6 Job-Site Training 
The use of instructional strategies for 
training individuals on supported employment 
job sites has been well documented. Specific 
strategies have included the use of job duty 
and task analyses, natural supports, natural 
cues, compensatory strategies, prompting procedures, 
reinforcers, and self-management 
procedures (e.g., self-reinforcement, selfmonitoring, 
and so forth) to mention a few. 
However, critics of providing instruction at 
customers' job sites have argued that training 
by an employment specialist draws attention to 
the customers and isolates them from coworkers 
and supervisors. 
Well-designed instructional programs 
which are customer-driven do not segregate 
individuals with disabilities. Rather, poor practices 
isolate customers on job sites. Employment 
specialists must have knowledge of 
training strategies, the customer's support 
needs, employer's support needs, and the demands 
of the workplace in order to select the 
least intrusive method for providing support. 
This chapter will present a variety of these 
strategies and discuss facilitating customer 
independence in the workplace. 
J OB DUTY AND TASK ANALYSES 
Before the customer begins working, 
the employment specialist must analyze the job 
and organize the daily routine. This analysis 
includes identifying the areas in which various 
job tasks are performed, determining the essential 
and non-essential job functions, establishing 
a work routine, identifying natural supports 
and natural cues in the workplace, and 
designing appropriate training and support 
strategies. Usually, working one shift prior to 
introducing the customer to the position will be 
sufficient for completing these activities. 
Working the job, gives the employment 
specialist the opportunity to note the major job 
duties and estimate the amount of time required 
for task completion. The Sequence of Job 
Duties Form can be used to record this information, 
including the movement required 
between work stations. If the sequence of job 
duties varies from day to day, this also is noted 
on the form. An example of a completed 
Sequence of Job Duties Form is found on the 
following page. 
159
Sequence of Job Duties Form 
Stock clerk Position: 
J. C. Penny's Job Site: 
” Job duties remain the same 
Approximate 
Times 
11:00 to 11:05 
11:05 to 11:15 
11:15 to 12:30 
12:30 to 12:45 
12:45 to 1:00 
1:00 to 1:10 
1:10 to 2:30 
2:30 to 3:00 
3:00 to 3:25 
3:25 to 3:30 
Comments: 
Signature: 
” Job duties vary from day to day 
(If checked, complete a separate form for each 
different sequence; circle day for which this form 
is completed: 
Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. 
Job Duty 
Punch in 
Meet w/ supervisor and set up work area 
Price gift merchandise 
Move priced merchandise to stock area 
Set up work area w/ clothing for pricing 
Break 
Price clothing 
Deliver clothing to departments 
Clean up work area & sort hangers 
Punch out 
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Job Duty Analysis 
Once the sequence of major job duties 
has been determined, the next step is to analyze 
the skills required to perform each major duty. 
During this step, the employment specialist 
identifies and describes the skills, tools, and 
equipment that are needed. Information may 
be obtained from interviews conducted with the 
employer, co-workers, and supervisors; observing 
co-workers perform the skills; and by 
personally completing the job duties. Typically, 
each duty on the sequence of job duties will 
have several associated skills. In the above 
example, setting up the work area at Penny's 
included several tasks. They are listed below: 
JOB DUTY: Setting Up the 
Work Station 
# Locates stock for pricing. 
# Opens and empties boxes. 
# Obtains inventory sheets and day’s 
price tickets from supervisor. 
# Locates and collects equipment: price 
gun, pencil, and inventory stamp. 
During this stage of analysis, the employment 
specialist should concentrate first on the job 
duty, and how it is performed by the coworker(
s). Once this has been established, 
he/she can consider how the task can be 
organized or modified specific to the worker 
who will master it. The following suggestions 
have proven useful in completing a job duty 
analysis. 
GUIDELINES FOR A JOB 
DUTY ANALYSIS 
1. Interview the employer/supervisor for 
his/her input. 
2. Serve a co-worker completing the job 
duty. 
3. Identify the skills that must be completed 
successfully to perform the job 
duty. 
4. Identify all tools and machinery that 
are required. Consider any modifications 
or accommodations that may be 
needed to this equipment. 
5. Determine the most efficient procedure 
to complete each skill. 
6. Try to eliminate or reduce unnecessary 
movement when completing the 
job duty analysis. 
7. If changes are made in the "usual way 
of doing business", be sure to clear the 
modifications with the employer and/ 
or supervisor. 
(Moon, Inge, Wehman, Brooke, & Barcus, 1990) 
Task Analyzing Job Duties 
At this point, the employment specialist 
has identified the specific major job duties, the 
time of day when these duties occur, the 
specific skills associated with each duty, and 
any needed supplies and tools. Next, the 
employment specialist must develop a written 
task analysis for each skill that the customer 
will be performing. Steps in a task analysis 
should be stated in terms of observable 
behaviors with each step representing one 
“behavior.” Once the step is complete, a 
visible change in the task or process occurs. 
Wording steps in the form of a verbal cue (e.g., 
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Push the “off” button), allows the employment 
specialist to use the steps of the task analysis as 
verbal prompts during instruction. The 
following list of tips are offered as guidelines 
for writing a task analysis. 
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING A 
TASK ANALYSIS 
1. State steps in terms of observable 
behaviors. 
2. Write steps in adequate detail with 
only one behavior per step. 
3. Test the task analysis to ensure that 
each step results in a visible change in 
the task or process. 
4. Order steps from first to last. 
5. Word steps as verbal cues. 
6. Build natural cues and compensatory 
strategies into the task analysis. 
7. Consider efficiency; use both hands 
with the least amount of movement. 
8. Eliminate discrimination by building 
judgement into the task (e.g., vacuuming 
in a pattern results in a clean 
rug vs. needing to discriminate where 
the rug is dirty). 
(Moon, et al., 1990) 
Case Study Example: 
John and his employment specialist 
identified a job as a maintenance assistant at 
the local mall. The actual job duties included 
cleaning the restrooms and entrance areas of 
the mall prior to the opening of business each 
day Monday through Friday. This job was 
created for John based on his specific abilities 
and interests. After completing several situational 
assessments (e.g., food service, 
janitorial, and laundry work), John and his 
employment specialist identified the following 
interests and support needs: 
1. John preferred a job where he could be 
mobile. He became quickly bored if he had 
to remain in one place. 
2. John liked open spaces. 
3. John needed a work environment where he 
could sing and make noise. 
4. John preferred janitorial tasks to kitchen 
work or laundry work (as noted by the 
amount of time he spent engaged in the 
tasks without assistance.) 
The employment specialist contacted 
the personnel department of the mall and met 
with the manager to discuss possible job duties 
that John might like. The manger identified 
that his maintenance crew was not keeping up 
with cleaning the entrance areas to the mall and 
the restrooms. He agreed to hire John part-time 
to complete these job duties. 
The employment specialist worked the 
job for one day prior to John's first day of 
employment and developed a job duty analysis 
and task analyses. She talked with the supervisor 
and then observed the co-workers 
perform their job duties. Since no one was 
routinely performing the mall entrance 
cleaning, she spent time washing the windows 
and doors to the mall to develop her tasks 
analyses. The following job duty sequence was 
developed. 
162
Time 
7:00 a.m.-7:10 Set up cart: Fill mop 
7:10-7:30 
7:30-7:35 
7:35-7:45 
7:45-7:50 
7:50-8:10 
8:10-8:15 
8:15-8:25 
8:25-8:30 
8:30-11:00 
Within one week of initial training, the 
employment specialist realized that John was 
having trouble meeting the time schedule as 
specified by the supervisor. Specifically, John 
was having difficulty emptying his mop bucket 
and cleaning his work supplies in the allotted 5 
minutes. He liked to watch the bucket fill with 
water and overflow into the sink. Therefore, the 
employment specialist asked the supervisor if 
she could modify his job duty schedule to 
promote efficiency. The number of times that 
John emptied his mop bucket was decreased, 
and he was able to begin cleaning the entrance 
Job duties 
bucket, get rags, cleaning 
supplies 
Clean men's room (sinks, 
toilets, mirrors) 
Clean mop water, rags, & 
mop 
Mop men's room 
Clean mop water, rags, & 
mop 
Clean women's room 
(sinks, toilets, mirrors) 
Clean mop water, rags, & 
mop 
Mop women's room 
Set up cart: get window 
cleaner and supplies 
Clean mall entrances: pick 
up trash, wash windows, 
wash doors. 
area of the mall at 8:30 a.m.. The following job 
duty schedule was agreed to by the supervisor. 
Time 
7:00 a.m.-7:10 
7:10-7:30 
7:30-7:50 
7:50-8:00 
8:00-8:10 
8:10-8:20 
8:20-8:30 
8:30-11:00 
The employment specialist also developed 
task analyses for each of the skills John 
performed prior to his first day of work. 
During the first several days of employment, 
she observed John during training and modified 
each analysis based on his abilities. For instance, 
the following task analysis was developed 
for cleaning the toilet by watching the coworker 
who normally performed the job duty. 
1. Grab brush and cleanser 
2. Go to first toilet 
3. Put cleanser in toilet 
4. Set down container 
5. Dip brush in bucket 
6. Tap brush 
7. Brush top of toilet 
8. Brush sides of toilet 
9. Brush front of toilet 
163 
Job duties 
Set up cart: Fill mop 
bucket, get rags, cleaning 
supplies 
Clean men's room (sinks, 
toilets, mirrors) 
Clean women's room 
(sinks, toilets, mirrors) 
Clean mop water, rags, & 
mop 
Mop men's room 
Mop women's room 
Set up cart: get window 
cleaner and supplies 
Clean mall entrances: 
pick up trash, wash windows, 
wash doors.
10. Dip brush in bucket 
11. Tap brush 
12. Brush lid of toilet 
13. Raise lid and brush 
14. Brush inside of toilet 
15. Dip brush in bucket 
16. Tap brush 
17. Lower lid of toilet 
18. Brush outside of toilet bowl 
19. Put brush in bucket 
20. Get cleanser 
21. Go to next toilet 
However, when the employment specialist 
observed John doing the task, she noted 
that he spent too much time on several steps. 
For instance, instead of quickly tapping the 
brush on the side of the bucket, John perseverated 
on the step. The employment specialist 
decided to modify the task and teach John a 
pattern for cleaning the toilet. For instance, 
step 6, tap the brush, was changed to read, tap 
the brush 3 x's. John learned to count to three 
as a reminder for him to move on to the next 
step of the task analysis. 
Another step that John had difficulty 
completing was step eight, brush the top of 
toilet. John could not discriminate clean vs. 
dirty surfaces, and he seemed to have no concept 
of when he should stop wiping the top of 
the toilet. Therefore, this step of the task was 
further broken down into smaller steps for 
instruction. In addition, other steps were 
analyzed further into component steps to assist 
John in learning the task and developing a 
pattern for completing the job duty. A sample 
step in John's task analysis follows. 
Step 8 of Cleaning the Toilet: 
Brush top of toilet. (Customer wipes top one 
time, always working left to right.) 
