Challenging behaviors in the workplace: Increasing a student’s access to community-based vocational instruction

Some students with severe disabilities have difficulty making the transition from school to employment because of interfering challenging behaviors. Teachers often are hesitant to involve them in community-based vocational instruction, fearing that employers will not be receptive to providing these students with job site experiences. The use of a changing criterion design and reinforcement to increase time on the work site may be one way to facilitate student participation while minimizing challenging behaviors. This article discusses the use of the single-subject design strategy to facilitate one student’s ability to participate in community-based vocational instruction.