Supported Employment Settings Research Articles

How do individuals with autism participate in work life? A study on inclusive employability

PurposeIn studies considering the employment of individuals with autism, the organisational context – which consists of the behaviours and attitudes of employees – has frequently been neglected. This study investigates the employment of workers with autism, who have an intellectual disability (AID) in Türkiye. The study aims to understand the perspectives of managers and co-workers with regard to the employment of individuals with AID.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted interviews with 23 people who were the co-workers, managers and parents of workers with AID. They also reviewed performance documents concerning employees with AID and analysed the data using qualitative content analysis.FindingsThe employment of individuals with AID has caused concern amongst employees within organisations. However, training activities have raised awareness of autism amongst those employees. This new awareness has overcome initial negative judgements about the employment of individuals with AID, turning these instead into positive ones. Thus, social interaction between workers with AID and their co-workers has increased.Practical implicationsThis research provides evidence of the positive impact of employees with AID on companies and shows that employing individuals with AID in inclusive contexts improves their quality of life. It also provides guidance for the design of training programmes for employees and the adaptation processes of people with disabilities in the workplace.Originality/valueThis study emphasises the role of the organisational context in the successful employment of people with AID in supported employment settings. It could contribute to changing attitudes and negative expectations and guide interventions in these contexts.

Meanings and Promoting Strategies of Social Inclusion for Workers with Developmental Disabilities at Supported Employment Settings

Meanings and Promoting Strategies of Social Inclusion for Workers with Developmental Disabilities at Supported Employment Settings

Relaxation therapy and anxiety, self-esteem, and emotional regulation among adults with intellectual disabilities: A randomized controlled trial.

This pilot study is a randomized controlled trial on the effects of relaxation on anxiety, self-esteem, and emotional regulation in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) working in a center of supported employment in France. We studied 30 adults with mild or moderate ID who were split at random into a relaxation group (RG, 15 subjects), who completed 10 sessions of relaxation therapy, and a control group (CG, 15 subjects), who were on a waiting list. The method used is the pretest and posttest. Variables were assessed by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory form Y scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale, and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. We found that in the RG, relaxation significantly reduced state anxiety, t(14, 15) = 17.8***, d = -0.72, and improved self-esteem, t(14, 15) = -7.7***, d = 1.03, and cognitive reappraisal, t(14, 15) = -6.3***, d = 1.3, while the CG showed no change for these variables. We conclude that relaxation seems to be an interesting therapeutic option for reducing anxiety in people with ID in a supported employment setting.

An analysis of coworker interventions for supporting workers with intellectual disabilities in supported employment settings

An analysis of coworker interventions for supporting workers with intellectual disabilities in supported employment settings

Development and preliminary evaluation of an employment resource for mental health service consumers, families and carers, and clinicians

Mental health service consumers, families, carers and clinicians require a locally relevant comprehensive information resource to provide the knowledge necessary for timely access to suitable public funded employment services. The aim of this paper is to report the development and preliminary evaluation of a new vocational rehabilitation information resource for mental health service consumers, families, carers and clinicians. The package comprises an information booklet targeted primarily to consumers, and a train-the-trainer package for clinicians in mental health service settings. We identified the employment-related information needs of target user groups via a series of focus group consultations with consumers, clinicians and vocational specialists. We also reviewed existing resource materials and searched the relevant research literature. The information content and presentation style of a draft information booklet was then market tested via a second series of focus groups. Initial focus groups and reviews provided guidance on the framework, content, communication techniques, and format of the new booklet. Preliminary market testing indicated that the booklet demonstrates adequate levels of content relevance, quality, user acceptability, and potential utility in clinical services and evidence-based supported employment services. Further evaluation of the resource package is indicated. Feedback about the utility of the booklet when applied with mental health service consumers and clinicians, as well with family members and carers, is needed. The utility of the booklet in applied clinical settings where an employment specialist is not available, and in supported employment settings where health professionals are not available, also requires evaluation. Translation of the booklet into other media is also indicated.

Review of Research on Self-Management Interventions in Supported Employment Settings for Employees With Disabilities

Self-management strategies involve the use of antecedent cue regulation, self-monitoring, self-determined consequences, or a combination of any of these techniques to facilitate job-skill acquisition, maintenance, and generalization. The purpose of this article is to review the empirical literature related to self-management strategies in supported employment settings for individuals with disabilities and offer guidelines for implementation. Best practices, limitations of current research, and needs for future research are offered.