# Place brush at back corner. 
# Move brush across top of toilet. 
# Place brush at front corner. 
# Move brush across top. 
The information placed in parentheses 
served as a cue to the trainer for consistency of 
prompting. By adding this comment, the employment 
specialist could ensure that other 
trainers who substituted would prompt this step 
in the same way. However, she did not want to 
add it to the verbal cues, since she wanted these 
to remain short. 
This example demonstrates how the 
em-loyment specialist can first develop a task 
analysis based on the general requirements of 
the job. Once the customer begins working, 
this analysis can be modified based on the 
specific abilities and training needs of the 
individual worker. Remember, always check 
any changes to the job duty or task analyses 
with the employer and/or supervisor prior to 
implementation. 
Summary: Developing a job duty 
analysis and a tasks analysis of each skill 
serves as the foundation for job-site training. 
Once this is accomplished, the customer and 
employment specialist can determine which 
skills the customer knows how to perform and 
which will require further instruction. In 
addition, this analysis will afford the employment 
specialist the opportunity to analyze 
164
the worksite and identify the natural cues and 
supports that are available to the customer. 
N ATURAL SUPPORTS 
Often, the success of a supported 
employment customer will be determined by 
the support of the co-workers in the workplace. 
If the customer is perceived as reliable, cooperative, 
and competent from the first day of 
employment, the chances for long-term job 
retention are increased. Therefore, the first 
step in job-site training is to identify the natural 
supports that are available in the workplace. 
The use of the word natural implies that 
the supports are ones that are typically 
available to all workers in the workplace. They 
are not artificially contrived by the 
employment spe-cialist. As such, natural 
supports can be referred to as workplace 
supports which are naturally occurring on the 
job site. Workplace supports may include but 
are not limited to such things as a co-worker 
mentor who assists an employee in learning 
the job, a supervisor who monitors work 
performance, a co-worker who assists the 
customer in developing social relationships, 
orientation training or other com-pany 
sponsored training events, an employee 
assistance program, and so forth. 
The employment specialist should not 
assume that workplace supports will be available 
automatically to the new employee. Even 
if a resource exists, the supported employment 
customer may not know how to access or benefit 
from its use. He/she may be unaware of the 
potential support, how to choose among the 
support alternatives, or how to access a desired 
resource (Inge, 1994). 
The role of the employment specialist is 
to assist the customer in identifying and reviewing 
the variety of supports available and in 
selecting the ones that meet his/her needs. A 
company may have varying levels of these 
resource options. For instance, one company 
may have an intensive orientation and training 
program while another has none. In addition, 
the support must be analyzed to determine if it 
meets the needs of the customer. A one time, 
two-hour lecture on company policies may be 
of little benefit to the customer, while a coworker 
who explains the “unwritten rules” of 
the workplace to all new employees may be an 
extremely valuable resource. 
The employment specialist should not 
expect that employers and co-workers automatically 
will provide “natural supports” to a 
customer. Some individuals initially may feel 
uncomfortable providing instruction and supervision 
to a worker with a disability. The employment 
specialist can model appropriate 
social interactions and training techniques that 
will assist co-workers and supervisors to 
become proficient in assisting the supported 
employment customer. This can be as subtle as 
encouraging co-workers to direct questions and 
conversation to the individual rather than to the 
employment specialist from the first day of 
training. Another example may be the employment 
specialist who assists the customer in 
learning the names of his/her co-workers as 
quickly as possible. 
Whenever identifying and using workplace 
supports, the employment specialist also 
needs to determine if he/she is creating an 
165
unnecessary dependence on co-workers. For 
instance, a co-worker could be asked to assist 
the customer in setting up his/her work supplies 
everyday or in completing other portions of 
work tasks that he/she finds difficult. However, 
training by an employment specialist 
which assists the customer in working independently 
may be the least intrusive strategy. 
If training by the employment specialist 
is the selected option, he/she continually must 
evaluate the assistance that is provided during 
job-site training. Something as simple as 
where the employment specialist stands during 
instruction can create dependence on the trainer 
and place a barrier between the customer and 
co-workers. The following section on questions 
and answers offers some points to consider 
when facilitating workplace supports. 
Considerations for the Identification 
and Selection of Natural Supports 
1. What are the possible workplace 
support resources? There could be many 
different ways to approach the same support 
need such as: a.) using a co-worker mentor to 
assist the customer in responding to a natural 
cue to increase his/her production; b.) asking a 
supervisor to assist the customer in monitoring 
his/her work production; or c.) having an employment 
specialist train the customer to monitor 
his/her production using a self-management 
program. The employment specialist should 
identify and review all the different support 
strategies and options with the customer, employer, 
and co-workers. 
2. Which strategies match the 
learning style or needs of the customer? 
While there may be many support options 
available in the workplace, a customer will 
respond to any particular choice based on 
his/her learning style. Some individuals may 
respond better to verbal instructions, while 
others need detailed demonstrations and repeated 
practice to learn a new job duty. For instance, 
a supervisor may be willing to provide 
support to a customer by monitoring his/her 
work performance at set intervals of time. 
However, if the customer does not respond to 
the verbal instructions offered by the supervisor, 
there is a gap between the support 
provided and the support needed. 
In this example, the employment 
specialist can work with the employer and customer 
to determine if the supervisor needs information 
on how to support the customer. Or, 
they may decide that the customer prefers for 
the employment specialist to assist him/her in 
learning the task. If this is the selected option, 
the employment specialist must be conscious of 
fading support to the naturally occurring supervision 
available from the employer. 
3. What are the customer's, employer's, 
and co-worker's choices? The employment 
specialist should not assume that 
workplace supports will be provided by the employer 
or co-workers for all of the customer's 
needs. The employer's and/or co-workers' level 
of comfort with supplying the identified support 
should be determined. Does the customer 
want a co-worker assisting with this support 
need? How do the co-workers feel about 
166
providing the assistance? Does the employer 
feel that this is a reasonable accommodation or 
should other support options be explored? This 
may be a particularly sensitive issue for discussions 
related to the personal care needs of 
customers with physical disabilities. 
For instance, a customer may be hesitant 
to ask a stranger for personal care support 
such as eating, and co-workers may also feel 
uncomfortable providing the support. However, 
as relationships develop in the workplace, 
this assistance may evolve naturally. 
Initially, the employment specialist can facilitate 
this by asking co-workers to eat lunch with 
the customer and modeling how to provide 
assistance. Other customers facing the same 
situation may choose to hire a personal assistant 
to provide support while still others may 
choose to forgo eating during work hours. 
4. Which support option results in 
or promotes customer independence? 
Would this strategy result in dependence on coworkers 
when independence could be achieved 
by the customer? Clearly, dependence on coworkers 
to provide support to the customer 
may be as intrusive as creating dependence on 
the employment specialist. Situations may 
occur when co-workers are not available to 
assist the customer with an identified support 
need. 
For instance, one customer was having 
difficulty punching in at the beginning and end 
of his work shift. He was unable to select his 
time card, since he could not recognize or 
remember his Social Security number. The 
employment specialist decided that a co-worker 
should be assigned to assist the individual in 
locating the card and punching in or out. 
Although the employer was willing to provide 
the support, this particular idea creates 
dependence on the customer's co-workers. 
A color cue added to the timecard may 
result in the customer learning to select it independently, 
or he may learn to place the card in 
a particular location that would not require 
identification of the Social Security number. 
While every worker needs to rely on coworkers 
for assistance or support, employment 
specialists should not create situations that 
perpetuate learned helplessness. In this instance, 
the co-worker might assist by placing 
the color cue on the card, or by checking to see 
that the customer successfully keeps it in the 
specified location. The customer would have 
responsibility for independently completing the 
task while receiving support from co-workers. 
Initially, identifying and discussing the 
various support options with the customer, employers, 
and co-workers is the employment 
specialist’s role during job-site training. 
Gradually, co-workers and supervisors can 
assume this responsibility as the employment 
specialist transfers his/her support to the resources 
naturally occurring in the workplace. In 
most instances, a combination of strategies will 
be selected to promote customer success. This 
combination of supports may include natural 
supports from co-workers, natural cues, compensatory 
strategies, as well as instruction from 
the employment specialist and/or co-workers. 
Determining which combination will promote 
independence while gradually fading the employment 
specialist's support to the co-workers 
167
is the key to long term employment for supported 
employment customers. The remaining 
sections of this chapter will discuss job-site 
training strategies and how to put them all 
together to facilitate employment success. 
N ATURAL CUES 
A natural cue represents some feature 
of the work environment, job tasks, or activities 
which signals an employee what to do next. 
Typically, a natural cue is one that the 
customer can see, hear, touch/feel, or smell and 
has not been changed or added to the worksite 
by the employment specialist. Examples may 
include the color of a cleaning supply, an 
on/off indi-cator light, a buzzer on the service 
door, the telephone ringing, announcements 
over a loud speaker, the "body language" of a 
co-worker, and the placement or location of 
work materials (e.g., mail in an "in" box, dirty 
dishes on an un-occupied table, etc.). 
When a natural cue is present or occurs 
during the customer's work routine, he/she will 
either attend to the cue and respond correctly, 
not attend to the cue at all, or respond incorrectly. 
For instance, a customer may respond 
to the buzzer on the service door by opening it 
for the delivery person (the correct action); 
he/she may ignore the buzzer and continue 
pricing merchandise (no response); or he/she 
may go ask another worker to open the door 
(incorrect response). 
Obviously, if the customer attends to 
and responds to a natural cue, instruction is not 
required. However, some workers must learn 
to recognize and attend to these cues. The 
employment specialist should work with the 
customer, the employer, and co-workers to 
identify the natural cues in the workplace 
which can assist the individual in completing 
his or her tasks successfully. Often, the coworkers 
and supervisor can be the most valuable 
source for this information. 
For instance, a customer who worked in 
a hotel could not discriminate between the shoe 
shine cloth and shower cap packages. The 
items came in identical cardboard packets except 
for a very small label telling the contents. 
The customer needed to look on the counter in 
the bathroom and determine which items were 
missing and replace the correct toiletries. 
(Note that absence of an item on the counter 
was the first natural cue which signaled the 
customer that an item needed replacing.) 
Since the customer could not read, she 
couldn't look at the two packages and tell 
which one was which without opening them. 
The customer's co-worker offered the perfect 
solution to this situation when asked for assistance. 
She told the employment specialist that 
she never read the labels on the packets. Instead, 
she picked up a package and squeezed it; 
the shower cap made a "crinkling" noise while 
the shoe shine cloth was soft. The natural, 
physical characteristics of the items told her 
which was which (Personal Communication, 
Theresa Southerland, August 6, 1996). 
Adding an Extra Cue to 
the Natural Cue 
Some customers still may fail to respond 
or recognize a cue even after it is pointed 
out to them. One way to call attention to the 
168
cue may be to initially add an extra or artificial 
cue to the natural one. This extra cue can 
enhance the relevant features of the naturally 
occurring one. For example, a customer who 
was responsible for filling a condiment bar on 
an "as needed" basis did not respond to the 
naturally occurring cue of the empty bins. A 
piece of colored tape was placed on the inside 
of the bins to signal the customer that a bin 
needed filling. The tape highlighted the 
relevant feature of the work task, the empty 
bin, to which the customer was not responding. 
