"What ELSE about this job?" Teaching Job Decision-Making to College Students With Intellectual and Developmental...

Area of Science:

• Disability Studies
• Vocational Rehabilitation
• Special Education

Background:

• Self-determination is crucial for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
• Effective job decision-making skills require systematic instruction.
• Existing interventions may not adequately address job fit decisions for college students with IDD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention, "What ELSE about this job?", for teaching job decision-making skills.
• To determine if job decision-making skills acquired through the intervention are maintained after its removal.
• To assess the generalization of learned skills to new contexts.

Main Methods:

• A multicomponent intervention combining remote audio coaching (RAC) and a mnemonic device ('ELSE') was developed.
• The intervention targeted college students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Skill acquisition, maintenance, and generalization were measured.

Main Results:

• All students receiving the intervention demonstrated substantial improvements in job decision-making abilities.
• Participants successfully maintained their skills after the intervention was discontinued.
• Evidence of skill generalization to new job coaches and online job search platforms was observed.

Conclusions:

• The "What ELSE about this job?" intervention is effective in teaching job decision-making skills to college students with IDD.
• The learned skills are durable and can be generalized to different situations and individuals.
• This approach offers a promising strategy for enhancing vocational self-determination in this population.