Mental retardation and learning integrating skills: Application of didactic software

Studies have highlighted the importance of using new technologies during the planning of educational and didactic paths to develop skills and functions in disabled patients (Bruschi, 2001). Assistive technologies represent real opportunities of e-participation to social life (Calvani, 2011; Chiappetta Caiola, 2009), which also works as scaffolding to promote developing processes (Cooke & Husey, 2002). The authors’ contribution examines the importance of technologies in supporting subjects with mental retardation. It shows the usability of many inputs that offer disabled patients the possibility to exercise cognitive styles, their own characteristics and their own autonomies to increase motivation and self esteem. The aims of this research are a) verify the effectiveness of didactic software based on Precision Teaching method; b) verify gender differences. For this study 40 children have been selected (20 boys and 20 girls) with and without mental retardation. The research consisted of 3 phases: pre-training phase, training phase and post-training phase. Results show learning improvements in each group; in spite of students’ difficulties, the use of Precision Teaching has reduced significantly the initial cognitive gap, which refers to the number of correct responses (accuracy) and to time of response (fluency) relative to the learning of how to use money.