Whenever extra cues are added to the 
work environment or work tasks, the employment 
specialist needs to consider fading 
them as the customer begins to notice the 
naturally occurring ones. In the bin example, 
the co-workers or employment specialist may 
initially place a wide strip of colored tape all 
around the inside of the bin. This could be 
faded in the following way: 
FADING AN ADDED CUE 
# Place a 2" wide strip of red tape around 
the inside of the bin. 
# Decrease to a 1" wide strip of red tape 
around the inside of the bin. 
# Change to red dots placed ½" apart 
around the inside of the bin. 
# Fade to red dots placed 2" apart around 
the inside of the bin. 
# Continue fading the distance between 
dots and/or the size of the dots until the 
customer responds to the empty bin. 
The speed of fading should be based on the 
worker's ability to continue responding as the 
extra cue is faded. Remember to include the 
customer, co-workers, and supervisor in discussions 
on adding extra cues to the work 
environment. This will ensure ownership of 
the strategy by all individuals involved as well 
as guarantee that changes are not made that the 
supervisor would not approve. 
In fact, the supervisor or co-workers 
should be approached about assisting the customer 
with the extra cue. The supervisor or a 
co-worker may volunteer to check that added 
cues are not removed by other employees who 
are unfamiliar with the customer's training program, 
and so forth. In fact, co-workers often 
discover that cues added for the supported employment 
customer are beneficial to them in 
performing their work tasks. As they assist the 
customer with his/her cues, they may begin to 
assist with identifying other supports. This 
shifting of responsibility from the employment 
specialist to co-workers and supervisor must 
occur in order for a relationship to develop 
between the customer and his/her co-workers. 
Instruction for Using Natural Cues 
In some situations, the employment 
specialist still may need to consider providing 
more intensive instruction to assist the customer 
in responding to natural cues. Typically, 
this will include developing a task analysis 
(TA) of the job duty that incorporates learning 
to recognize these cues. Another option may be 
to write a TA that eliminates the need for the 
customer to attend to the cue. For instance, 
169
he/she learns to vacuum the floor in a specific pattern and therefore does not have to determine where the floor is dirty vs. clean. Once the task analysis is developed, the employment specialist can select a prompting strategy to train the customer. Instruction will vary based on the worker's choice, needs, and situation. The least amount of assistance should always be tried first. For instance, when a flashing light comes on the dish machine indicating that the cycle is finished, the employment specialist could provide any number of prompts. The following list provides several examples in a least to most intrusive hierarchy. The reader is referred to the next section on prompting in this chapter for more information. PROMPTING EXAMPLES FOR NATURAL CUES # Provide an indirect verbal prompt (e.g., ¡§what do you do now¡¨ or ¡§what does that mean?¡¨) # Give the customer a gestural prompt (e.g., point to the flashing light). # Provide a direct verbal prompt (e.g., ¡§the light is flashing, open the door of the dishmachine.¡¨.) # Provide a model prompt paired with a verbal prompt (e.g., the employment specialist opens the door of the dishmachine while saying, ¡§I see the light is flashing on the dishmachine¡¨.) The employment specialist then closes the door and asks the customer to complete the step in the task analysis. I NSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES Once the job duties are identified and task analyses developed, the employment specialist must design instructional programs for each job duty or other related skills to be taught. The design should include input from the customer, the supervisor, and co-workers. Each program includes 1) a training objective, 2) data collection guidelines, 3) prompting procedures, 4) reinforcement procedures, and 5) strategies for compensatory strategies and program modifications. The following sections outline each of these components in detail. Step 1  Program Objectives Training objectives are written to include observable skills, the conditions under which they occur, and the criteria that will be used to evaluate performance. Each skill to be trained has a corresponding training objective. The following is an example for entering data into a company's mailing list. Conditions under which work performance will occur: # Given a list of addresses and cue, ¡§add the names to the mailing list¡¨, Observable work skill: # Ramona will enter the names and addresses. Criteria for evaluation of worker performance: # With 100% accuracy according to the steps in the task analysis for three consecutive probe trials. Step 2  Data Collection Guidelines 170Recording and graphing data is critical 
to the success of job-site training. Measurement 
procedures are a vital component, 
because they allow the employment specialist 
to moni-tor the employee’s progress. It will 
show whether a particular training strategy is 
effec-tive or needs modification (e.g., changing 
stra-tegies, adding external cues, modifying 
tasks, etc.). Data collection also can provide 
docu-mentation for the customer’s continued 
funding (Moon et al., 1990). 
Measurement procedures continue 
throughout initial job-site training into long 
term supports. This will assist the employment 
specialist in identifying additional training or 
retraining needs for the customer. Finally, data 
collection should never be an intrusive or 
obvious process. 
Baseline, probe, and prompt data are 
based on the task analysis of each major job 
duty and indicate whether the customer is 
working independently. Initial data collection 
before instruction begins is referred to as baseline 
and should be conducted at least once prior 
to the initiation of a skill acquisition program. 
Data which is collected after training begins is 
referred to as probe data. The procedures for 
baseline and probe data are essentially the same 
and provides information on how well the customer 
performs a job duty without prompting 
or reinforcement from the employment specialist. 
Probe data should be collected at least once 
each week. Typically, a job task is considered 
learned when the employee independently and 
correctly performs every step for a minimum of 
three consecutive probe trials. 
There are two different strategies that 
an employment specialist can use to collect 
data on a job site to include a single or multiple 
opportunity probe. Regardless of which 
proce-dure is used, the employment specialist 
shows the customer how to perform the 
specific job duty prior to conducting baseline 
assessment. After training begins, the 
customer is asked to perform the job duty 
without any prompting or demonstrations. 
Steps for using a single oppor-tunity probe are 
listed in the following table. 
GUIDELINES FOR USING 
A SINGLE OPPORTUNITY PROBE 
1. Have the customer move to the appropriate 
work area unless movement is 
part of the task analysis. 
2. Stand beside or behind the customer so 
data collection does not interrupt the 
work flow. 
3. Tell the customer that he/she is going to 
work without assistance to see what 
4. Provide the work cue, (e.g., "Enter the 
he/she can do independently. 
names into the mailing list.") 
5. Do not provide prompts or reinforcement. 
6. Wait 3-5 seconds for the customer to 
make a response. 
makes an error, discontinue probe and 
7. If he or she does not begin to work or 
score a (-) for all steps in task analysis. 
8. If he or she begins work, continue as 
long as correct responses are made, 
scoring a (+) for correct performance. 
9. As soon as an error occurs, discontinue 
probe and score a (-) for all remaining 
steps in the task analysis. 
(Adapted from Moon et al., 1990) 
There is one major benefit to using a 
single opportunity probe for data collection. 
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Specifically, assessment should not be time consuming or interrupt the natural flow of the workplace. Discontinuing the probe as soon as the customer makes an error allows for instruction to begin immediately on that specific step of the task analysis. In contrast, use of a multiple opportunity probe shows which steps of the task the customer is having difficulty performing without assistance, prompting, or reinforcement. The employment specialist must assess the work environment and length of task to determine the most appropriate strategy for data collection. The next table outlines the steps for a multiple opportunity probe procedure. GUIDELINES FOR USING A MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITY PROBE 1. Have the customer move to the appropriate work area unless movement is the first step in the task analysis. 2. Stand beside or behind the customer so that data collection does not interrupt the work flow. 3. Provide the work cue (e.g., "Enter the names into the mailing list.") 4. Do not provide verbal instruction, prompts, or reinforcement during data collection. 5. Wait a specified time (e.g., 3-5 seconds) for the customer to initiate a response. (Continued) 6. Record a (+) if the customer com-pletes the step correctly. 7. If there is no response or the customer is incorrect, position the customer to perform the next step in the task analysis or complete the step yourself (if necessary). 8. Repeat items #5, #6, and #7 as needed in order to test all steps in the task analysis from first to last. (Moon et al., 1990) Step 3  Prompting Procedures Least Prompts: The majority of the literature on teaching vocational tasks to individuals with severe disabilities focuses on the use of least prompts as the teaching strategy of choice (Barcus, Brooke, Inge, Moon, & Goodall, 1987; Cuvo, Leaf, & Borakove, 1978; Test, Grossi, & Keul, 1988). This strategy is also referred to as a response prompt hierarchy, since the trainer progresses from the least amount of assistance (usually a verbal prompt) to the most intrusive (usually a physical prompt) until one prompt results in the customer correctly responding. Employment specialists are encouraged to consider various types of prompts to use in addition to the traditional verbal, model, physical sequence. For instance, as a customer becomes more proficient performing his/her job duties, try using an indirect verbal prompt in the sequence such as, ¡§what do you do next,¡¨ before using the verbal prompt specific to the step in the task analysis. This may be effective also for training individuals who have been 172dependent on trainers for verbal instruction. In 
addition, gestures can be used instead of a 
model prompt. Or, a partial physical prompt 
(e.g., touching the customer’s arm) can be used 
instead of total physical assistance. The 
following table lists prompts that can be used 
to assist a customer in learning his/ her job 
tasks. 
PROMPT EXAMPLES 
Indirect Verbal Instructions: 
# "What do you do now?" 
# "What do you do next?" 
# "What happens now?" 
(Example of an indirect cue given in response 
to a natural cue such as a light blinking on 
the copy machine.) 
Direct Verbal Instructions: 
# “Get your timecard.” 
# “Stock the cart.” 
# “Fill the condiment containers.” 
Gestures: 
# Point to the time clock (to prompt 
the customer to punch in/out). 
# Tap a wrist watch (to prompt the 
customer to take a lunch break). 
# Touch a stack of aprons (to 
prompt the customer to put on an 
apron). 
Model Prompts: 
# Co-worker shows the customer 
how to get to the employee break 
room. 
# Supervisor demonstrates how to 
turn on the dishmachine. 
Partial Physical Assistance: 
# Employment specialist taps the 
customer on the elbow to prompt 
him/her to reach for the time card. 
# Employment specialist guides the 
customer's elbow to prompt him/ 
her to pick up an apron. 
(Continued) 
Full Physical Assistance: 
# Employment specialist, with hand 
over the customer's hand, selects 
the time card from the rack. 
# Employment specialist, with hand 
on the customer's hand, guides 
him/her in placing a security 
sticker on a blouse. 
Regardless of the types of prompts 
selected, the employment specialist must establish 
the length of time, latency period, that he 
or she will wait for the customer to respond 
before providing the next level of assistance. 
Usually a worker should be given approximately 
3 or 5 seconds to respond independently. 
Individuals with physical disabilities, 
however, may require longer latency periods 
based on their movement limitations, and this 
should be determined on an individual basis 
(Inge, 1992; Sowers & Powers, 1991). Finally, 
the employment specialist is cautioned to 
deliver each prompt only once before moving 
to the next more intrusive prompt. 
GUIDELINES FOR USING A 
LEAST PROMPT HIERARCHY 
1. Have the customer move to the appropriate 
work area unless movement is 
part of the task analysis (TA). 
2. Stand behind or beside the individual so 
that you can quickly provide prompts 
when necessary. 
