Development of Independent Walking in a Profoundly Retarded Woman

Abstract

A profoundly retarded adult, who walked only with assistance and typically scooted on her buttocks or used a wheelchair, was trained to walk without support through priming, prevention of scooting, fading of an apparent support object, and reinforcemenr. The 4.6-m criterion distance was reached in 10 20-trial training sessions; walking was extended to other settings and employed in regular activities. Reasons for the failure to eliminate scooting and a strategy for doing so were discussed.