Using Audio Recorders to Promote Independence in Grocery Shopping for Students with Intellectual Disability

Self-prompting devices assist students with disabilities with acquiring skills and/or independence. However, limited research exists on audio recorders for nonreaders (Mechling, 2007). In this study, researchers sought to understand if use of audio recorders impacted three students' identification and selection of grocery items as compared to using a written list, which represented the traditional mode of grocery shopping students experienced during weekly outings to the grocery store for their life skills class. The results of the study indicate use of the audio recorders resulted in the three students becoming more successful at identifying grocery list items, as well as requiring fewer prompts to identify grocery items on the list correctly. In addition, the intervention of audio recorders consisted of two conditions: self-record and researcher record. The results showed the students were more successful in identifying and selecting grocery items when they recorded the list prior to entering the store as opposed to when they received the researcher prerecorded list upon arrival at the store.