3. Provide the cue to begin the task. 
(“Clean the mirror,” or “enter the 
addresses into the mailing list,” etc.) 
(Continued) 
173
4. Wait 3 seconds for self-initiation of step 
1 of the TA. 
5. If the customer completes the step 
independently, provide reinforcement 
and proceed to step 2 of the TA. 
6. If the customer is incorrect or does not 
respond within 3 seconds, provide a 
verbal prompt specific to step 1 of the 
TA. ((Example: "Pick up the windex.") 
7. If the customer completes the step with 
a verbal prompt, provide reinforcement 
and move to step 2. 
8. If the customer is incorrect or does not 
respond within 3 seconds, model the 
response (Example: The employment 
specialist picks up the windex). 
9. If the customer completes the step with 
a model prompt, provide reinforcement 
and move to step 2. 
10. If the customer is incorrect or does not 
respond within 3 seconds, physically 
guide him/her through the response 
(Example: The employment specialist 
guides the customer's hand to pick up 
the windex.) 
11. Begin instruction on step 2 of the TA. 
12. Repeat this procedure for each step in 
the TA until the task is completed. 
Always interrupt an error with the 
next prompt in the least prompt system. 
(Barcus et al., 1987; Moon et al., 1990) 
Data Collection Using the Least 
Intrusive Prompt System 
Prompt data indicate the kinds of 
prompts that are given to the customer during 
the performance of the job duty. It is recommended 
that the recording of prompt data be 
limited to only one or two tasks per day 
(Barcus et al., 1987; Moon et al., 1986; 
Wehman et al., 1988). It is more important for 
the employment specialist to collect data on a 
predetermined schedule and to analyze prompt 
data frequently, than it is to collect data on a 
daily basis. 
The same task analysis recording sheet 
used for probe data collection is used for 
recording prompt data. In the case of least 
prompts, the employment specialist records a 
symbol representing either independent performance 
of a step (+) or use of a specific 
prompt. For instance, a verbal prompt can be 
scored by a (v), model (m), gestural (g), or 
physical prompt (p). 
By keeping track of the number and 
types of prompts that the worker requires over 
time, the employment specialist will be able to 
determine when it is possible to start gradually 
moving away from the customer during 
training. Initially the employment specialist 
may be located beside or behind the customer 
in a position to provide direct instruction. 
When the worker is independently performing 
approximately 70% to 80% of the steps in the 
task analysis for the job duty and the remaining 
with a verbal prompt, the employment specialist 
can move 3-6 feet away from the customer. 
If a prompt is needed at this point in 
training, the employment specialist can move 
up to the worker. Once a correct response is 
initiated, the trainer should move back to the 
designated distance. 
In this manner the employment specialist 
can gradually fade his or her physical proxmity 
to a customer as he/she begins to independently 
perform the steps of the task analysis. 
Ultimately, the employment specialist must 
174
remove his or her presence from the immediate 
work area in which the job duty is performed 
and eventually from the job site altogether. 
The removal of the trainer's presence from the 
immediate work area must be systematically 
planned and based on the performance of the 
customer (Moon et al., 1990). 
Graphing Data 
Improvement in a customer's ability to 
perform job duties independently is easier to 
analyze if the data are displayed graphically. 
Tracking the percentage of steps the customer 
performs without prompts and reinforcement, 
allows the employment specialist to determine 
the rate at which the worker is acquiring the job 
skills. When plotting data on a graph, information 
such as frequency, percent, number of 
steps, and other finite data are placed on the 
vertical axis. Number of sessions, weeks, days, 
and other infinite numbers go along the 
horizontal axis. 
Data analysis can indicate whether a 
change or modification is needed to the training 
program. For instance, if the customer is 
gradually showing an increase in performing 
steps independently, continue the instructional 
program. Or, if the customer is gradually 
showing a decrease in the level of assistance 
(prompts) required to complete the task, 
continue the instructional program. However, 
if there is no change in either prompt or probe 
data within a week's period of time, the 
employment specialist must reevaluate the 
instructional plan and change components of 
the program. The following case study provides 
an example of how the employment specialist 
can graph probe and prompt data. 
Graphing Case Study Example 
Eric's employment specialist collected 
prompt data once each day on the job skill, 
setting up the condiment bar. The data for his 
first four days of work are displayed below: 
This pictorial representation of the training 
data, shows that Eric is gradually decreasing 
his dependence on more intrusive prompts. For 
instance, on day one his prompt data showed 
that he required physical assistance on 45% of 
the steps in the task analysis. On day two, 40% 
of the steps required a physical prompt. 
Physical assistance accounted for 30% of the 
prompts on day 3. Only 25% of the steps required 
a physical prompt on day 4. Finally on 
day 5, Eric did not need any physical prompts 
to complete the steps in the task analysis during 
the prompting sequence. This gradual fading 
of the level of prompting assistance required 
indicated that Eric was responding to the least 
intrusive prompt strategy. 
175
The following graph is the data for 
Eric’s initial probe session. Data was collected 
using a single opportunity probe with no assistance 
or reinforcement during the data collection. 
The probe sessions were conducted every 
other day prior to instruction. This graph presents 
data for the first five probe data collection 
sessions. Review of this information seems 
to indicate that Eric is making little progress in 
learning his job task for setting up the condiment 
bar. However, when the prompt data is 
reviewed for the same time period, the employment 
specialist realizes that Eric is making progress 
on this job duty. This is determined 
when the employment specialist realizes that 
Eric's prompting needs are decreasing. 
Continued analysis of the task would be 
required to ensure that Eric eventually does not 
depend on assis-tance from the employment 
specialist. 
Prompting Strategies: Time Delay 
Another way to systematically fade instructional 
prompts is known as time delay 
(Inge, Moon, & Parent, 1993; Moon et al., 
single prompt that consistently assists the customer 
in performing the job duty correctly. Initially, 
the prompt is given simultaneously with 
the request to perform the job duty. Gradually, 
increasing amounts of time (usually seconds) 
are waited between giving the request to perform 
the task and providing the prompt to complete 
the skill correctly. The number of trials at 
each delay level and length of the delay should 
be determined prior to initiation of training. 
By pairing the prompt with the request 
to perform a work task, the customer is not 
1990). There are several critical components to 
a time delay procedure (Gast, Ault, Wolery, 
Doyle, & Bellanger, 1988; Snell & Gast, 1981). 
First, the employment specialist must select a 
176
allowed to make errors initially. The delay 
pro-cedure allows the employment specialist to 
gradually fade assistance until the customer 
performs without prompting. For example, a 
set number of trials are determined for 0 
second delay, the next set at 2 second delay, the 
next a 4 second delay, etc. until the customer 
performs without assistance. Unlike the system 
of least prompts, time delay requires that the 
employ-ment specialist select one prompt for 
use during training. Therefore, the procedure 
is particu-larly useful if an individual 
consistently demonstrates a preference for one 
type of prompt. For example, if a customer has 
shown that he or she always responds to a 
model prompt without making errors, the 
employment specialist can select it to place on 
delay. 
Monitoring the training data is essential 
to ensure that the customer is not constantly 
making errors during the procedure. If an error 
of trials at 0 seconds before again delaying the 
prompt. 
Constant time delay is a variation on the 
above strategy. Training also begins with a 
predetermined number of trials at 0 second 
delay. However, after the initial trials are 
conducted, a constant interval (e.g., 5 seconds) 
is selected for all remaining trials. Guidelines 
for training using a time delay strategy are 
listed in the following table. 
occurs during training, the employment 
special-ist should implement an error 
correction pro-cedure. Typically, an error may 
occur once in-creasing amounts of time are 
waited before the prompt is provided. Usually 
error correction consists of immediately 
interrupting the cus-tomer’s mistake and 
providing the prompt. If the customer makes 3 
or more errors in a row, the trainer may 
consider reverting to a number 
177
GUIDELINES FOR TIME DELAY 
1. Specify number of training trials to be conducted at 0-second delay (e.g., all trials on the 
first day of work will be at 0-second delay). 
2. Specify time delay intervals (e.g., 2, 4, 6 or 1, 2, 3, 4 seconds). 
3. Determine number of training trials to be conducted at each interval (e.g., all trials on the 
second day of work will be at a 2 second delay; all trials on the third day of work will be at 
a 4 second delay; and so forth). 
4. Select one prompt for training that the customer consistently responds to correctly. 
5. Design an error correction procedure; for example, specify that all errors will be interrupted 
immediately. If three errors occur consecutively, return to a pre-determined number of trials 
at 0-second delay. When these are completed, return to the previous delay level. 
6. Implement procedure: 
a. Have the worker move to the work area unless movement is part of the task 
analysis. 
b. Provide the overall cue to begin work. 
c. Wait the specified delay level. 
d. If the worker performs independently, provide reinforcement and move to the next 
step of the task analysis. 
e. If no response occurs within the specified time, provide the prompt and reinforce 
the worker for step completion. Move to the next step of the task. 
f. Interrupt all errors immediately regardless of the time delay level and provide the 
selected prompt. 
g. Implement the error correction procedure if the worker makes 3 errors in a row on 
the same step of the task analysis. 
Note: The guidelines for a constant time delay procedure follow the same steps outlined above 
with one exception. After the initial trials at 0-seconds are completed, training during all other 
trials is done at the selected constant delay, for example, 3 seconds, until the worker meets skill 
acquisition. 
Time Delay Case Study Example 
Monica is a young woman with cerebral 
palsy who is responsible for maintaining a 
company's mailing list. Initially, she could 
type using a headpointer, but she did not know 
how to use the software program to enter the 
names and addresses into the mailing list 
format. She learned this job duty with the 
assistance of an employment specialist and a 
time delay program. 
