Type and frequency of social interaction among workers with and without mental retardation

The social/verbal interactions of 6 employees with moderate or severe mental retardation and 6 workers without mental retardation were observed in six restaurants. Results showed that target workers without mental retardation gave more directions, asked more work-related questions, initiated more jokes, and had more general work-related comments than did target workers with mental retardation. The latter received more greetings and social amenities. Interactions between workers with mental retardation and the job coach correlated negatively with the workers' initiation of interactions with co-workers who did not have mental retardation. Implications for job placement and training as well as future research needs were discussed.