Older disabled workers’ perceptions of volunteering

The activity of volunteering is readily available to, and undertaken by, able‐bodied people in Australia and is recognized as a valuable social pursuit, particularly among citizens of retirement age. Despite the known benefits of volunteering, however, there are few reports of disabled people participating as volunteers and little is understood of their experiences or perceptions of volunteering. The aim of this study was to explore how older workers within supported employment settings perceived the opportunities for and barriers to volunteering. Fourteen people with long‐standing impairments participated in this small qualitative study. Overall the participants were positive about volunteering, but noted they might require support to volunteer successfully. Drawing upon the participants’ views, recommendations are made for developing training. Disabled workers facing retirement need to be supported to have opportunities for active participation in the community as volunteers if so desired.

Design and evaluation of a flexible travel training environment for use in a supported employment setting

Article Design and evaluation of a flexible travel training environment for use in a supported employment setting was published on July 1, 2005 in the journal International Journal on Disability and Human Development (volume 4, issue 3).

Facilitation Strategies Used by Job Coaches in Supported Employment Settings: A Preliminary Investigation

Coworker perceptions of facilitation strategies provided by job coaches, and needed by coworkers, and discrepancies between facilitation strategies provided by job coaches and those perceived as being needed by co-workers were analyzed in relation to the types and frequency of problems reported to be exhibited by supported employees (N = 83). The results of this preliminary investigation indicated that when the frequency of work problems was low, the majority of the problems resulted in the need for and provision of less intensive facilitation strategies. Coworkers perceived they needed either low or a mixed level of support, not a high level of support, even when the frequency of work problems was high, except when the problems were related to challenging behaviors such as self-injury and property destruction. The most intriguing finding was that job coaches generally used the level of facilitation strategies that matched coworker needs.

Developing Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Literacy Interventions in a Supported Employment Setting

This article describes an integrated augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and literacy intervention program developed for five adults with autism in a supported employment facility. Specific assessment and intervention strategies as well as general outcomes of the program are discussed. Three detailed case studies describe approaches used with project participants who had emerging, beginning, and more advanced levels of communication and literacy skill.

Increasing Integrated Workplace Social Interactions: The Effects of Job Modification, Natural Supports, Adaptive Communication Instruction, and Job Coach Training

The effectiveness of job modification, natural supports, instruction on the use of a communication device, job coach social facilitation training, and co-worker support for social integration in a supported employment setting was examined. The intervention consisted of four phases: Job modification; natural supports instruction to nondisabled co-workers; introduction of a communication device without instruction; communication device training; and job coach social facilitation training and eliciting co-worker support for social integration. Social interaction data were collected using direct observation. Results indicate that the use of the communication device, job coach social facilitation training, and eliciting co-worker support for social integration were necessary in order to increase the supported employee's levels of workplace social interaction; the earlier conditions did not have any impact. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Use of controlled vignettes in evaluation: does type of response method make a difference?

Two studies were performed using vignettes as a method in program evaluation. One study used a rating scale method. The second study used a forced choice decision method. The two studies were performed with students from the pre-Occupational Therapy (pre-OT) program, the Occupational Therapy (professional OT) program and the College of Business at Colorado State University. Students were asked to respond to a questionnaire about how a hypothetical job applicant with a cognitive disability would perform in one of three types of job settings: a segregated, sheltered workshop setting; an integrated supported employment setting; or an integrated competitive employment setting. The students in the Professional Occupational Therapy program had been part of a training grant, ‘An integrated approach to personnel preparation for transition’, which focused on the integration of transition competencies into an occupational therapy curriculum. The forced choice vignette method resulted in statistically significant positive outcomes toward supported employment and the influence of the training grant. The discussion focused on the different outcomes of the two studies relative to the methods applied and the use of vignettes as an evaluation tool to assess the impact of a modified curriculum. Attention was directed toward the problem of external validity when using vignettes (Gorman, C.D., Clover, W.H. & Doherty, M.E., (l978). Can we learn anything about interviewing real people from ‘interviews’ of paper people? Two studies of the external validity of a paradigm. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 22, 165–192.)

