The cumulative effect of natural support strategies and social skills instruction on the integration of a worker in supported employment

Abstract

The effectiveness of a natural support strategy, co-worker instruction with social skills instruction, on increasing the integration of a worker with developmental disabilities in a supported employment setting was examined in this study. The intervention consisted of three phases: (1) teaching a non-disabled co-worker instructional skills and having the non-disabled co-worker then teach the worker with a disability a new job task; (2) having the non-disabled co-worker encourage other non-disabled co-workers to interact with the participant; and (3) teaching a series of appropriate conversational exchanges to the participant. Integration data were collected using direct observation, social validation and global measures. Results demonstrated that the intervention strategy increased the social integration of the participant.