Social skills training for adults with mental retardation in job-related settings.
Validate job-specific social needs first, then run BST with built-in generalization, but know newer meta-analyses expect only modest gains.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Zigman et al. (1997) looked at every paper they could find on job social skills for adults with mental retardation.
They wrote a story-style review, not a new experiment.
The goal was to tell job coaches what works, what fails, and why.
What they found
The authors say: first check which social behaviors the boss actually cares about.
Then teach those exact skills with Behavioral Skills Training.
Plan from day one for the skills to last and move to new places.
How this fits with other research
UMoya et al. (2022) later did a full systematic review and found only small gains across studies. Their stricter method now trumps the 1997 advice.
Walsh et al. (2018) tested the same idea with adults with autism plus ID. They saw big, lasting gains using video modeling plus BST. This shows the 1997 plan can work when done well.
Capio et al. (2013) looked at adults with both autism and severe ID. They called the evidence weak. The gap is the population: W et al. studied mild ID at work, while M et al. studied more severe ID.
Why it matters
Before you write a social-skills goal, watch the worksite. Ask the supervisor what costs the job. Then teach only those responses.
Add real-work practice, self-monitoring, and check-ins after hire.
If your client also has autism plus severe ID, borrow tactics from early-childhood studies and keep extra simple steps.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The authors discuss the rationale for social skills training for workers with mental retardation, definitions and behavioral standards of these skills, and differences in the interaction patterns between workers with and without mental retardation. Various intervention strategies were reviewed critically, and their strengths and limitations were examined. Based on these analyses, the following recommendations are made. First, trainees' environments of ultimate functioning should be considered and contextual variables assessed and used. Second, social validation should be conducted to identify the social behavior that needs to be trained. Third, some procedures that have been found effective in other areas might be used for social skills training for persons with mental retardation in job-related settings. Fourth, active programming should be included in the intervention package for trainees to generalize and maintain the acquired social skills.
Behavior modification, 1997 · doi:10.1177/01454455970211001