Connecting Youth With Significant Disabilities to Paid Work: An Innovative School-Based Intervention.

A special-education class tried a new team plan to help teens with big disabilities get paid jobs before graduation.

Two students joined the program. Teachers, job coaches, and parents met often. They picked real jobs in the area and practiced tasks at school.

One student landed a paid job. The other did not, even with the same help.

The model shows promise, but it is not a sure ticket to work.

Older work backs the idea. Timberlake et al. (1987) used job simulations and saw gains carry over to real work. Davison et al. (1984) taught social-vocational skills with a board game; skills showed up in a fake workshop but faded on the actual job.

Macadangdang et al. (2022) and Osnes et al. (1986) both ran behavioral-skills training in public-school rooms. They got clear gains in motor and social skills. Jackson et al. (2025) now pushes the same BST logic toward paid work, raising the bar.

The mixed outcome echoes the past: practice at school helps, yet real-world success still varies.

You can copy the team approach tomorrow. Pick one student, find a local job task, model it in class, rehearse with feedback, then visit the real site. Track data on accuracy and manager satisfaction. Expect wins, but plan for extra supports if the first placement fails.