First, the employment specialist loaded 
a software program called "sticky keys" onto 
Monica's computer to eliminate having to press 
two keys simultaneously (e.g. holding down 
the shift key while typing the first letter of a 
name). Second, she developed a task analysis 
for data entry. Third, the employment specialist 
selected a verbal prompt for the time delay 
strategy. This was the prompt of choice, since 
Monica always followed verbal instructions 
success-fully. The task analysis for entering 
one name and corresponding address follows: 
Enter Name and Address 
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1. Press up arrow key. 2. Press control key. 3. Type F. 4. Press shift key. 5. Type first name. 6. Press enter key. 7. Press shift key. 8. Type last name. 9. Press enter key. 10. Type company name. 11. Press enter key 2 x's. 12. Type street. 13. Press enter key 2 x's. 14. Type zip code. 15. Press enter key 2 x's. 16. Type today's date. 17. Press enter key 3 x's. 18. Type 1. 19. Press enter key 3 x's. 20. Begin next entry. Monica's time delay program consisted of one day of work with 0-second time delay. For instance, as soon as the instructional cue, "enter a name and address" was given, the employment specialist gave the first verbal cue, "press up arrow key." As soon as Monica pressed the up arrow key, the next verbal prompt was given, "press the shift key", and so forth. In this manner, the employment specialist "verbally walked" Monica successfully through the first day of data entry. On the next day of instruction, the employment specialist used a 2 second delay procedure. This meant that she paused for 2 seconds between prompts, for instance: Give instructional cue. Enter name and address. # Wait 2 seconds. Reinforce if Monica correctly initiates first step in the task before prompt. If no response, provide a verbal cue specific to first step in the task analysis. 1. Press up arrow key. (Verbal prompt) # Wait 2 seconds. Reinforce if correct response before prompt. If no re- 2. Press control key. (Verbal prompt) # Wait 2 seconds. Reinforce if correct response before prompt. If no re- 3. Type F. (Verbal prompt) # Wait 2 seconds. Reinforce if correct response before prompt. If no re- 4. Press shift key. (Verbal prompt) # Wait 2 seconds. Reinforce if correct response before prompt. If no response, give verbal cue for next step. sponse, give verbal cue for next step. sponse, give verbal cue for next step. sponse, give verbal cue for next step. 5. Type first name. (Verbal prompt) # Wait 2 seconds. Reinforce if correct response before prompt. If no response, give verbal cue for next step, etc. If Monica began to make a mistake while the employment specialist was waiting between steps, she was interrupted immediately with the next verbal prompt. The delay level between steps was gradually increased each day until Monica was working independently. Step 4  Reinforcement Procedures Selection of reinforcers as well as the systematic delivery of reinforcement can assist the customer in becoming successful in the workplace. Typically, the most effective reinforcers are those that occur as a natural consequence to a given task or situation within the work environment (Wilcox & Bellamy, 1982). Therefore, the employment specialist begins by identifying items that are available 179on the job site. This includes such things as coworker 
praise, supervisor approval, positive 
written supervisor evaluations, pay raises or 
bonuses, and so forth. 
However, some workers with significant 
disabilities may not initially understand 
the relationship between working and naturally 
occurring reinforcers such as earning a paycheck 
and approval from co-workers and 
super-visors. In these instances, more tangible 
rein-forcers may be used initially and gradually 
faded as the naturally occurring ones become 
meaningful. For example, there may be a 
vending machine located within the employee 
break room which can be used to reinforce the 
worker at the end of a job duty or an employee 
cafeteria where he or she can get a snack. The 
addition of edible or tangible reinforcers should 
never be used unless a procedure for fading 
them is built into the training program. 
Remember that all individuals will not 
be reinforced by the same items and that even 
the most preferred reinforcer, if used too frequently, 
will lose its effectiveness (Falvey, 
1989). Only after failing to identify a natural 
reinforcer, should the employment specialist 
select more artificial items (Moon et al., 1990). 
The following information may be useful in 
identifying potential reinforcers for supported 
employment customers (Barcus et al., 1987; 
Falvey, 1989; Inge, Barcus, Brooke, & 
Everson, 1995; Moon et al., 1990). 
1. Survey the customer and those familiar 
with him/her to determine likes and dislikes. 
Include leisure activities, tangible 
items, types of verbal reinforcement, etc. 
Consider asking some of the following 
questions. 
a. What are some things you like to 
do by yourself for fun? 
b. What do you enjoy doing with 
friends/family in your free time? 
c. Do you have any hobbies or 
games you enjoy? 
d. Are there any hobbies or games 
you would like to learn? 
e. Do you like listening to music? 
f. Tell me about the type of music 
you like. 
g. Who do you like spending time 
with? 
j. If you had 50¢, $1, $5, $10, etc., 
what would you buy? 
2. Observe the customer in several natural 
environments (e.g., at home, in a 
restaurant, at the mall) during his or her 
free time and record what he or she does. 
3. Offer the customer a chance to interact 
with several novel items and record what 
he or she does. Often individuals with 
limited experiences, do not know what they 
like to do. Offering them options, allows 
cus-tomers to develop choices and 
interests. If the customer can not tell you 
about his or her choices, repeat the 
experiences over several days and 
determine if there is a pattern to the 
customer's choices. 
4. Select an item and use it as a reinforcer, 
Observe to see if the worker's skill level 
increases. 
Timing: After a reinforcer has been 
identified for use on a job site, a schedule of re- 
180
inforcement should be established. Many customers 
who require additional reinforcement 
do not understand the connection between 
work well done and the paycheck. Ideally, all 
rein-forcement is provided immediately 
following the occurrence of the desired work 
skill. However, it usually is not feasible on a 
job site to provide tangible or edible 
reinforcement im-mediately after a response 
occurs. In these instances, the employment 
specialist must develop a training program that 
uses 
exchangeable reinforcers on predetermined 
schedules. These systems must be age appropriate 
and not draw attention to the worker. 
Exchangeable items may include money, 
tokens, points on a card, checks on a calendar, 
and so forth. These items are exchanged later 
for the item(s) that the customer selects. 
There are several advantages to using 
exchangeable reinforcers (Moon et al., 1990). 
First, if the employment specialist uses money 
as the exchangeable item, he or she is teaching 
the customer the relationship between work 
and money. Also, all food and tangible objects 
(e.g., magazine) can be given at an appropriate 
time such as during break. Finally, the employment 
specialist can gradually increase the 
program requirements for earning the exchangeable 
item in order to fade the reinforcement. 
As an example, a customer earns 
10¢ for every five minutes of work. At the end 
of one hour, he or she can spend the money 
earned in the vending machine. 
Whenever, exchangeable tokens are 
used, the employment specialist also should 
provide verbal praise for working. As the customer 
becomes more successful, verbal praise 
usually becomes reinforcing. The tangible item 
gradually can be faded to naturally occurring 
praise from the supervisor and/or co-workers. 
Schedule of delivery: Employment 
specialists can use two types of schedules to 
include a predetermined number of responses: 
ratio schedule of reinforcement; or a predetermined 
period of time, interval schedule of 
reinforcement (Inge, Dymond, Wehman, et al., 
1993; Moon et al., 1990). Either of these types 
181
of schedules can be fixed or variable. In a 
fixed ratio schedule, reinforcement is provided 
to the customer after a set number of 
responses (e.g., after every step in the task 
analysis, after every 3 steps in the TA, after 
every 5 names entered into the mailing list, 
after every 5 towels folded, and so forth.) Or 
the employ-ment specialist can use a variable 
schedule which requires giving the customer 
the rein-forcement after an average number of 
responses (e.g., on the average of every 3 steps 
in the TA, on the average of every 5 names 
entered into the mailing list, and so forth.) If a 
variable schedule is used, the customer usually 
does not anticipate when reinforcement will be 
provided which may approximate how 
reinforcement is provided in natural work 
environments. 
Use of an interval schedule requires 
that reinforcement is provided based on time 
inter-vals. Using a fixed interval schedule, the 
em-ployment specialist may decide to reinforce 
the customer after every 5 minutes, at the end 
of a half hour, an hour, end of the day, and so 
forth. A variable interval schedule occurs on 
the average of a set period of time such as on 
the average of every half hour. Interval 
schedules of reinforcement are most like the 
naturally occurring reinforcement schedules on 
a job site. For instance, a paycheck is usually 
earned on a fixed interval schedule of once a 
week. Or, a supervisor typically praises his/her 
employees based on time intervals such as an 
annual performance evaluation. 
When using ratio and interval schedules 
of reinforcement, the employment specialist 
should determine the number of responses or 
the length of the intervals for reinforcement 
based on the support needs of the customer. 
Obviously, if he/she works successfully with 
earning a paycheck once a week, a more intensive 
schedule should not be considered. 
However, if the customer has no concept of a 
paycheck, a more intrusive level of reinforcement 
should be implemented. Only when 
the employment specialist fades to the naturally 
occurring reinforcement of the job site will the 
customer be independent in the work place. 
Figure 2 in the appendix of this chapter provides 
a training program which demonstrates 
the fading of reinforcement. 
C OMPENSATORY STRATEGIES 
Adding compensatory strategies to jobsite 
training can enhance a customer's ability to 
learn and perform independently. In some instances, 
using a compensatory strategy can 
eliminate instruction and allow the individual 
to participate in activities that he/she otherwise 
would not be able. For instance, a customer 
may use a "money card" to purchase a soda 
from the break room vending machine. The 
money card eliminates the need for the customer 
to learn the difference between coins or 
the actual amount that is required to access the 
machine. However, the steps in using a compensatory 
strategy may require instruction and 
should be included within any task analyses 
that are developed. 
If compensatory strategies are targeted, 
they must be designed with input from the 
customer, employer, and co-workers. In addition, 
care should be given to the design and 
182
construction of materials to ensure that they do 
not stigmatize the customer. Materials should 
be those that any adult could access within a 
work environment and would be accepted by 
the work culture where they are used. 
For instance, if a picture book is 
selected to assist a customer in remembering 
his/her work schedule, the employment specialist 
and customer should work together in the 
design of the booklet. Some of the things they 
may want to consider include the following: 
# Pictures should be concise and eliminate 
unnecessary information. 
# The number of pictures in the booklet 
should be evaluated. Too many may distract 
or confuse the customer rather than 
assist in task completion. 
# The size of the booklet must be evaluated. 
Does it draw attention to the customer? 
Could it be made small enough to fit in a 
pocket? 
# The materials must be those that any adult 
would use. 
# The booklet should be durable. How often 
will it need to be replaced? Who will be 
assisting the customer after the employment 
specialist has faded from the work 
place? 
# The materials should be simple to use. Is 
there a less complicated strategy that is 
just as effective? For instance, could the 
customer learn to use a written list of job 
tasks rather than a bulky picture book? 
While the above list has been designed 
specific to the use of a picture booklet, the 
same concepts or ideas could be applied to 
almost any compensatory strategy used on a 
job site. They should be simple to use, concise, 
and the least intrusive strategy selected that 
will assist the customer in performing his/her 
job duties. 
Case Study Using a Picture Book 
Randy learned to perform his job duty 
of vacuuming the second floor of a local 
department store. However, he had difficulty 
moving from one department to another. For 
instance, one day he would remember to 
vacuum the shoe department while on another 
day, he would skip it entirely. On yet another 
day, he would remember to vacuum the shoe 
department, but forget to vacuum the woman's 
coat area. The employment specialist 
discussed this with Randy and his employer, 
and they came up with the following solution. 
There were five areas Randy needed to 
vacuum in a day including: woman's coats, 
woman's shoes, woman's dresses, woman's 
accessories, and cosmetics. The employment 
specialist copied pictures that represented each 
area of the second floor. The pictures were 
approximately 3" by 3". Booklets were 
developed by stapling five pictures together in 
a packet. Randy's supervisor agreed to make 
sure that there were booklets always available 
in his locker. 
At the beginning of a work day, Randy 
took out one booklet from his locker. He proceeded 
to the area of the store to be vacuumed 
as represented by the first picture in the 
packet. After he completed vacuuming the 
section, Randy tore the top picture from the 
booklet and threw it in the trash. He then 
moved to the next area. In this manner, Randy 
was able to se-quence the sections of the store 
for vacuuming. Throwing away a picture after 
183
the work was completed seemed to be very 
reinforcing and helped Randy move through 
his work day. 
Summary: Employment specialists are 
encouraged to design other compensatory strategies 
specific to customers for whom they are 
intended to benefit. Many types of added cues 
and prompts can be used. The following table 
provides more compensatory strategy ideas. 
