Unlock Co-worker Potential in Competitive Employment

Abstract

Twenty-seven youths and young adults with mild disabilities received employment services, including the opportunity to work with prepared coworker trainers, to promote successful employment in competitive businesses. Coworkers were trained to teach job tasks by using an instruction/model/observe/coach sequence and conduct evaluation and long-term follow-up services in cooperation with the employment specialist. Individuals who previously were unemployed or underemployed worked at a variety of businesses, had the opportunity to participate in additional job training programs, and advanced to other jobs as dictated by skills, interests, and economic circumstances. Early results suggest that the coworker training and transition model was accepted and used most effectively by consumers with mild intellectual handicaps and those who demonstrated both behavior disorders and learning disabilities versus youths with learning disabilities alone.