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Abstract
The published literature which addresses grocery shopping instruction for individuals with moderate, severe, or profound intellectual disabilities was reviewed. The importance of teaching these skills is discussed, and the specific literature is renewed and discussed. Discussion focuses on numerous variables associated with effective instructional programing including maintenance, generalization, reliability, and social validity. Future research needs and implications are proposed.
Due to increased advocacy and services, more individuals with intellectual disabilities are living, working and interacting in integrated community settings. If these individuals are to be successful, then "training experiences must teach the skills necessary to function in these natural environments" (Nietupski, Welch, & Wacker, 1983, p. 279). Therefore, curricula for individuals with moderate, severe, or profound intellectual disabilities should reflect and emphasize the skills needed in these natural settings. When considering the skills required in community environments, the importance of purchasing skills cannot be overlooked. These skills are needed for students to function successfully in the community (Frederick-Dugan, Test, & yarn, 1991).
In particular, grocery shopping skills represent a set of behaviors that are important for individuals to learn since they relate directly to self-sufficiency, health, and nutrition. These skills often are included in published curricula, textbooks concerning the education of students with intellectual disabilities, and in various assessment devices and questionnaires (e.g., Browder & Snell, 1993; Ford et al., 1989; Neel & Billingsley, 1989; Westling & Fox, 1995). For individuals to function independently in community settings, grocery shopping skills need to receive attention. Ignoring these skills is inappropriate "because of their strong presence in most people's lives" (Ford et al., 1989, 77). By not teaching students with disabilities shopping skills, educators "may be drastically limiting . . . opportunities for active participation" within the community (Ford et al., 1987, pp. 77-78). In addition, many shopping behaviors may generalize across numerous other community settings and activities, such as standing in line to purchase movie tickets or fast food items. In fact, when practitioners were questioned about the social validity of numerous nutrition and meal planning skills, they indicated that menu planning and grocery shopping were considered very important while naming the four food groups was only fairly important (Sarber, Halasz, Messmer, Bickett, & Lutzker, 1983). Grocery shopping activities also present many opportunities for...