COMPENSATORY STRATEGY 
IDEAS 
The customer can't remember his/her 
sequence of job duties. 
# written list 
# audio-cassette 
# picture book 
# assignment board 
# flow chart 
The customer has difficulty reading copy 
requests to determine work assignments. 
# in/out boxes for each co-worker requesting 
work with name or picture 
of co-worker on box 
# special form highlighting relevant 
features of the task such as thick 
out-lined box where number of 
copies is located 
# audio-cassette requests for copy 
work 
The customer can't count to package work 
materials. 
# strips of tape on table which correspond 
to # of items in package 
# picture of # of items in the package 
# box with # of dividers which correspond 
to # of items in package 
# sample of package for matching 
work 
Compensatory Memory Strategies 
Some individuals with brain injury will 
have specific memory difficulties related to 
their disability (Briel, in press; Kreutzer & 
Wehman, 1990; Penn & Cleary, 1988). This 
may include problems with auditory and visual 
memory and learning, as well as short and long 
term memory. Compensatory strategies are one 
way to deal with these issues. Some of the 
specific strategies that have been suggested for 
customers with brain injury include the use of 
imagery, number chunking, memory notebooks, 
verbal labeling, and verbal rehearsal, to 
mention a few. The following information is 
adapted from: 
1. handout materials compiled by Virginia 
Commonwealth University's, Medical College 
of Virginia Neuropsychology Service 
in 1993, 
2. a Supported Employment Telecourse Network 
broadcast from the Rehabilitation 
Research and Training Center on Supported 
Employment, and 
3. personal communication with Ms. Pam 
Targett, Employment Services Director at 
the RRTC. 
# Imagery: The process of using mental pictures/
images of information to be recalled. 
Example: The customer visualizes himself 
walking a specific route to assist in 
remembering how to find his job site. 
# Mnemonic: Impose an organizational 
structure on verbal information to cue recall 
of several elements. Example: A 
clerical assistant recalls her sequence of 
job duties by remembering the word, code. 
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C = clock in 
O = open mail 
D = deliver mail 
E = enter data 
# Number Grouping: Recalling numbers by 
perceptually reorganizing them into fewer 
elements. Example: A customer working at 
central supply in a hospital needed to 
remember to pull items based on a four 
digit code. She would look at a computer 
printout and see four numbers such as 
1,7,2, and 5. Instead of saying these separately, 
she recalled the information as 
seventeen twenty-five. 
# Memory Notebook: Maintaining written 
cues systematically in a log to keep up with 
things that have been done or need to be 
accomplished. Example: A date or daytime 
organizer book is used by employees to 
remember appointments. 
# Verbal Rehearsal: Repeating key information 
to facilitate memory recall. 
Example: Inventory control specialist for 
sets up her work station by stating the 
following aloud: 1.) turn on monitor; 2.) 
turn on computer, 3.) enter my password, 
4.) hit enter, etc. She eventually learns to 
internalize this process by repeating the 
instruction quietly until she no longer 
needs to verbalize the information. 
# Assignment Board: A graphically presented 
list of task assignments. Example: 
A customer keeps a bulletin board on the 
door of her locker. She lists her job duties 
with specific times for completion to refer 
to if needed throughout her work day. 
# Location and Place Markers: A visual 
cue physically placed at some point in a 
task sequence indicating where the task is 
to be resumed. Example: Warehouse 
worker who straightens shelf inventory 
sometimes is called off task to fill an order. 
He cannot remember where he leaves his 
straightening task. The worker ties a 
bandanna on the shelf to cue himself for 
coming back to where he left off. 
S ELF-MANAGEMENT 
Self-management has been referred to 
as self-monitoring, self-observation, selfevaluation, 
self-reinforcement, self-instruction, 
and self-assessment, to mention a few terms 
(Browder & Shapiro, 1985; Karoly, 1977; 
Kazdin, 1984; Shapiro, 1981). Selfmanagement 
strategies may be applied either 
before or after the targeted job duty or skill to 
assist the worker in performing a task successfully. 
For instance, the worker may use a 
preset alarm on a watch to determine when it is 
time to take a break. Another example, may be 
a worker who uses a compensatory strategy 
such as a picture book of tasks that need to be 
completed during the day. Yet another example, 
might be a worker who evaluates 
his/her work performance in order to selfreinforce 
such as marking checks on a card for 
a specific amount of work which is later 
exchanged for a reinforcer. The following 
table provides ex-amples of self-management 
terms, definitions, and examples. 
FREQUENTLY USED TERMS AND 
185
Self-Assessment...Discriminating the occurrence 
of one's behavior (Shapiro, 1981, 
p. 268). 
Example: Bill assesses whether he has or 
has not completed a work task such as 
wiping all the tables in a fast food 
restaurant. 
Self-Reinforcement...Providing oneself 
with reinforcing consequences contingent 
upon work performance (Kazdin, 1984, p. 
300). This strategy usually is combined 
with other procedures such as selfassessment. 
Examples: Mary takes a coin from a box 
and places it in her pocket after 
vacuuming each section of the department 
store (e.g., shoe section, women's 
sportswear, etc.). 
Marcia places a check on a card after she 
prices all the items in a box. She exchanges 
these checks for a preferred item 
(e.g., soda, magazine, etc.) at the end of 
her work day. 
Self-Instruction...Verbal statements to 
oneself which prompt, direct, or maintain 
behavior (O’Leary & Dubey, 1979, p. 
459). 
Example: John instructs himself by 
speaking out loud. Such as..”First, I go 
to the supply closet and get my 
cart...Now, I go to the windows...Spray 
the glass... Am I getting all the 
dirt?...Move on to the next set...Work 
fast.” etc. 
Table Adapted From: Browder, D.M. & Shapiro, E.S. 
(1985). Applications of self-management to individuals 
with severe handicaps: A review. JASH, 10(4), 200-208. 
The effectiveness of self-management 
procedures has been well documented. For 
instance, Shafer and Brooke (1985) used a selfrecording 
strategy to increase the punctuality of 
a young woman in a community job site. The 
supported employment customer recorded her 
check-out time on a piece of paper that was 
printed with a calendar grid. She was responsible 
for recording the time that her supervisor 
told her to leave the job site on this card, as 
well as, using the time clock to punch-out. The 
employment specialist compared her selfrecording 
card with the actual punch-out time 
every three or four days. This self-monitoring 
strategy was successful in decreasing the 
number of days that the worker left the job site 
prior to schedule without daily supervision 
from the employment specialist. 
Self-management usually entails instructing 
the employee to independently selfmonitor 
by using such things as natural cues, 
adding external cues and prompts, compensatory 
strategies, assistive technology devices, 
and so forth. This instruction can be provided 
by the employment specialist, friends, family 
member, co-workers, and/or the supervisor depending 
on the customer's support needs. For 
instance, a family member may assist the customer 
in learning to check off days on a 
calendar to determine when he/she goes to 
work. A co-worker may instruct the same individual 
in using a timer to monitor production, 
while the employment specialist assists the 
individual in developing a self- reinforcement 
strategy to use on the job when he/she meets 
the production standard. Regardless of who 
186
provides the customer instruction and support, 
the following guidelines should be considered. 
1. Review training data. If the employee is 
having specific difficulties in sequencing, 
discriminating, meeting production, consider 
using self-management procedures. 
2. Consider the learning style of the customer. 
Does he/she respond best to visual, 
auditory, tactile information, or is a combination 
of these needed? 
3. Determine if the self-management strategies 
are stigmatizing. For instance, selfinstruction 
may not be appropriate for the 
customer who is in frequent contact with 
co-workers and the public. 
4. Always have the customer assist in the 
design and selection of self-management 
strategies. 
5. Include the supervisor and/or co-workers 
in the process. Don't implement a strategy 
without approval. 
6. Decide who will be responsible for supporting 
the customer in learning how to 
self-monitor. 
7. Evaluate the procedure and modify if 
necessary. 
8. Fade the self-management procedure if 
necessary. 
NCREASING PRODUCTION TO 
COMPANY STANDARDS I 
Employment specialists are cautioned 
to provide initial skill training at a pace that 
requires the worker to maintain a steady and 
standard speed of performance. If this is 
successful, the customer should be performing 
his or her job duties to company standards once 
the skills are acquired. However, sometimes a 
customer may still need additional training to 
meet the company production rate. 
Prior to developing a formal program, 
the employment specialist should determine if 
the customer is performing all steps of the task 
analysis as they were designed. Sometimes, 
production issues can be related to inefficient 
task analysis development or to inefficient 
worker implementation. In addition, some production 
issues are the result of the customer's 
ability to attend to the work task. Simply, 
moving the customer's work station to an area 
with less distractions may be enough to increase 
his or her production rate. The 
following steps should be completed prior to 
initiating training to increase the customer's 
production rate (Moon et al., 1990). 
Steps in determining whether a formal program 
is necessary to increase production rate. 
# Review the probe data for the task. 
Make sure the customer is performing 
all steps of the task analysis as designed. 
# If the customer is not performing all 
steps, resume the training program 
until he/she is performing the steps of 
the TA in order. 
# If all steps are being performed correctly, 
review the TA. Revise the task 
so that it is performed as efficiently as 
possible. (e.g., reduce worker movement). 
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# If the TA is revised, begin training 
until the customer is completing the 
job duty based on the revisions. 
# If the original TA is satisfactory, 
determine if the customer is having 
difficulty with on-task behavior. If 
he/she has more than 20% off-task 
behavior, implement a training program. 
# If the TA is efficient and on/off task 
performance is not a problem, design 
and implement a program to increase 
production. 
Verify the job site production 
standard: The first step in increasing the 
customer’s production rate is to verify a company 
standard which can be used to compare 
the employee’s rate. This is accomplished by 
asking the supervisor if there is an established 
company production standard for each job duty 
that the worker is performing. Preferably, the 
employment specialist and the customer have 
been aware of this production rate from the 
first day of job-site training. 
After the employer provides the current 
standard, the employment specialist should 
verify the rate based on the performance of coworkers 
who are performing these tasks. This 
can be accomplished by observing one or two 
employees for several days and taking an 
average of their production rate. If the production 
rate is defined by the length of time it 
takes to perform a job duty, complete the 
following steps: 
Production Standard Based 
on Time 
1. Note the time that the co-worker begins the 
job duty. 
2. Observe the co-worker performing the task. 
3. Note the time he/she completes the task. 
4. Subtract the beginning time from the 
ending time to determine the amount of 
time it takes to complete the job duty. 
5. Take an average production rate across 
several days to verify a company standard. 
If the production standard is determined by 
counting the number of units completed 
during a given time period, complete the 
following steps to verify the company standard: 
Production Standard Based on 
# of Units 
1. Identify two time periods during the day to 
observe co-worker perform the job duty. 
2. Count and record the number of units 
completed (e.g., number of towels folded) 
during the identified sample time period 
(e.g., 10 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.). 
3. Keep the time period constant over all 
observation periods. 
4. Take an average of the co-worker’s production 
rate to verify a company standard. 
