Check-in/check-out: facilitating performance feedback during vocational training for youth with intellectual disabilities

The lack of supervisor-focused interventions and strategies needed in building natural supports between supervisors and employees with intellectual disabilities has been discussed in a number of studies. In addition, literature discusses the hesitation of many supervisors to communicate performance feedback to employees with disabilities. Majority of studies in transition have focused on interventions to change the behavior of the employee with a disability instead of modifying environmental factors. This study sought to address this gap in research on integrated vocational training by implementing an intervention intended to change the supervisor’s behavior towards an individual with a disability. Using a multiple-baseline design across participants, this study examined the efficacy of the check-in/check-out (CICO) intervention in increasing the rate of performance feedback statements given by a supervisor to an intern with an intellectual disability during vocational training. Results indicated the CICO intervention was effective for increasing the rate of performance feedback statements given by a supervisor. Supervisor’s performance immediately increased following intervention and maintenance data confirmed that the intervention stayed consistent over time. Furthermore, social validity questionnaires completed by supervisors and the interns with disabilities revealed that the supervisors and interns with intellectual disabilities found the intervention helpful in building a relationship with one another. Future research on integrated vocational training for individuals with disabilities should consider using the CICO intervention as a strategy to use in fostering natural supports and receiving more feedback from supervisors on job performance.