Describes a courseware development project at the University of Oregon which explored use of interactive video with mentally disabled students to teach life enhancement skills. Discussion of the results of a pilot study of one of the modules includes information on student achievement and teacher and student reactions. (MBR)

This report discusses the findings of a survey of 45 supported employment providers that sought to identify potential barriers to supported employment services for persons with severe physical disabilities. Results are compared with survey results from 50 state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies. Key findings from the survey include: (1) the…

Provided is an overview of basic governmental and private agency rehabilitation programs for mentally retarded persons including vocational training programs, on the job training programs, work study programs, and recreational programs. (Author/GW)

In response to Horner and others (EC 232 976), this paper contrasts the constricted life of their adult son (who has mental retardation, autism, and emotional problems) when he lived in a group home and worked at a sheltered workshop where aversive techniques were used, with his present life with nondisabled housemates and competitive employment.…

A Finnish study compared the career development, participation in vocational education, and working life 4 to 5 years after the completion of secondary school education of students with mild mental retardation (n=13) and students with other disabilities (n=72). Results found most of the subjects had completed their studies, however, only 25…

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…

Twenty-two physically handicapped sheltered workshop employees were matched on the severity of their disabilities and randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. Those in the experimental group participated in a one-hour-per-day, fifteen-day job readiness training program in addition to their regular sheltered workshop jobs while…

Ethnographic research at 2 work activity centers for mentally retarded clients revealed that 16 production supervisors and 9 adult basic education teachers differed in their connotations of the term "functioning." Teachers defined functioning in narrowly academic terms, whereas supervisors defined it as a set of mental, physical, and moral traits…

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%…

This study compared four different extended employment models for people with disabilities using a procedure to control for disability characteristics. The study compared sheltered employment, enclaves, affirmative industry, and supported employment involving a job coach. Four samples of workers (total N=160) were matched on age, gender, measured…

This guide is based on the principles and methods used at Rise, Incorporated, a sheltered workshop providing successful industry-integrated programs for handicapped persons. It is intended to serve as a model both for existing service providers who are interested in retooling their program in the direction of industrial work services and other…

St. Joseph's School for the Blind (Jersey City, New Jersey) cooperated with the Occupational Center of Hudson County to establish a model transitional prevocational training program for severely multiply handicapped, visually impaired students. The aim was to assist these student to move from a school environment to a work activity setting where…

Presented is a handbook on the Merrill Area (Wisconsin) Public Schools program for providing work experience for mentally handicapped and other special education students in high school. Brief sections cover information on the following program areas: objectives (such as to assist the student in making a job choice), cooperation with and services…

Specific questions that parents ask and answers to them are presented on the following areas of mental retardation: categories and terminology; causes; diagnosis and referral; mental age and IQ; problems and adjustments in family relationships; behavior of the retarded child; speech; schooling; parent organizations; sex education;…