Workshops at L’Arche: A Model on How to Improve Communication in Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Twenty-eight percent of adults with developmental disabilities living in the United States are employed (United States Census, 2005). Lack of communication skills among adults with developmental disabilities can have a major impact on their ability to find and maintain employment. Those who are employed often have a hard time socializing with other co-workers due to a lack of social skills (Mueller et al., 2003). In an effort to increase social communication skills among their employees with developmental disabilities, L’Arche Tahoma Hope Home, with the help of an occupational therapy graduate student from the University of Puget Sound, provided an opportunity for four of their employees to individually teach local residents about their jobs at the L’Arche Tahoma Farm and Gardens. By having their employees teach a familiar task, the employees were able to practice communicating with others while in the comfort of a safe environment with the support of their employers and co-workers