Researchers have unveiled innovative strategies to promote healthy eating habits among adolescents with special needs. MaryAnn Demchak, Ph.D., BCBA-D., professor of special education at the University of Nevada, Reno and alumna Brianna Grumstrup, Ph.D., assistant professor of special education at the University of Maine, Farmington, conducted a study utilizing the System of Least Prompts (SLP) delivered remotely to provide nutrition education to high school students with an intellectual disability.

“Although the pandemic spurred the need to conduct the study remotely, the success of teaching students with an intellectual disability remotely has broad implications for the field,” Demchak stated.

Recognizing the challenges faced by adolescents with intellectual and multiple disabilities in maintaining a healthy diet, the researchers employed the SLP method to teach nutrition education through online instruction. The study involved four high school students with an intellectual disability as participants, with the primary focus on their ability to identify the missing food group when presented with a digital slide featuring four food items. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the SLP in guiding all participants to select the missing food and construct balanced "meals." Notably, all participants mastered the skill, and two retained their proficiency during follow-up assessments.

“It is noteworthy that the students successfully demonstrated mastery across 180 unique meal combinations, demonstrating their proficiency with this skill, and helping to address a gap in the research literature – nutrition education for students with an intellectual disability,” Demchak said.

Demchak and Grumstrup emphasized the significance of the study, highlighting that well-established and research-backed practices like the SLP can be successfully implemented in remote settings. Both students and the classroom teacher reported that the intervention was not only acceptable but also effective and straightforward to execute from a distance.

“The classroom teacher was so pleased with the study’s outcomes she created an inclusive foods and nutrition course at the high school, where all students could learn about choosing and preparing balanced meals together,” Grumstrup said.

Given that adolescence is a crucial period for developing adaptive behavior skills for independent living, the study stressed the importance of incorporating functional skills into the programming for students with an intellectual disability. These skills extend beyond school and encompass knowledge and behaviors related to nutrition education, contributing to a broader spectrum of functional abilities.

Support for this study came from the Mary Demchak Memorial Award for Doctoral Research in Intellectual Disability, granted by the College of Education & Human Development at the University of Nevada, Reno.

"I have very fond memories of being a new doctoral student, collaborating with MaryAnn and my peers on various research projects,” Grumstrup said. “We would often work at MaryAnn's house, where her mother, Mary, also lived. Getting to know Mary and talking with her about our projects (she often asked what we were working on, and what was next), over coffee and snacks was one of my favorite parts of learning to be a researcher. I'm saddened that I cannot tell Mary how much her presence was a joy and comfort to me during my learning, but she was there from the beginning. The Mary Demchak Memorial Award for Doctoral Research in Intellectual Disability helped me with the associated costs of completing this research project, that otherwise would have come out of pocket. It's an important legacy, in memory of an important person."

Grumstrup received her doctoral degree in Education: Special Education and Disability Studies from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2021 and has worked with Demchak on several research studies focused on individuals with disabilities.

“I am pleased to continue to mentor and support doctoral graduate students as they continue on their journeys to being independent researchers,” Demchak expressed. “I think mentoring continues after a doctoral student graduates and can be mutually beneficial for both mentee and mentor.”

This study contributes valuable insights, indicating that nutrition education can be effectively delivered remotely to students with an intellectual disability, offering a promising avenue for promoting healthy habits and well-being in this specific population.