Determining the Customer’s Production 
Rate: After the company standard has 
been established, the customer should compare 
his/her rate to determine if additional training 
and support is required. Follow the above 
procedures to determine the customer’s rate. 
Then divide the company standard by the 
customer’s rate to get a percentage of standard 
for the worker. For instance, if the company 
rate is to finish the job duty in 15 minutes and 
the customer is taking 30 minutes, divide 15 by 
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30 to arrive at 50% of the production standard. 
Or, if the company rate is determined by the 
number of units completed, divide the number 
of units that the customer completed in the time 
period by the number completed by the coworker. 
For instance, the customer folds 10 
towels in the time period while the company 
standard is 25 towels. The customer’s current 
production rate would 40% of the standard or 
10 divided by 25. A production standard data 
form is located in the appendix of this chapter. 
The following case study is an example of how 
one customer learned to increase her 
production using self-management procedures. 
ELF-MANAGEMENT CASE 
STUDY EXAMPLE S 
Jessica works part-time at a restaurant 
as a bus person 9:00 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, 
Thursday, and Saturday and 9:00 to 3:00 p.m. 
on Friday. From the first day of work, Jessica 
has earned $4.25 per hour for a total of 15 
hours per week. During the times of the week 
that Jessica does not work, she attends her 
regular school program. Her primary job duty 
is to roll silverware and distribute it to the bus 
stations. She also occasionally greets customers 
as they enter the restaurant. 
This job was designed for Jessica by the 
restaurant manager and her employment specialist. 
It was determined during the initial 
interview, that the waitresses have difficulty 
keeping an adequate supply of silverware 
during the work day. As such, the manager 
was 
very receptive to creating a position for Jessica 
that freed up the waitresses from this part of 
their job responsibility. 
Initial job-site training took place 
throughout the restaurant, however the majority 
of the instruction occurred at a small work 
station located between two dining rooms. 
Waitresses and other employees constantly 
move in and out of this area, since it houses 
supplies for setting the tables, as well as, 
serving non-alcoholic beverages. 
Initial Training 
Initially, Jessica was trained by her 
employment specialist to roll silverware using 
a least prompt strategy. She successfully 
learned the task and could perform it without 
prompting; however, an analysis of her program 
data indicated that Jessica did not meet 
the production standards for rolling silverware. 
Jessica, her employment specialist, and 
super-visor decided that she should try using a 
self-management procedure. 
Measurement and Recording Procedures 
The first step in assisting Jessica in 
meeting production was to set and verify a 
company standard for rolling silverware. The 
manager wanted this task completed at a 
steady, constant work pace, but he did not have 
a specific predetermined standard for Jessica to 
follow. Therefore, the employment specialist 
observed co-workers, observed Jessica's production 
without reinforcement or prompting, 
and completed the task himself to determine a 
reasonable rate of performance. A production 
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Within these 5 sections, ten line drawings were standard of 10 pieces of silverware in 8 
minutes was set, and the manager and coworkers 
agreed that the rate would be 
satisfactory. Prior to implementing the program 
design, the em-ployment specialist took a 
baseline of Jessica's performance. When 
measured unobtrusively, she completed one 
piece of silverware an average of every 90 
seconds (10 pieces of silverware in 15 
minutes.) 
Program Design 
Self-Monitoring: Two cues were 
selected based on Jessica's learning style to 
assist her in self-monitoring production. First, 
an auditory cue, a digital kitchen timer, was 
purchased by the employment specialist, and 8 
minutes was placed in its stored memory. 
Next, a visual cue, 10 strips of colored tape, 
were placed on the table to the right side of 
Jessica's work station. Each piece of tape 
corresponded to one piece of rolled silverware. 
Jessica was trained to punch the "start/stop" 
button on the timer as the first step in 
beginning her silverware task. After rolling 
one piece of silverware, she placed the 
completed work on a strip of tape. Essentially, 
Jessica was in-structed to fill the "cue area" 
with silverware prior to the alarm sounding on 
the timer. 
Self-Reinforcement: The second component 
of the program was the design of a 
"reinforcement booklet." A line drawing of 4 
pieces of silverware positioned on a napkin was 
created by the employment specialist. He then 
divided one page of standard white bond paper 
into 5 sections approximately 8" by 2 1/4". 
190
positioned. Next, the employment specialist 
used the copy machine to produce multiple 
pages of the "reinforcer". After producing the 
pages, he cut them into strips and stapled 5 
“reinforcer” sheets together to make a booklet. 
Self-reinforcement occurred after 
Jessica picked up the ten rolls of silverware 
from the “tape grid” and placed them in a 
silverware bin. If the timer had not rung, she 
pushed the “start/stop” button, picked up the 
“reinforcer booklet”, tore off a sheet, and 
placed it on the table beside her work. At the 
end of the day, Jessica could take these 
“earned” pages to show at school and at home. 
If the timer rang prior to completion of ten 
pieces of silverware, Jessica was to tear off a 
reinforcer sheet and throw it in the trash can. 
She then finished the remainder of the ten, put 
the silverware in the finished silverware bin, 
and started on the next set of ten by setting the 
timer. 
Five sections of ten were selected for 
each reinforcer sheet, since this corresponded 
to the number of napkins, 50, in a pack, as well 
as, approximately 1 hour of work. It was felt 
that this could further assist Jessica in selfmonitoring 
her production/speed. In other 
words, at the end of one hour of work, Jessica 
should have an empty pack of napkins, a full 
bin of rolled silverware, and a reinforcer sheet 
that she could take to school or home at the end 
of the day. The extra was allowed for getting 
new supplies and distributing the silverware to 
the waitress stations. In addition, Jessica's coworkers 
assisted her by agreeing to check on 
her at the end of each hour. If she had 
completed the task, she was able to assist her 
co-worker as a door greeter until the beginning 
of the next hour of work. 
The employment specialist took the responsibility 
of assisting Jessica in learning how 
to use the self-monitoring program. Once she 
learned the task, her production standard was 
maintained with the support of her co-workers. 
Initially, Jessica did not fully understand the 
concept of working at a constant speed. The 
use of the self-management procedures assisted 
her in meeting production without constant 
inter-ference from the employment specialist, 
until she began to do so independently. In 
addition, it is suggested that the natural 
consequences of working at an acceptable 
speed (e.g. positive interactions from her 
supervisor and co-workers) began to influence 
Jessica's work performance. The selfmanagement 
procedures quickly lead to the 
transfer of control from arti-ficial prompts and 
reinforcers to the naturally occurring supports 
on the job site. By using a self-management 
procedure Jessica is in control of her training, 
and she presents a competent image to her coworkers. 
J OB SITE MODIFICATIONS 
In some cases, the initial training program 
does not result in the customer learning 
the job duties. If this is the case, the employment 
specialist must determine how to 
revise the training plan. This can be done by 
reviewing the data and pinpointing what 
changes need to be made. Occasionally, the 
employment specialist may find it difficult to 
191
determine exactly what is limiting success. In 
these instances, several employment specialists 
and the program manager should brainstorm 
solutions to the problems encountered. The 
following list of questions can assist in 
program modifications (Inge, et al., 1993; 
Moon et al., 1990). The answers will assist the 
employment specialist in modifying the 
training program to meet the support needs of 
the customer. 
Analyze the training program. 1. 
# Does the prompting procedure (least 
prompts, time delay) match the 
learning style of the customer? 
# Is the customer responding to the type 
of prompt(s) selected? 
# Is the customer distracted by noise or 
people in the environment? Is he/she 
attending to the job task? Can the 
location of the task be modified to 
decrease distractions? 
# Can you reduce the number of job 
duties being taught in order to provide 
repeated practice on a specific job 
duty? 
2. Evaluate the task analysis. 
# Has the task been analyzed to match 
the customer’s abilities? 
# Can the steps be further analyzed into 
smaller components? 
# Have the physical abilities of the 
customer been taken into consideration? 
Can the task analysis be modified 
to match the motor skills of the 
worker? 
# Does the task analysis eliminate the 
need to make quality judgements? 
# Do the steps in the tasks analysis include 
any added cues or compensatory 
strategies that have been added to the 
job duty? 
# Can several steps of the task be taught 
rather than the whole task analysis? 
3. Assess the reinforcement. 
# Are the naturally occurring reinforcers 
meaningful to the customer? 
# Does he or she need additional reinforcement 
to learn the job duty? 
# Has a program to systematically fade 
added reinforcement been designed 
and followed based on data 
collection? 
# Is the selected reinforcer(s) motivating 
to the customer? 
# Is the timing of reinforcement correct? 
# Does the schedule of reinforcement 
(variable vs. ratio) meet the support 
needs of the customer? 
# Has the reinforcement been faded too 
quickly? 
4. Consider assistive technology. 
# Is the customer’s mobility or motor 
abilities affecting his or her skill 
acquisition? 
# Can the customer physically perform 
the job, but is it difficult or physically 
impossible for him or her to meet the 
production demands of the job? 
# Does the worker become fatigued 
when attempting to perform the motor 
demands of the task? 
# Has the work site been modified to 
meet the physical support needs of the 
customer? Are the work supplies 
positioned for maximum accessibility? 
192
# Would the customer’s level of independence 
be increased by the application 
of assistive technology? 
# Is the job site supportive of technology, 
and will co-workers be available 
to provide assistance during a 
difficult portion of the task? 
# Can the job be restructured to better 
match the physical abilities of the 
customer? 
A SSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY 
A customer with physical challenges 
will have specialized support needs in the 
workplace (Inge & Sharpton, 1995; Sowers & 
Powers, 1991). These challenges can be met 
with assistive technology devices and services. 
The 1994 Reauthorization of the Technology- 
Related Assistance for Individuals Act (Tech 
Act) defined assistive technology (AT) devices 
and services: 
The term assistive technology device 
means any item, piece of equipment, 
or product system, whether acquired 
commercially off the shelf, modified, 
or customized, that is used to increase, 
maintain, or improve functional 
capabilities of individuals with 
disabilities [20 U.S.C. § 140(25)]. 
The term assistive technology service 
means any service that directly 
assists an individual with a disability 
in the selection, acquisition, or use of 
an assistive technology device [20 
U.S.C. § 140(26)]. 
There is a continuum of complexity in 
technology related to the device as well as the 
type of materials or manufacturing techniques 
used to produce the device (Inge & Shepherd, 
1995). Low technology usually includes devices 
which are simple, with few or no moveable 
parts (Mann & Lane, 1991). Low technology 
devices that customers may use on job 
sites may include 1) dycem (a non-skid mat 
which can stabilize work materials for the customer), 
2) keyguards, 3) book stands, 4) 
reachers, 5) laptray, 6) built-up or enlarged 
handles on utensils or work tools. Low technology 
devices can be purchased almost anywhere 
from the local hardware store, catalogues, 
or can be made from materials that are 
found in a home workshop. Usually, these devices 
are low cost and can be obtained quickly. 
High technology devices are defined by 
the use of electronics, specialized manufacturing 
techniques, and materials (Anson, 
1993). High technology is most often associated 
with computers, robotics, environmental 
control units, power wheelchairs, and so forth. 
