Augmented Reality: Teaching Daily Living Skills to Adults With Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

Independent living is recognized as a marker of adulthood. For individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, however, the need for continued support in completing daily living tasks reduces the likelihood of achieving independence in this domain. Barriers to living independently include increased dependence on family and support staff and deficits in functional life skills. In this study, a multiple-baseline across behaviors design was used to examine the efficacy of an augmented reality intervention for teaching daily living skills to three young adults with disabilities in a residential postsecondary education program. Our results indicate the intervention was effective for increasing independence among all participants. Furthermore, the intervention was found to be a socially acceptable and nonstigmatizing method for supporting young adults in a residential postsecondary education program.