In the first of a series of papers describing social relationships among mentally disabled adults who worked in four sheltered workshops, procedures for observing and interviewing clients and for interviewing staff members are reported and data on reliability and general levels of social behavior are cited. (Author/SBH)

Describes the job worksite program developed by Altro Workshops, Inc., Bronx, New York, to serve as an intermediate step between the protected vocational training workshop and the unprotected work world. Psychiatric clients of the workshop selected for the program were placed in facility-supervised or company-supervised jobs with generally good…

A survey of 216 adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities who belong to self-advocacy groups found that individuals unemployed and employed in sheltered settings perceived themselves as having less control than individuals employed competitively. Results are examined in light of quality of life findings, focusing on the need to include…

Informal discussion groups, "rap groups", have been found to be an effective method for establishing rapport and understanding with mentally retarded adults in sheltered workshop settings. To investigate the use of rap groups as a field research approach with mentally retarded adults, four groups of 6 to 9 mentally retarded adults,…

Effects of a self-instructional training procedure on the on-task behavior of four mentally retarded young adults in a sheltered workshop were investigated using a multiple-baseline design across subjects. The subjects chosen had been identified as demonstrating a high incidence of off-task behavior for small assembly tasks such as stamping and…

A survey of 3,581 rehabilitation facilities was conducted to determine their extent of computer use. Completed surveys were returned by 1,586 (44 percent) of the facilities, of which 864 (54 percent of the respondents) are using computers. The users indicated that computers are most frequently used for administrative purposes, whereas production…

One of six publications of the Research Advisory Committee of the National Association for Retarded Citizens, the monograph presents guidelines for using behavioral procedures with retarded individuals in residential settings, group living homes, sheltered workshops, or other settings. Addressed are the following topics (sample subtopics in…

The purpose of the study was to prepare a summary list of on the job social/interpersonal behavior areas as identified both in the professional literature and in assessment instruments concerned with mentally retarded adults; and determine which of these behavior areas were considered to be most relevant to job tenure, as viewed by rehabilitation…

The first section of this report provides descriptive information about the financial structure of a sample of sheltered workshops (n=123) in terms of the variety of their sources of income and their expenses during fiscal year 1966. The relationship between differences in financial structure and other organizational characteristics is examined in…

Reported are four studies on methods to increase the production rates of severely and profoundly retarded adults in the sheltered workshop setting. It is explained that all four Ss had undergone intensive training on a complex task, were able to perform the task at a reasonably high rate, but did not usually maintain a high rate in the production…

Described is the Specialized Training Porgram for severely and profoundly retarded adults, an applied research effort to develop practical habilitation procedures, design programs to implement them, and evaluate the effectiveness of the programs using outcome criteria related to the quality of individual life. Development of the sheltered workshop…

A system of task analysis and positive reinforcement was used in the vocational training of a 19-year-old trainable retarded youth (MA=6 years). The task of polishing shoe skates was analyzed and programmed into 29 steps and was reinforced with praise and money. The trainee learned the task in 13 sessions (approximately 1 month) and was employed…

A demonstration project was conducted to determine the programmatic, economic, and administrative advantages of a coordinated system of sheltered workshops strategically located in a metropolitan and suburban area which placed 51 (15 percent) out of 330 trainees. Thirty-eight were placed in either competitive or on-the-job training programs. Nine…