PAID COWORKER SUPPORT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SEVERE AND MULTIPLE DISABILITIES

Individuals with severe disabilities have historically been excluded f rom community-based employment. As a result, sheltered placements are often a function of our inability as professionals to develop services that support workers when faced with conditions that preclude full pa rticipation due to physical and/or social barriers. The purpose of thi s paper is to describe a model in which barriers were modified and sup ports developed to enable persons with the multiple and severe disabil ities to gain competitive employment. In this model, a type of Paid Co -worker Support, a job was obtained for two individuals with severe an d multiple disabilities, which involved having; (1) a skilled and expe rienced job coach who set up the environment to facilitate the fullest participation possible and train the workers to complete all job task s, and (b) the same job coach train a paid co-worker to provide on-goi ng support to maintain each worker's production, accuracy, and employe r satisfaction ratings. Results of this demonstration indicated that w ith the support of a paid co-worker, persons with severe and multiple disabilities successfully maintained employment. Implications for futu re development of similar models for persons with severe and multiple disabilities are discussed.