Effects of Vocational Training on a Group of People with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

Intellectual disability (ID) is the most restraining disability for professional inclusion, mainly due to the lack of adaptive skills focused on the work environment observed in people with ID. The aims of this study were (i) to describe and analyze the effects of a vocational training program on the adaptive behavior of people with ID and (ii) to evaluate the social impact of employability on the life of the employees with ID. Participants were 43 people with mild or moderate ID, age between 18 and 28 years. The Supports Intensity Scale was applied at two stages: T1‐PRETRAINING and T2‐POSTTRAINING, while the Social Impact Questionnaire was used at the third stage, after employment (T3 POSTINCLUSION). The authors found that there were differences in total scores between stages T1 and T2 in relation to all the adaptive skills assessed, with a reduction of around 50% in the need for support. One year after inclusion in the labor market (T3), participants were still employed, with significant improvements in such aspects as learning, autonomy, affective and social development, as well as in family and community relations. The vocational training contributed to the global development of persons, favoring their professional inclusion, and as a result, sustenance, autonomy, and a decrease in the need for assistance and support.

A Systematic Review of the Assessment of Support Needs in People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

“…The support needs scores have been used to assess the effectiveness of six interventions [ 51 , 62 , 68 , 73 , 74 , 92 , 108 ], focused on the development of life skills or related to employment. Of these, only Tate et al (2019) found no effect on support needs, as assessed through CANS, after applying a coaching program for transition to adulthood to youths with brain injury [ 92 ].…”

“…With reference to employment, Gomes-Machado et al (2016) assessed the effects of a vocational training program on the adaptive behavior and employability skills of 43 youths with intellectual disabilities, obtaining a 50% reduction of support needs in various areas [ 51 ]. Finally, Wehman et al (2016) evaluated an employment program for 49 youths with intellectual disability and autism, obtaining meaningful reductions in support needs over the control group after 3 and 12 months of intervention [ 108 ].…”

Labour Market Reintegration of Individuals with a Physical and Cognitive Disability by a Company-Based Work-Experience Program

“…Vocational training and other forms of formal training contribute to the employment success of individuals with disabilities (Dutta et al, 2008;Heloísa et al, 2016;Thoresen, Cocks, & Parsons, 2019). A degree gives access to recognised occupations that require occupation-specific skills, which in general are better paid and more secure in terms of the type of contract (Wolbers, 2003).…”

Effects of a self‐management training for people with intellectual disabilities

“…To our best knowledge, none of the investigated interventions were generalized to a wider range of people with intellectual disabilities with different self‐management goals. Previous research focused, for example, on prompting (Bouck, Satsangi, & Bartlett, ; Dollar et al., ; Wu, Wheaton, & Cannella‐Malone, ), the use of technology (Cannella‐Malone et al., ; Cavkaytar, Acungil, & Tomris, ; Cullen, Alber‐Morgan, Simmons‐Reed, & Izzo, ; Douglas, Ayres, & Langone, ; Ramdoss et al., ), employment (Gilson, Carter, & Biggs, ; Gomes‐Machado, Santos, Schoen, & Chiari, ) or health behaviour (Taggart et al., ; Wilson & Goodman, ). Most studies presented promising results, but drawing firm conclusions about the effects of self‐management interventions is difficult due to studies’ narrow focus and methodological limitations.…”