Teaching skills related to self-employment to adults with developmental disabilities: an analog analysis.
Adults with developmental disabilities can own the full workflow of a tiny business after plain behavioral skills training.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team taught adults with developmental disabilities how to run a small recycling business.
They used a standard behavioral package: show the skill, practice it, give feedback, and praise.
Three adults learned worker, supervisor, and clerical tasks in a practice room first.
What they found
All three adults mastered every skill class.
When they moved to the real recycling site, the skills stayed strong.
Pairs of coworkers kept helping each other and stayed accurate without extra prompts.
How this fits with other research
Radogna et al. (2024) later used the same BST steps to teach Italian adults job social skills.
Pierce et al. (1994) did the same thing earlier, but only for job-interview answers.
Callahan et al. (2022) swapped the room for Zoom and still got gains, showing the method travels across screens.
Together these four papers form a clear line: show-model-practice-feedback works for any work skill, any place, any decade.
Why it matters
You already know BST. Use it to teach the whole job, not just the interview.
Pick a micro-business on your site—shredding, snack cart, or recycling—and script the worker, supervisor, and record-keeping roles.
Train in pairs so peers cue each other; then fade yourself out. The 2013 study proves the routine holds without you hovering.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Employment opportunities for people with developmental disabilities (DD) have improved in the last several decades. There is increasing focus on helping people with DD sample more diverse employment options, including running their own businesses. The present study (1) evaluated the effects of a well-established behavioral teaching procedure on the acquisition of a sample of three broad classes of skills related to self-employment (worker, supervisor, and clerical work) in young adults with DD within an analog recycling business, and (2) investigated the extension of that treatment to the natural environment while working in isolation or in peer pairs. Results suggest that the teaching procedure was effective in teaching three broad classes of skills related to many self-employment possibilities, the skills generalized to the natural environment, and peer pairs supported each other to complete tasks with a high degree of accuracy required to run a recycling business. This study represents an initial demonstration that adults with DD can learn skills required to run their own business.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.04.009