Do PDAs enhance the organization and memory skills of students with cognitive disabilities?

Abstract

Abstract The project studied the on‐time behavior of 35 students with intellectual disabilities (ID) or traumatic brain injury (TBI) under three conditions – times and tasks list, paper planner, and two different personal data assistants (PDAs). Students participated for two 4‐week periods, receiving one morning reminder during Period 1 and no reminders during Period 2. Students were on time more often using a PDA compared to a list ( p < .024) or a planner ( p < .002). Students were on time 50% more often in Period 1 with a single daily morning reminder as compared to no reminder across all conditions. When applying results, clinicians and researchers should note that only the alarm function prompting on‐time behavior was studied, and the influence of the small sample size and short time frame. Future researchers will find a framework for studying PDAs and cell phones with larger samples, over longer time periods, and with a wider range of functions. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.