Prompt dependency in inclusion-setting students with intellectual disabilities is a challenge. Using a scientist-practitioner model, an intervention to shape independent responding was implemented by paraprofessionals for a student with Down syndrome. It included systematic reinforcement-schedule thinning, reduced paraprofessional proximity, and incorporation of peer models into prompting strategies. Independence on nine pre-academic skills improved by 25-100% (mean = 68.1%) as reinforcement criteria increased and paraprofessional proximity decreased. Although the intervention significantly departed from treatment as usual, social validity among stakeholders was high.