In: Psychology
Betty is a large woman (200 pounds) with severe intellectual disability. She lives in a group home and rides a van to and from her work site each day. She does assembly work for a local factory with a job coach and a group of five other peo- ple with intellectual disabilities. Betty has been exhibiting a problem behavior in which she refuses to get in the van in the morning and she refuses to leave the break room after her morning break and after lunch. Because of her size, Betty is intimidating and often gets what she wants. When the job coach asks her to get on the van or to come back to work, Betty yells “No,” makes a fist, and waves it at the job coach, and continues to sit where she is. Eventually, Betty does get in the van or comes back to work, but only after the job coach talks her into it. Because Betty is exhibiting noncompliant behavior in work-related situations, the job coach has decided to implement guided compliance in which Betty will be physically guided onto the van and back to work when she refuses. What is wrong with using guided compliance in this situation?
There three stages in in guided compliance tell - tell what is to be done, show - how it is to be done and do - the way it expected. In Betty's case the job guide has done the first compliance of telling Betty what to do but with little success. He was successful in doing so only after talking and convincing her. There are two basic problems here, firstly she is not happy working along with other people because she is not happy about the overweight, secondly travelling makes her uncomfortable because of her body size.
Betty could be guided or recommended for a weight loss programme. Once she starts to feel like others, she herself might go for work. Secondly, travelling makes her uneasy and that's again with the distance she has to cover for work. If she could get a job near her home, probably in a walking distance, she might consider it. Taking her to the guided compliance will only make things complex because she need to be properly counselled and persuaded as she had already shown signs of vexation and anger. So forcing her at this point of time will not yield any results.
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