INTERACTION AND ENGAGEMENT OF WORKERS IN SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT - A BRITISH COMPARISON BETWEEN WORKERS WITH AND WITHOUT LEARNING-DISABILITIES

Supported employment represents an important alternative to traditiona l forms of day service in Britain. Social integration in the work-plac e has been seen as one of its primary aims and this has been a key out come measure in research. Few studies have looked at engagement in mea ningful activity as an outcome measure. This paper describes a direct observation study which compared patterns of interaction and engagemen t for eight people with learning disabilities being supported in ordin ary work settings and eight non-disabled co-workers. The results for e ngagement were favourable, showing no significant difference in percen tage of time engaged for the two groups, although supported workers sp ent more time in on-task activities than their colleagues. There was n o significant difference in frequency of interaction, and who people t alked with, between the groups, except where Job Coaches were present, where they became the main focus of interaction for supported workers . Content of interaction differed, co-workers being more frequently in volved in directing others and teasing and joking, while supported wor kers received praise and greetings more frequently. Reasons for the ob served differences and implications for supported employment services are discussed.