Teaching severely handicapped persons to provide leisure activities to peers

In the present study, we explored the feasibility, effectiveness, and acceptability of teaching seriously mentally handicapped individuals to provide interactions and materials to multiply handicapped retarded persons during leisure periods. With simple and economical teaching procedures, five seriously retarded individuals were taught to engage in levels of interaction which exceeded standards established by exemplary employees. Their efforts systematically resulted in higher levels of material availability to recipient clients. The behavior of the client providers was maintained under realistic supervision conditions, which staff reported were practical in the settings in which these clients functioned. Information from questionnaires indicated that client providers enjoyed their work, that staff valued their contributions and that human rights representatives viewed the effort as worthwhile to client providers and recipients alike. The potential benefits and limitations of such an approach are discussed and areas of future research are described.