Improving and Generalizing Social Skills of Three Adult Colleagues with Intellectual Disability Diagnosis through a Telehealth Intervention

Abstract

Background: For people with disabilities, employment is of fundamental importance as a tool for self-empowerment, enabling the development of autonomy and self-determination processes. When teaching a job, in addition to technical skills, it is essential to consider transversal competencies, commonly referred to as "soft skills," which encompass personal qualities, attitudes, and relational abilities. The present study evaluated whether specific social skills, taught within the context of colleague relationships in a workplace environment through video modeling and role-playing in telehealth, could also be generalized to a group chat setting.
Methods: The participants in this study were three adult males aged between 25 and 35, diagnosed with moderate or mild intellectual disability according to the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. They had well-established autonomy skills and uncompromised communication. However, they exhibited difficulties in social interactions and cooperation with colleagues. This research used a Multiple Baseline across Behaviors experimental design. The first dependent variable was the percentage of spontaneous interactions, measured within a thirty-minute interval, occurring within a group chat where the participants were present. The second dependent variable was the percentage of help requests, measured within a thirty-minute interval, in the group chat. The intervention consisted of using video modeling and role-playing through an online platform.
Results: The collected data demonstrate the effectiveness of the teaching procedures, which enabled the participants to increase and generalize the targeted social skills within a chat, an alternative tool for socialization and contact.
Conclusions: The success demonstrated by video modeling and role-playing procedures in promoting interactions and cooperation with colleagues suggests that these methods could effectively teach soft skills necessary for integrating individuals with disabilities into the workplace.