The effects of least-to-most prompting procedure in teaching basic tennis skills to children with autism

Abstract

In the present study, the effects of a least-to-most prompting procedure in teaching basic tennis skills (i.e. tennis ball dribble, air dribble and dribble the lines drills) to children with autism were investigated. A single-subject multiple-probe design with probe conditions across behaviors was used. Participants were four male children with autism, aged 7-9 years. Data were collected over the course of 6 weeks, five times a week, an hour per session. Inter-observer reliability data of the study was determined as 93% on probes and 100% on teaching sessions for participant one, 96% on probes and 100% on teaching sessions for participant two, 90% on probes and 100% on teaching sessions for participant three, and 93% on probes and 100% on teaching sessions for participant four. Procedural reliability showed that the trainer implemented the planned steps with 100% accuracy for all participants. Results revealed that least to most prompting was an effective instructional approach and all subjects increased their basic tennis skills considerably during intervention.