An individual with a diagnosis of mental retardation, autism or another developmental disability works his entire life to become as independent as he is able. Some individuals work towards living in their own supervised apartments and others work towards working outside of workshops and supported employment positions.  These individuals learn the skills needed to work in a workplace in the mainstream without an employment coach.  To be instrumental in this process is a privilege. 

A mentally challenged individual has abilities and skills as do those without the same challenges or limitations  The key is to find your personal methods of bringing out those abilities and skills from the individual working with you.  This can be done by giving the individual specific instructions in plain language and treating them respectfully.  For example, the floor needs to be swept.  Instructions are given step by step and only when the previous step is completed.    Allowing the individual to do as much as possible for himself is the only way to assess their skill building. 

Understanding the personality of the individual you are working with will enable you to find the right approach to use when working with the individual.  There will be situations that will be awkward for you as their social skills are not as developed as others their age.  They may say or act inappropriately requiring patience and understanding from you when it occurs.  These situations are teaching opportunities to share more appropriate behavior and words.  How you treat them in the middle of this type of situation will determine their reaction to your instruction.  Again treating the individual with respect and instructing them on appropriate behavior in private will be received better than if you embarrassed them in public by correcting them loudly. 

The progress that an individual makes in the course of these interventions will come and go.  This is a common occurrence in all individuals. An individual may have mastered shaving after working for five to six months on the shaving program.  Suddenly the individual is unable to remember all the steps or the quality of the shaving deteriorates.    Adjusting his hygiene routine to where you are present to “remind” the individual all the steps may be what he needs to continue this goal satisfactorily.

When working with individuals with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities, they are able to determine if you are genuine with them.  If you are pretending to like them or like your job they will be able to tell.  Being your honest and true self will be met with the individual being their honest and true self. This mutual honesty and respect will build a bond of trust that is needed when one person with mental challenges depends on another person for assistance with every part of their life. 

 Choosing to work with this population can be challenging if your heart is not in the job.  You will be required to work the same goals with the individual every day.  You will be required to answer the same questions, hear the same stories and give the same instructions each day.  The rewards of the position, for the right person, outweigh the challenges one may face.  When a goal has been reached, a skill developed and the individual becomes more independent, it makes all challenges worthwhile.