Randomized Experimental Study

Setting This randomized experimental study was completed in a clinical setting. Treatment rooms provided a comfortable environment, free from clutter and visual and auditory distractions. Each treatment room contained furniture and equipment necessary to complete activities of daily living including a bed with a fitted sheet, chair, table, lamp, and a cabinet. Other small objects needed to complete tasks (pill box, cup, pillow, pen, paper, blanket) were organized to minimize both clutter and visual distractions. Video recording was set up in the top corner of each treatment room to document sessions for later evaluation.
Materials/Instruments
The instructional technique of errorless learning was implemented in the experimental group’s
Information learned in the training course provided clinicians with the knowledge of the core concepts related to errorless learning, instruction on how to facilitate the treatment sessions for the experimental and control group, and scoring procedures for the standardized observation scale used in this study. Specifically, clinicians learned how to provide verbal instructions, model tasks, and provide visual and verbal cues when facilitating the experimental group sessions. For the control group, clinicians were instructed on the level of assistance that they were able to provide. These procedures were used to ensure that the intervention and data collection were given with fidelity. Clinicians were also trained in the video recording protocol using Panopto. After the initial training, a weekly follow-up support meeting was scheduled for the clinicians to further insure proper implementation. During this meeting, clinicians were encouraged to express their questions and concerns, and were encouraged to review Panopto if
Session 1 was an information session. In this session, all participants were introduced to the Samsung Galaxy (8.0”) Android Tablet, taught its basic functions (including turning on and off the tablet, how to charge it, and how to use the app downloaded Talking Alarm Clock Pro Free) and were provided with the schedule of tasks that would be completed each week. The schedule of tasks included: get out of bed, turn on the lamp, make the bed, take AM medication, fold towels, sort socks, make a grocery list of 10 items, and take PM medication. Session 2 was the baseline stage for both groups. In this session, the facilitators rated the participants’ ability to complete tasks with the absence of intervention techniques. To begin this session, participants were escorted to the treatment room. The room was staged with an unmade bed; chair; lamp; a table with a pill box, cup of water, a pen and paper; a laundry basket with unfolded towels and unmatched socks; and a cabinet (See Appendix C for room composition). Clinicians then provided the participants with the pre-programmed Android Tablet with the list of scheduled tasks. The participants were then instructed to complete the tasks independently to the best of their ability. During this, the clinicians scored each task using the rating scale provided. Two trials of the scheduled tasks were performed and rated during this baseline