Problem social behavior in the workplace: an analysis of social behavior problems in a supported employment setting

The social skills problems that may influence the work-related success of supported employees has been only infrequently documented in the research literature. Though a multitude of research describes the performance-related challenges faced by supported employees, few papers address the interpersonal difficulties encountered by supported employees in the workplace. The present paper uses job trainer or “coaches” logs and two promising rating scales (the Psychopathology Instrument for Mentally Retarded Adults [PIMRA and PIMRA-S]) to describe the social problems encountered by some supported employees. Job coach’s logs indicated that approximately 58% of supported employees had experienced one or more incidents of interpersonal difficulty during their employment tenure and that 40% of the problems experienced by these individuals could be described as sexuality-related. Overall, about 25% of all supported employees had reported incidents of conflict with employees or customers that seemed sexuality-related. In addition, social and developmental factors that might contribute to the interpersonal problems found in the present research are discussed.

Social disclosure among coworkers without disabilities in supported employment settings.

The depth and breadth of reported self-disclosure by workers without disabilities (respondents) for three types of coworkers (i.e., work acquaintances, work friends, and social friends) were assessed. Reported self-disclosure of coworkers to supported employees was also compared, and the extent to which self-disclosure by respondents to job coaches correlated with intimacy of relationships between supported employees and respondents was analyzed. Results indicated that depth of self-disclosure can contribute to friendship formation, but coworkers did little self-disclosing to supported employees. Self-disclosure to job coaches did not correlate significantly with the development of relationships between the coworkers and supported employees. There is a need to teach supported employees to self-disclose to their coworkers and to prompt coworkers to talk about themselves in depth.

An Analysis of the Activities of Employment Specialists in a Natural Support Approach to Supported Employment

The use of natural supports in supported employment service delivery has emerged as a widespread practice of supported employment providers. Though several strategies for using natural supports have evolved, detailed descriptions of the roles of the employment specialist, as well as nontraditional support resources, such as family members, friends, and co-workers, are lacking. The present investigation focused on the activities of one program's initial efforts to document the activities of employment specialists as well as nontraditional support providers in a supported employment setting emphasizing natural supports.

Self-reported training needs of supported employment program managers in South Australia

Supported employment has been purported to offer a variety of economic and social opportunities for the employees who receive support services. However, the initiative also presents notable challenges for the professional staff who provide those services. The broad social context within which supported employment professionals find themselves is shifting rapidly. As a result, staff in supported employment settings must be responsive to changing environmental circumstances and to employees' needs, and be prepared to assume a variety of unique habilitative and business-oriented roles and responsibilities. Furthermore, they need to be cognisant of the dynamic nature of local and regionalised employment opportunities and sensitive to rapid changes occurring in the knowledge base and technology of supported employment service delivery. In the present study, 21 supported employment program managers in South Australia were surveyed to identify their priorities for training and support. Results indicated that the highest priority training needs identified by the respondents were focused on areas of systems development and evaluation, and technological skills. Few respondents reported training needs in areas related to direct service delivery (e.g., social integration, job matching, increasing worker productivity), even though most of these individuals spent part of their professional duties in this capacity, and few reported having previous experience in the area of supported employment direct service delivery. Findings are discussed in terms of training delivery and implications for further research.

The Effect of Mentoring versus Job Coach Instruction on Integration in Supported Employment Settings

Thirty employees at Pizza Hut were observed to examine the effects of three training strategies on social integration. These training strategies represented: (a) the traditional job coach model, (b) a mentoring model, and (c) the use of management and coworkers to train new employees without disabilities. This research found that employees with severe disabilities trained using the mentor model had more interactions with nondisabled coworkers than those trained using the job coach model. The data also indicate that the nondisabled comparison group had more interactions than either the job coach or mentoring groups, and that the types of interactions did not vary among the three groups.

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

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. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.

The Use of Clique Analysis to Assess Integration Changes in a Supported Employment Setting

Clique analysis analyzes how individual group members are connected directly or indirectly to all other group members through their interactions. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of clique analysis methodologies in detecting change in integration levels for a worker in a supported employment setting. The clique analysis depicts social structures and grouping patterns reflecting levels of social integration. Information from the analysis suggests that the worker with severe disabilities became more integrated during break or lunch times following communication instruction.

Communication Strategies for Increasing the Integration of Persons in Supported Employment

Integration of workers with severe disabilities is a critical outcome of supported employment. However, in practice, integration has been difficult to achieve. Few intervention strategies have been empirically validated. This paper reviews data-based communication research designed to increase the social interactions of workers with disabilities in supported employment settings. The literature is divided into three areas for review (social skills instruction, problem solving, and nonverbal communication strategies). Nineteen articles are reviewed. Specific communication interventions for increasing integration are analyzed and evaluated with suggestions for best practice of instructional techniques. Recommendations for future research are discussed.