Outlined is an occupational training program designed to teach work skills in different settings to trainable mentally retarded students 16- to 21-years-old. (CL)

Thirty-six mildly and moderately retarded sheltered workshop adolescent and adult clients learned to assemble a 12-piece unit for which the parts were color coded. (Author/DB)

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…

Checklists have been developed with which mildly or moderately mentally retarded people can assess the quality of services provided them in residences and workshops. Based on the normalization principle, the checklists include examination of residential factors (such as the building's external appearance, rules, degree of privacy, and use of…

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…

The case study of a young male adult with moderate to severe handicapping conditions used naturalistic inquiry procedures including interviews and observations of home, community, and employment settings. Decisions had been influenced by personal and cultural values of the participants and reflected a lack of informed choices, miscommunication,…

Fifty-four clients (13- to 52-years-old) in an Appalachian sheltered workshop were administered the Slosson Drawing Coordination Test (SDCT) and the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test. Twenty-nine Ss were labeled possibly brain damaged by the SDCT, and 17 Ss by the M. Hutt scoring system for the Bender-Gestalt. Two psychologists using all available…

The follow-up study of 58 persons with severe mental retardation who had exited self-contained special education programs from 1983 to 1985 found 57 percent were placed in sheltered workshops or day activity centers, 15 percent received formal postsecondary training, 62 percent resided in their family homes, and 26 percent lived in group homes.…

The paper describes a system used in Nebraska in which vocational rehabilitation specialists determine who is a high need client and develop programs via a social-ecological or "person-environment" perspective. A high need client is defined as an individual who will require considerable staff support, intervention, and time. A three-phase study…

Analysis of a questionnaire completed by 44 young adults with intellectual disabilities and 29 nondisabled peers found that (1) both groups preferred competitive employment to unemployment; (2) those with intellectual disabilities had lower psychological well-being; (3) those with intellectual disabilities in competitive employment had greater job…

Presented are results from a survey of 2,530 sheltered workshop programs serving handicapped persons. Initial sections review the historical development of workshops, federal regulations affecting workshops, and previous related studies. Data are provided on the following topics: characteristics of workshops and clients (including a table on…

Iowa high school graduates (n=322) with mental disabilities were interviewed one and three years after graduation, concerning general status, employment, and adult adjustment. Over the postgraduation period, subjects became more independent in living arrangements and increased the number of hours per week of employment, but only approximately 20%…