The social/verbal interactions of six employees with moderate or severe mental retardation and six workers without mental retardation were observed in restaurant settings. Among findings was that interactions between workers with mental retardation and the job coach correlated negatively with the workers' initiation of interactions with co-workers…

The article describes the pilot testing of a direct observation procedure for observing social interactions of mentally retarded and non-retarded workers in supported work settings. The instrument was found to be capable of assessing such interactions and was readily utilized by practitioners. (DB)

Direct observation procedures were utilized in assessing the social interactions of 37 adults with severe disabilities in 18 employment programs, representing 3 different supported employment contexts (individual, enclave, and work crew). The data gathered focused on: (1) job engagement time; (2) extent of interaction with work supervisor, human…