Lesley University, 29 Everett Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA 02138-2790
revised 4.21.02
These guidelines were originally developed as an outcome of a research study I conducted in Spring 1990 during a sabbatical leave from the Threshold Program at Lesley College, Cambridge, MA. The purpose of the study (Reisman, 1990; Reisman & Reisman, 1993) was to identify support systems for supervisors of people with learning disabilities who function in the low average IQ range in training internships and employment situations. Work-related issues and techniques of support which enable supervisors to work more effectively with these trainees and employees were evaluated.
It should be noted that people with learning disabilities represent a wide range of functioning. Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison, with high IQ's, had learning disabilities. However, the population targeted in my research project was people with the general learning disabilities characteristics listed above as well as low average intelligence. Some other characteristics which occur in this population are short attention span, distractibility, information processing deficits, memory problems, perseveration and inappropriate social responses. Any one individual in the population might demonstrate a scatter of abilities and levels of functioning. It is possible for a person with learning disabilities to have excellent social skills, but be low in cognitive abilities.
These guidelines were developed based on information from two main sources:
Supervisory Experience: I have worked for eleven years at the Threshold Program training students with learning disabilities who function in the low average IQ range and supporting the supervisory work of staff members of cooperating agencies providing field placements.
The Threshold Program is a two-year program for learning disabled
young adults in the low-average intellectual range. Located on a
college campus, the program strives to prepare its students (ages
18-24) for independent living through an academic and vocational
curriculum based on a hands-on approach. Students divide their time
between specially designed campus based courses and vocational
experiences supervised by Threshold faculty and on-site supervisors
working in community agencies. Students may choose to prepare for
work with young children in early childhood settings, with adults in
such settings as nursing homes or geriatric day centers, or for
clerical jobs in business or industry. An optional third-year program
is geared to aid students as they make the transition to greater
independence in paid work experiences and living on their own.
Research Study: The vocational faculty of the Threshold Program perceived a need for further clarification of supervisory issues and the development of guidelines which would be helpful in supporting the work of the on-site field supervisors with whom we cooperate. It was presumed that employers would also find such guidelines helpful. Thus, I conducted a research project to identify on-the-job problems for this population and techniques used by the field supervisors to address these problems.
Questionnaires were sent to Threshold cooperating supervisors and employers of Threshold graduates, mostly in the human service professions. Interviews were conducted with employers and supervisors (not connected with Threshold) in business and industry. A total of 65 completed questionnaires and 27 personal interviews, plus a review of the literature, form the basis of the findings of the study. Results of the study identified problems this population experiences at work and techniques which could be useful to supervisors in helping them to improve their job performance. (Further details are available in the research report; all further references to "research" refer to Reisman, 1990).
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