Abstract
Nineteen adults with significant learning disabilities, took part in a repeated measures design study exploring the use of four different self-report response formats in a story task developed for the study. One response format was verbal, and the others had additional visual supports, such as bar graphs, number lines and two-part questioning. Language ability, measured by the Test of Reception of Grammar, and cognitive ability, measured by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence were also assessed. In addition the participants were asked for their views concerning the response formats. The restricted range of scores owing to ceiling effects limited the quantitative analyses. There were significant differences between different response formats for specific types of questions. Questions respondents found difficult to answer, and possible reasons for this, were discussed. There were also significant correlations between story task performance and the cognitive and language tasks. Qualitative analyses revealed a preference of visual support over verbal administration of questions by 13 participants, although they differed in their preference of specific visual supports.