The Use Of Self-Management Strategies For Increasing The Appropriate Hygiene Of Persons With Disabilities In Supported Employment Settings

Abstract

In the professional literature to date, very little research has been done to examine the effects of self-management in addressing hygiene issues for persons with developmental disabilities in supported employment settings. Three individuals in different supported employment settings participated in this study. Each of the three had hygiene issues that could negatively affect their jobs and social relationships. The intervention that was utilized with each participant consisted of: (a) the development of a check-list (task analysis) with the steps necessary to address their particular hygiene issue; (b) modeling the steps to each participant; (c) providing praise and feedback as each participant completed the steps and learned to do all of them independently; and (d) teaching the participants to self-reinforce. The results of this research demonstrated that individuals with disabilities in supported employment settings who were taught self-management strategies to address their hygiene had a significant increase in what constituted "appropriate" hygiene at the job site.

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