What does this research mean for the field?

A telehealth intervention using video modeling and role-playing effectively improves and generalizes social skills among adults with intellectual disabilities in workplace settings. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.SUPPORTS_CONSENSUS.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the effectiveness of a telehealth intervention in teaching social skills to adults with intellectual disabilities in a workplace context.

March 8, 2026Open Access

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

Key Points

To evaluate the effectiveness of a telehealth intervention in teaching social skills to adults with intellectual disabilities in a workplace context.
Multiple baseline design across behaviors was used.
Participants included three adult males with moderate or mild intellectual disabilities.
Objectives focused on increasing spontaneous social interactions and help requests in a group chat.
Intervention involved video modeling and role-playing delivered through an online platform.
Participants significantly increased spontaneous interactions in the group chat.
There was a notable rise in the percentage of help requests made by participants.
Social skills were successfully generalized from the workplace to the group chat environment.

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.

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