple baseline across skills design was used to investigate the implementation of tiered instruction on life skill usage and problem behavior in the classroom. I also assessed the level of instruction needed for students with IDD to acquire life skills. I found the class acquired each life skill and demonstrated a reduction of problem behavior with intervention. Most students were able to initially acquire skills following class-wide instruction, but additional practice was needed to maintain skills. Additionally, students were taught to discriminate between functional communication responses prior to the end of the study.