The Application of Time Delay to Teach Students With Extensive Support Needs

Time delay is one of the most established practices for teaching both functional and academic skills to students with extensive support needs (ESN). Students with ESN have intellectual or developmental disabilities and, in some cases, other support needs (e.g., physical disabilities, sensory impairments) and require comprehensive instructional and environmental supports to access and benefit from the educational and social opportunities available to their peers (Kurth et al., 2019; Riesen et al., 2023; Taub et al., 2017; Thompson et al., 2016). Thompson et al. (2016) would describe the levels of support needed by students with ESN to fall on the lower two levels of the Support Intensity Scale (extensive and pervasive). Researchers have demonstrated time delay to be an effective teaching strategy for students with ESN across instructional domains (e.g., academics: Browder et al., 2009; communication: Tapp et al., 2021; daily living: Miller & Test, 1989) and disability categories (e.g., autism: Walker, 2008; intellectual disability [ID]: Horn et al. 2020; Kratzer et al., 1993).