Bobby is a six year old autistic boy. In order to prepare him for Grade 1, he needed to learn to write. The IMAGINE performance standard for handwriting is 80 - 50 marks per minute (over one minute timings). The attached chart represents acquisition of one of the basic "writing elements", that is, drawing horizontal lines. Bobby had already mastered drawing vertical lines @ 60 lines per minute over one minute timings.
Unlike other Precision Teaching programs, the one minute timings in the IMAGINE program represent initial "baseline" measures. The one minute timing is also used to check endurance, retention, and stability following intervention. The first one minute timing (day 1) is a self-presentation (non intervention) measure. Bobby needed to copy horizontal lines. Bobby made 8 errors/0 correct during this timing. Clearly, he was unable to perform the task.
The second one minute timing shows "guided" writing. A practice sheet with dots, representative of the start and end point of each horizontal line, was given to Bobby, and he was required to "connect the dots" to achieve individual horizontal lines. With two dots, over this "guided" one minute timing, Bobby achieved 14 correct/0 errors. Given that this is well below our Performance Standard, as is typical of our intervention, we began sprints - 10 second timings - and "coached" (cheered) Bobby through these timings. The first day of sprinting achieved a score of 48 correct/0 errors. The following two timings achieved 54 correct/0 errors, and 54 correct/6 errors. A third day of 10 second sprints achieved a score of 48/0.
Having "connect the dots" eventually becomes a "fluency blocker". Another intervention was required, so the end dot was removed, practice sheets with start point dots only were implemented, and the timing floor was lowered to 15 seconds.
The first day of timings under these conditions scored 48 correct /12 errors. The second day achieved 96/0 and the third achieved 112/0 (over 15 second timings). A 4th day indicated retention under these conditions, with a repeat score of 112 correct/0 errors. In order to check for endurance, a "return to baseline" one minute measure was taken, with all dots removed so that self- presentation of the skill was required, as it was with the first baseline measure. Bobby scored 60 correct/1 error. We allow an error rate of 2 -> 0.
Bobby had achieved our Performance Standard so the skill was left for a week of "no practice", then measured again, scoring 54/0. Compare this to his first self-presentation measure of 8 errors/ 0 correct.
The initial steep celeration of x3.8 (using dots as guides) was indicative that this skill would be achieved quickly, and this "predicition" was proven correct. Total actual practice time of this skill over the entire intervention period = 9 minutes.
The celeration of x2.3 over the 15 second timings was indicative of the probability of endurance and application. The dots were removed, requiring full free operant performance, and the timing floor was lowered from 15 seconds back to the original one minute timing, requiring greater endurance. The skill retained at 60 correct/0 errors per minute, and Bobby showed the ability to perform the skill without dots as guides (that is, self-presented).
Bobby attained the Performance Standard (80 -> 50 per min), and showed application, retention, endurance, and stability, after a period of non practice. Given his previously acquired skill of vertical lines, Bobby could draw the composite "+", a combination of both vertical and horizontal elements, upon first request.
COPYRIGHT 1999 Giordana Malabello