Teaching job interview skills to retarded clients.

Six adults with intellectual disability wanted jobs. The team taught them how to apply and interview.

The package was short: tell, show, practice, and fix mistakes. They used a multiple-baseline design across people.

After training, every adult could fill out forms, greet the boss, and answer questions.

The skills moved to new offices and new interviewers without extra teaching.

Gladstone et al. (1975) did the same four-step package first, but they taught teens to teach younger kids. Varley et al. (1980) shifted the package to adults who needed the skill themselves.

Wolchik et al. (1982) copied the design with university students learning clinical interviews. Both studies got strong results, showing the package works across ages and interview types.

Hranchuk et al. (2021) updated the method with clearer fidelity scores. Their newer tool (TPRA) gives sharper feedback than the 1980 paper, so today’s trainers can measure each step live.

You can run the same four-step loop in one afternoon. Script the questions, model the handshake, let the learner role-play, and give instant feedback. Use real applications from local stores. Record the session and replay it so the learner sees what to fix. The 1980 study proves the skills will still show up when the boss is a stranger in a new office.