Teaching job-related social skills to learning disabled adolescents

A Clinic-Based Assessment for Evaluating Job-Related Social Skills in Adolescents and Adults with Autism

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties obtaining and maintaining employment, yet little research has evaluated methods for assessing and improving critical vocational skills. In this study, we evaluated an assessment of job-related social skills for individuals with ASD by arranging conditions that simulated on-the-job experiences in a clinic setting. The experimenter contrived situations to assess a variety of social skills, including asking for help, asking for more materials, and responding to corrective feedback. A total of eight individuals, aged 16 to 32 years, participated. Results suggested that the assessment was useful for identifying specific social skills that could be targeted for intervention to increase success in the work environment. These findings add to the current literature by demonstrating an objective method for assessing a variety of job-related social skills under controlled, naturalistic conditions.

Social relationships in the workplace

As more workers with disabilities are competitively employed, there are numerous opportunities to form social relationships with their co-workers. Close social relationships are associated with a number of positive outcomes (e.g., happiness, less stress) and should be actively pursued for those individuals desiring them. In this paper, we describe the types of social interactions displayed in work settings employing workers with and without disabilities. We also discuss some of the social problems experienced by some workers with disabilities. Finally, we describe two general categories of intervention strategies that have been used to impact social relationships: (a) strategies that involve changing the social behaviors of workers with disabilities, and (b) natural support strategies. The results from these strategies are discussed, and future areas of research are described. MRDD Research Reviews 7:128-133, 2001.

Social validity assessments: is current practice state of the art?

The use of evaluative feedback from consumers to guide program planning and evaluation is often referred to as the assessment of social validity. Differing views of its role and value in applied behavior analysis have emerged, and increasingly stereotyped assessments of social validity are becoming commonplace. This paper argues that current applications of social validity assessments are straying from the point originally proposed for them. Thus, several suggestions for improving current social validity assessment are proposed, including (a) expanding the definition of consumers to acknowledge the variety of community members able and likely to affect a program's survival, (b) increasing the psychometric rigor of social validity assessments, (c) extending assessment to heretofore underrepresented populations, (d) implementing widespread application of well-designed social validity assessments, (e) increasing meaningful consumer involvement in the planning and evaluation of behavioral programs, and (f) educating consumers to make better informed programming decisions.

Behaviors that contribute to entry-level employment. A profile of five jobs

Research has identified many behaviors that appear to be related to the employment success of mentally retarded workers. In this study, competitive employment supervisors who were drawn from five entry-level occupations judged the importance and frequency of 23 work-related behaviors. Differences were found between the jobs in the relative importance and frequency of some behaviors. Moreover, there was a set of important core skills that was found to be generally applicable across entry-level jobs. The data are discussed in terms of their relevance for developing employment preparation curricula for entry-level workers.

Social skills assessment and training for the learning disabled: who's on first and what's on second? Part II

In this second of a two-part article on assessment and training of social skills in LD children, the authors review research that has focused on techniques to change social behavior. These techniques range from relatively simple manipulations of antecedent and consequent conditions to complex instructional "packages" involving didactic, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback procedures. It is clear from the review that important progress has already been made in understanding the conditions which can lead to improved social behavior in LD children. One of the important features of this Topical Review is that the authors pay careful attention to issues involved in the generalization of social skills training as well as ethical issues that must be considered when attempting such training with individual children.--J.K.T.