The Effect of Systematic Prompting on the Acquisition of Two Muscle-Strengthening Exercises by Adults with Moderate Intellectual Disabilities

• Published in: Journal of behavioral education Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 584 - 605
• Main Authors: Obrusnikova, Iva, Cavalier, Albert R., Novak, Haley M., Blair, Ashleigh E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.09.2020; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acquisition; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Book publishing; Child and School Psychology; Chronic diseases; Chronic illnesses; Educational Strategies; Exercise; Exercise Physiology; Intellectual disabilities; Learning and Instruction; Moderate Intellectual Disability; Muscle strength; Muscular Strength; Musculoskeletal system; Original Paper; Physical Fitness; Program Effectiveness; Prompting; Psychology; Risk reduction; Task performance; Teaching Methods; Video Technology; Young Adults; United States; Exercise performance; Intellectual disability; Task prompting; Video-based instruction; Single-subject design
• ISSN: 1053-0819; 1573-3513
• DOI: 10.1007/s10864-019-09328-7

Musculoskeletal fitness is important for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) to maintain cardiovascular fitness, functional independence, and work task performance, and to reduce the risk of chronic diseases and other disabilities. However, adults with ID typically have significantly lower musculoskeletal fitness compared with their peers without a disability. Appropriate instructional strategies are needed to facilitate their acquisition and maintenance of musculoskeletal fitness. In this study, three adults with moderate ID, aged 19–20 years, were selected to evaluate the effects of a multi-component treatment package that included a video-enhanced system of least-to-most prompts (LMP) on their acquisition of two muscle-strengthening machine exercises. Results from a multiple-baseline-across-participants single-subject design show substantive gains in correct and independent performance of steps in the two exercises during the treatment condition. The improved performance in both exercises was maintained 1 week and 2 weeks after the last treatment session and appeared to have extended to a large fitness room. The study suggests that use of the video-enhanced system of LMP as an additional or alternate type of instruction can lead to improved acquisition and maintenance of muscle-strengthening exercises by young adults with moderate ID.