TEACHING COMPUTER-BASED SPELLING TO INDIVIDUALS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL AND HEARING DISABILITIES - TRANSFER OF STIMULUS-CONTROL TO WRITING TASKS

Computer-based instruction may yield widely useful handwritten spellin g. Illustrative cases involved individuals with mental retardation and hearing impairments. The participant in Study 1 matched computer pict ures and printed words co one another but did not spell the words to p ictures. Spelling was then taught using a computerized procedure. In g eneral, increases in the accuracy of computer spelling were accompanie d by improvements in written spelling to pictures. Study 2 extended th ese results with a 2nd participant. After initial training, spelling i mproved in the context of a retrieval task in which the participant (a ) wrote a list of the names of objects displayed on a table, (b) selec ted the objects from a shelf, and (c) returned the objects to the tabl e. Nearly perfect accuracy scores declined on some retrieval trials co nducted without a list, suggesting chat the list may have served a med iating function during retrieval. Transfer of stimulus control of comp uter-based teaching to the retrieval task may have been attributable t o the existence of stimulus classes involving pictures, objects, and p rinted words.