Using Discrete Trial Instruction to Teach Children With Angelman Syndrome

Discrete trial instruction (DTI) was used to teach functional skills to three children with Angelman syndrome, a neurogenetic disorder that overlaps with autism and is associated with severe cognitive, speech, and motor impairments. Children received individual DTI teaching sessions 2 to 3 times per week over a 12-month period and displayed differing rates and patterns of skill development. Parents expressed positive views toward the DTI methods and their clinical outcomes. The results of this case series provide preliminary data suggesting that these strategies are appropriate for building functional skills in some children with Angelman syndrome and possibly other groups of children with severe/profound intellectual disability with different etiologies.