Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Vocational Social Skills Training for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Pilot Study

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Behavioral Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Social deficits often impede the ability of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to obtain and maintain employment (Barnard et al., Barnard et al., Inclusion and autism: Is it working? 1000 examples of inclusion in education and adult life from the National Autistic Society’s members, National Autistic Society, 2000; Elksnin & Elksnin, Elksnin and Elksnin, Exceptionality 9:91–105, 2001). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate a social skills intervention including behavioral skills training, video modeling, and self-monitoring on the acquisition of discrete vocational social skills in young adults with IDD. Participants included high school students in special education that were part of a work internship program. A multiple baseline design across skills with concurrent replication across participants was used to evaluate the effects of the packaged intervention on target skill accuracy. Results indicate that the packaged intervention was effective in promoting social skill acquisition for all participants. Further, high levels of skill acquisition were observed during the maintenance phase.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agran, M., Hughes, C., Thoma, C. A., & LaRon, A. S. (2016). Employment social skills: What skills are really valued? Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 39, 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/2165143414546741

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Author.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Barnard, J., & PriorPotter, A. D. (2000). Inclusion and autism: Is it working? 1000 examples of inclusion in education and adult life from the National Autistic Society’s members. National Autistic Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellini, S., Peters, J., Benner, L., & Hopf, A. (2007). A meta-analysis of school-based social skills interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders. Remedial and Special Education, 28, 153–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennet, K. D., & Dukes, C. (2013). A systematic review of teaching daily living skills to adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1, 2–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-013-0004-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, E. W., Austin, D., & Trainor, A. A. (2012). Predictors of postschool employment outcomes for young adults with severe disabilities. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 23, 50–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiang, H.-M., Cheung, Y. K., Li, H., & Tsai, L. Y. (2012). Factors associated with participation in employment for high school leavers with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 1832–1842. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1734-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elksnin, N., & Elksnin, L. K. (2001). Adolescents with disabilities: The need for occupational social skills training. Exceptionality, 9, 91–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2001.9666993

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gast, D. (2010). Single-subject research in behavioral sciences. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hua, Y., Woodsgroves, S., & Yuan, C. (2019). Literacy interventions for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the inclusive postsecondary education settings: A review of a program of research. Journal of Inclusive Postsecondary Education. https://doi.org/10.13021/jipe.2019.2456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kazdin, A. E. (1977). Assessing the clinical or applied importance of behavior change through social validation. Behavior Modification, 1, 427–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kratochwill, T. R., Hitchock, J., Horner, R. H., Levin, J. R., Odom, S. L., Rindskopf, D.M. & Shadish, W.R. (2010). Single-case designs technical documentation. Retrieved from What Works Clearinghouse website: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/wwc_scd.pdf.

  • Leaf, J. B., Townley-Cochran, D., Taubman, M., Cihon, J. H., Oppenheim-Leaf, M. L., Kassardjian, A., Leaf, R., McEachin, J., & Pentz, T. G. (2015). The teaching interaction procedure and behavioral skills training for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder: A review and commentary. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2, 402–413. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-015-0060-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leko, M. M. (2014). The value of qualitative methods in social validity research. Remedial and Special Education, 35, 275–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newman, L, Wagner, M., Knokey, A.-M., Marder, C., Nagle, K., Shaver, D., Wei, X., with Cametor R., Contreras, E., Ferguson, K., Greene, S., & Schwarting, M. (2011). The post-high school outcomes of young adults with disabilities up to 8 years after high school. A Report from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS-2) (NCSER 2011–3005). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.

  • Ninci, J., Neely, L. C., Hong, E. R., Boles, M. B., Gililand, W. D., Ganz, J. B., Davis, J. L., & Vannest, K. J. (2014). Meta-analysis of single-case research on teaching living skills to individuals with ASD. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2, 184–198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-014-0046-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noel, V. A., Oulvey, E., Drake, R. E., & Bond, G. R. (2016). Barriers to employment for transition-age youth with developmental and psychiatric disabilities. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 44, 354–358. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-016-0773-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, E.-Y., Kim, J., & Kim, S.-S. (2016). Meta-analysis of the effect of job-related social skill training for secondary students with disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 44, 123–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radley, K. C., McHugh, M. B., Taber, T., Battaglia, A. A., & Ford, W. B. (2015). School-based social skills training for children with autism spectrum disorder. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 32, 256–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roux, A. M., Shattuck, P. T., Cooper, K. A., Wagner, M., & Narendorf, S. C. (2013). Postsecondary employment experiences among young adults with an autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 52, 931–939. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.05.019

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sandjojo, J., Eltringham, E. G., Gebhardt, W. A., Zedlitz, A. M. E. E., Embregtz, P. J. C. M., & Evers, A. W. M. (2020). Self-management interventions for people with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review. Patient Education and Counseling, 103, 1983–1996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2020.06.009

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seaman, R. L., & Canella-Malone, H. I. (2016). Vocational social skills interventions for adults with autism spectrum disorder: A review of the literature. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 28, 479–494. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-016-9479-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shadish, W. R., Hedges, L. V., Horner, R. H., & Odom, S. L. (2015). The role of between-case effect size in conducting, interpreting, and summarizing single-case research (NCER 2015–002). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education

  • Spooner, F., Root, J. R., Saunders, A. F., & Browder, D. M. (2018). An updated evidence-base practice review on teaching mathematics to students with moderate and severe developmental disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 40, 150–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stodden, R. A., & Mruzek, D. W. (2010). An introduction to postsecondary education and employment of persons with autism and developmental disabilities. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 25, 131–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stokes, T. F., & Baer, D. M. (1977). An implicity technology of generalization. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 349–367.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Tarlow, K. R. (2017). An improved rank correlation effect size statistic for single-case designs: Baseline Corrected Tau. Behavior Modification, 41, 427–467. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445516676750

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Houten, R. (1979). Social validation: The evolution of standards of competency for target behaviors. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 12, 581–591. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1979.12-581

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Vannest, K. J., & Ninci, J. (2015). Evaluating intervention effects in single-case research designs. Journal of Counseling and Development, 93, 403–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verdonschot, M. M., de Witte, L. P., Reichrath, E., Buntinx, W. J., & Curfs, L. M. (2009). Community participation of people with an intellectual disability: A review of empirical findings. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 53, 303–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2788.2008.01144.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, E., Holloway, J., McCoy, A., & Lydon, H. (2016). Technology-aided interventions for employment skills in adults with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 4, 12–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-016-0093-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, M. M. (1978). Social validity: The case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding its heart. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 203–214. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1978.11-203

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kate A. Helbig.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All authors of the study report no conflicts of interest.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Helbig, K.A., Radley, K.C., Schrieber, S.R. et al. Vocational Social Skills Training for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Pilot Study. J Behav Educ 32, 212–238 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-021-09445-2

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-021-09445-2

Keywords

Navigation