Rehabilitation engineers; occupational, physical, 
speech therapists; or other rehabilitation 
personnel can assist customers in identifying 
and obtaining high technology devices. 
High tech devices are typically available 
through vendors of specialized companies 
dealing in specific types of merchandise. AT 
services and devices can be paid for by the Department 
of Rehabilitative Services, Medicaid, 
Social Security Work Incentives, private insurance, 
and by the employer (Wallace, 1995). 
Technology support needs should be identified 
193
after the customer has selected a career path or 
potential job (Powers, 1995). This is very 
different from identifying devices and services 
and then trying to fit it into a job site. The 
following table provides information resources 
in the area of assistive technology. 
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY 
RESOURCES 
Abledata 
Silver Spring, MD 
(800) 227-0216 
Apple Computer, Inc. 
Office of Special Education 
20525 Mariani Avenue 
Cupertino, CA 95014 
Assistive Technology Sourcebook 
RESNA Press 
Department 4006 
Washington, DC 20042-4006 
Fred Sammons, Inc. 
Box 32 
Brookfield, Il 60513 
Helen Keller National Center 
111 Middle Neck Road 
Sands Point, NY 11050 
IBM 
National Support Center for Persons 
with Disabilities 
PO Box 2150 
Atlanta, GA 30301-2105 
Job Accommodation Network 
918 Chestnut Ridge Road, Suite 1 
Morgantown, WV 26506-6080 
(800) ADA-WORK (voice & TDD) 
(Continued) 
National Rehabilitation Information 
Center (NARIC) 
8455 Colesville Road, Suite 935 
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3319 
National Technology Center 
American Foundation for the Blind 
15 West 16th Street 
New York, NY 10011 
Prentke Romich Company 
1022 Heyl Road 
Wooster, OH 44691 
President’s Committee on Employment 
of People With Disabilities 
1331 F Street, N. W., Suite 300 
Washington, DC 20004 
(202) 376-6200 (voice) 
(202) 376-6205 (TDD) 
RESNA (Association for the 
Advancement of Rehabilitation 
Technology) 
1700 North Monroe Street, Suite 1540 
Arlington, VA 22209-1903 
Assistive technology cannot provide 
solutions for all challenges faced by the customer. 
For instance, it may be unwise to identify 
a job with an extremely high production 
standard even if technology is available. 
Employment specialists should identify a support 
team to include the customer; family members; 
employer; assistive technology vendors; 
occupational, physical, and speech therapists; 
and rehabilitation engineers to assist in identifying 
technology for the workplace. 
Assistive Technology Case Study 
Monica is a young woman whose physical 
abilities are challenged by cerebral palsy. 
194
She found a job with the assistance of an 
employment specialist entering data into a 
company's mailing list. Her employment 
specialist identified that she had many abilities 
that she could bring to the company, as well as 
challenges that could be met with assistive 
technology and supported employment. These 
strengths and challenges follow: 
Monica's strengths: 
# Types simple letters to friends and family 
members using a headpointer. 
# Knows how to use a manual typewriter. 
# Reads on a basic level, but she can copy 
whatever is written on the paper with 
accuracy even if she can't read the words. 
# Is very social and expresses an interest in 
learning to use a computer for data entry. 
# Uses a power chair for mobility. 
# Can lift her right arm to shoulder height. 
# Is extremely motivated to work. 
Monica's work challenges: 
# Can not use her fingers on either hand to 
grasp objects. 
# Is not able to manipulate paper for data 
entry. 
# Must rely on others for daily care 
activities. 
# Does not have any computer training or 
previous work experiences. 
The first issue to solve was to determine 
how Monica would manipulate paper for data 
entry. Requests for the mailing list arrive at the 
company on telephone message pads, business 
cards, and even scrap pieces of paper. Monica 
would not be able to pick up these small pieces 
of paper and move them. This concern was 
raised with Monica's supervisor who suggested 
a solution to the problem. She offered to tape 
requests on a standard 8 ½ by 11" piece of 
typing paper. After a page was full of requests, 
she would give these to Monica for data entry. 
The next issue would be to determine 
how Monica would move the sheets of typing 
paper. It was decided that a standard secretarial 
stand could be attached to the side of her table 
to hold the papers. A page turner could then be 
installed to drop the pages one at a time. A 
rehabilitation engineer was called to make this 
device. In addition, he was asked to make a 
data entry guide that would move down the 
page to assist Monica in visually keeping her 
place. This required a two directional switch 
and a motor for the guide. 
After working on these devices, the 
rehabilitation engineer reported that he was 
successful in producing the data entry guide but 
was having difficulty developing the page 
turner portion of the device. At this point, an 
occupational therapist evaluated Monica to 
determine if she would be able to move the 
paper from the device without adding the page 
turner. A task analysis revealed that she could 
take her head pointer and pull the top of the 
paper forward. Once she had accomplished 
this, Monica could raise her arm to shoulder 
195
level and push the paper off the stand with the 
side of her hand. Timing Monica's physical 
movement revealed that she could push a sheet 
of paper off the typing stand within 30 seconds, 
a reasonable time for completion of the task. 
Next, a keyguard was ordered from a 
computer supply store and placed on the 
computer keyboard to assist Monica in striking 
the correct keys when typing. A software program, 
“sticky keys” was installed on her computer 
which eliminated the need for her to 
depress two keys simultaneously. The computer 
was placed on a table which had blocks to 
raise it to a comfortable work height. Finally, 
Monica's employment specialist designed task 
analyses and an instructional program to assist 
her in learning her job duties. This instructional 
program was discussed earlier in the 
prompting section of this chapter. 
HANGE IN THE CUSTOMER’S 
JOB DUTIES C 
Sometimes, in spite of efforts to change 
the instructional program, modify the workplace, 
or add assistive technology devices and 
services, the customer still has difficulty performing 
a job duty (Moon et al., 1990). In 
these instances, the employment specialist may 
need to negotiate with the employer to determine 
if a co-worker can share the job duty or 
switch for one that is of equal responsibility. 
The customer, employer, co-worker(s), and 
employment specialist should meet to discuss 
the alternatives. A change in the customer’s 
responsibilities will necessitate the implementation 
of a new instructional program for 
training him/her in performance of the new job 
duties. 
F ADING FROM THE JOB SITE 
Once the worker has learned to perform 
all the skills necessary correctly and independently, 
the employment specialist must ensure 
that the performance of these duties are maintained 
to company standards under naturally 
occurring supervision and reinforcement. The 
focus of training at this point is to increase the 
worker's independence while fading the employment 
specialist's presence from the job site. 
Much of this will occur naturally if the employment 
specialist has paid attention to including 
the supervisor and co-workers in the 
program design from day one of job-site 
training. 
For instance, as the customer begins 
performing steps in the task analysis independently, 
the employment specialist fades his or 
her presence from the immediate work area 
(e.g., the employment specialist is 3 feet away 
from the customer and then 5 feet, etc.). This 
procedure was described earlier in the data 
collection section of this chapter. If planning 
has been done correctly, the employment 
specialist is now ready to develop a fading 
schedule for leaving the job site. 
The customer's first time alone for part 
of the day is a significant step. The employment 
specialist should explain to the customer, 
supervisor, and co-workers that he or she can 
be contacted and will return to the job site 
196
immediately if needed. As the customer 
continues to do well based on data results and 
supervisor and co-worker comments, the employment 
specialist gradually fades his or her 
presence until the worker is alone for an entire 
work day. Initially, the employment specialist 
should stop by the job site at the end of the day 
to ensure that the customer is comfortable with 
the fading schedule. The following guidelines 
may be useful when fading from the job site. 
GUIDELINES FOR FADING FROM 
THE JOB SITE 
1. Discuss the fading schedule with the 
customer and supervisor. 
2. Agree on a day to begin fading the 
employment specialist's presence. 
3. Inform the customer and co-workers (if 
appropriate) that you are leaving the 
job site and for how long. 
4. Give the customer and supervisor a 
telephone number where the employment 
specialist can be reached. 
5. Leave for 1-2 hours for the first fading 
session. 
6. Continue to collect probe, on/off task, 
and production data on the job duties. 
7. Gradually increase your time off the 
site as the customer continues to be 
independent, until he or she is working 
for the entire day with the naturally 
occurring support of the workplace. 
to fade from the job site as quickly as possible. 
S UMMARY 
Job-site training involves the direct 
instruction of job duties and related nonvocational 
skills. The employment specialist's 
role is to facilitate the customer's successful 
work performance; be available for support to 
the customer, supervisor, and co-workers; and 
Once the employment specialist has imple- 
197
mented the procedures outlined in this chapter 
based on the support needs of the customer, 
and the worker is independently completing his 
or her job under naturally occurring 
supervision of the job site, the employment 
specialist moves into the follow-along phase of 
supported employment. 
198
R EFERENCES 
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Inge, K.J., Barcus, J.M., Brooke, V., & Everson, J. (1995). Supported employment staff 
training manual (2nd ed.). Richmond: Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research 
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Inge, K.J., Dymond, S., Wehman, P., Sutphin, C., Johnston, C., & Faina, M. (1993). 
Community-based vocational preparation for students with severe disabilities: Designing the 
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employment settings. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 3(3), 53-60. 
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201
A PPENDIX 
# Sequence of Job Duties Form 
# Task Analysis Form 
# Percent Time On-Task Data Form 
# Production Rate Recording Form 
202
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY 
REHABILITATION RESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTER 
Sequence of Job Duties Form 
[ ] Daily 
(Job duties remain 
the same from day-to-day 
Approximate Time 
Comments: 
SIGNATURE/TITLE: DATE: 
© Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on Supported Employment, 1997 
[ ] Varies day-to-day 
(If checked here, complete a 
separate form for each different 
sequence) 
If above box is checked, indicate 
day for which this form is completed: 
[ ] [ ] 
Sat Sun 
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 
Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri 
Job Duty 
203
Trainer: 
Customer: 
Environment: 
Work Cue: 
Data Collection: 
p
m independent correct response 
incorrect response 
verbal prompt 
+ 
-
v 
Task Analysis Form 
model prompt 
physical prompt 
© Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on Supported Employment, 1997 
204
Employee: 
Trainer: 
Date Time 
End 
Time 
Start 
Observation 
Period 
Definitions: 
On-Task: 
Off-Task: 
Percent Time On-Task Data 
Job Site: 
Job Title: 
Job 
Duty 
1-Minute Intervals 
(+) = On-Task; (-) = Off-Task 
% 
Time 
On- 
Task 
© Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on Supported Employment, 1997 
Production Rate Recording Form 
205
Name: 
Task: 
Date 
Standard is the average number of units completed by co-workers performing the same task 
within a specified time period, or the standard can be the length of time that it takes the co- 
Calculate standard by 1.) dividing the number of units that the customer completes in the time period by the 
company standard or 2.) dividing the company standard (length of time to complete the job duty) by the length of 
© Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on supported Employment, 1997 
% of 
Standard 
time it takes the customer to complete the duty to arrive at the customer's production rate. 
Units 
Completed 
workers to complete the job duty. 
Time Begin 
Task 
Month: 
Standard: 
Total Time 
Time End 
Task 
206