AAC AND EMPLOYMENT: STUDENT
TRANSITIION FROM SCHOOL CAREER
Presenter(s)
Gaylon Ponder
Words+, Inc.
Day
Phone: 256-287-2870
Fax: 661-723-2114
Email:
bodytech@mindspring.eom
Introduction
It is easy to find cognitively capable people who
cannot find employment. They are nonverbal, cannot write normally and use
wheelchairs. There are meetings, often called “staffings”,
held daily across the country for these people who have finished high school
and have begun the quest for a career. The main issues remain fairly constant
for the most part, but get addressed as though they are new and specific to the
particular client.
The
common issues are:
1. No job experience (Therefore no career direction)
2. No job skills
3. Special needs (Feeding, toileting, transportation, etc.)
4. Poor education (Spelling, grammar, writing, reading, math, certificate of
completion instead of diploma, etc.)
5. Potential jobs available
Sidetracking
for a moment to help explain why the Transition Program is needed. Consider the
following typical scenario that occurred for many years, and is still fairly
common:
A student like the ones described in the introduction to this document finished
high school and was referred to a vocational counselor. The vocational
counselor was competent at placing people with a variety of disabilities. For
instance, the counselor:
1. Had placed people who had job skills but were
injured. They had to be retrained because they no longer had the same physical
abilities.
2. Had placed people who had been rehabilitated from drug or alcohol abuse.
3. Had placed people with emotional or behavioral disorders who needed direct
supervision.
4. Had placed people who were cognitively impaired or mentally retarded (the
two are often incorrectly used interchangeably) but had good physical abilities,
in safe low skill manual labor jobs with strict supervision.
5. Had placed wheelchair users who could talk and write, and who may have
already developed other job skills before injury, in jobs requiring these
skills.
But the counselor really hadn’t dealt with a cognitively capable client who
couldn’t talk or write, and who used a wheelchair. The first hurdle may have
been to get the counselor to believe that the client wasn’t cognitively
impaired since the client couldn’t talk. The counselor may have said that if
the client could talk the counselor would be able to place them. The speech
pathologist may have informed the counselor that if the client had an
augmentative communication device, the client could talk. The counselor may
have bought such a device for thousands of dollars and found out that what the
speech pathologist called talking, and what the counselor had in mind were two
entirely different things. Weeks or months later the result came back down to
“No Job Experience” and “No Job Skills”.
Someone
identified, and correctly so, that the vocational counsel needed to be involved
in the process before the client finished high school. Then the counselor would
be able to better help prepare the student for entry into the vocational
placement program.
The
Transition program can help in the following ways:
1. The vocational-rehabilitation (VR) counselor has a
chance to guide the development of employment skills through education, before
the student seeks entry into the job market.
2. The VR counselor has a responsibility to make sure the student is prepared,
and employable.
3. The teachers have better guidance concerning what skills the student will
need in order to find a job, and a responsibility to teach it.
4. Vocational evaluations can help guide the education process.
Before implementation of the Transition Program, the school system seemed to
believe it was the vocational counselor’s job to find employment for the
disabled client upon completion of high school. The vocational counselor seemed
to believe it was the education system’s job to prepare the client to enter the
work force. The federally funded Transition Program is intended to bridge the
gap so the two systems work together toward the common goal.
General Requirements for Employment
1.
Cognitive Ability to think, reason, remember (learn), self-edit, stay on task,
etc.
2. Physical Ability to manipulate work materials.
These may be materials, conversation, communication, equipment, electronic
information, etc.
3. Visual skills to perform work related tasks, work safely, follow written
instructions, etc.
4. Auditory Skills perform Work related tasks, work safely, follow verbal instructions,
etc.
5. Pragmatic Skills to get to work, be dependable; be
presentable, not distract others, work independently, interact correctly, etc.
6. Job Skills so they can perform assigned tasks.
Typical Characteristics of our Clients with Severe Physical
Disabilities
1.
Cannot talk normally causing unfamiliar listeners have difficulty understand
them, or they may have to use augmentative-communication equipment to talk.
2. Cannot easily manipulate physical objects, take notes, or perform manual
labor.
3. Use a wheelchair to move around workplace. This may require workplace
modifications.
4. Need assistance with some daily activities like getting dressed,
transportation, feeding, etc.
Note
that these characteristics often do not indicate reduced cognitive ability.
They often do indicate reduced physical ability. They often do not indicate
reduced visual or auditory ability. They sometimes indicate reduced pragmatic
skills.
These
characteristics almost always result in reduced, or
non-existent job skills. The primary reason these clients are not employed is
the lack of job skills. Students without severe physical disabilities are able
to participate in a variety of activities during their school years. Generally
they naturally choose some basic behavior patterns and interests that guide
their future career path. Some stereotypical examples:
1. One child pays attention to anything physical
including sports, shop classes, etc., but doesn’t study well.
2. One child is a social butterfly, making friends and carrying conversation
easily.
3. One child is very intellectual and interested in arts, writing, reading,
etc.
4. One child is very intellectual and is interested in science, math, physics,
etc.
5. One child is very helpful, nurturing, patient and caring.
When
these children finish school they will likely choose careers that match with
these basic behavior patterns. Some will choose construction, logging, paving,
roofing, fishing, and wouldn’t want to be “trapped” in an office. Others will
choose low skill manual labor or jobs that require repetitive use of technical
skills such as machine work, electrical work, plumbing, assembly, etc. Some
will become doctors, nurses, lawyers, or teachers. There will be some
draftsmen, engineers, and scientists. Others will use their people skills to
become salesmen or business managers. And the list goes on and on with more
than 12,700 different job descriptions available.
The
important point is that the students described in the introduction can’t wander
through all of the experiences and choose the ones that they want to. They just
cannot expect to succeed vocationally relying only on their physical efficiency
as their source of productivity. But they don’t know this. They are kids and
they are relying on adults to guide them correctly at early ages before they
are capable of contemplating career plans.
The
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor’s Role
Under the Transition model, the role of the VR
counselor is the one least likely to be fully understood, especially by staff
working strictly within the school system and not normally participating in
employment staffing. The counselor role will be explained in more detail during
the presentation.
The
best solution is to have identifiable job skills in place before the VR
staffing.
In order for the counselor to commit the kinds of funds that are needed, the
counselor has to be able to convince management that job skills are present and
placement is likely. It is the responsibility of the support team (The SLP, OT,
Special Education Teacher, Teacher, Parent, Social Worker, and eventually the
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor) to help the student explore tasks that
provide him or her opportunity for success. The technology is available to let
the client speak and to operate computers. How the technology is used will
impact the rest of their lives. Some examples of using technology to perform
tasks that may help develop job skills or interests are:
1. Learning to write meaningful articles to submit to
the school paper.
2. Using spreadsheets to keep scores and statistics for the coach or teacher.
3. Using computer-drawing programs to make posters.
4. Participating in class by answering questions and writing book reports.
5. Keeping up with the money for a fundraising project.
6. Using the computer to take a drafting class.
7. Taking surveys and documenting the statistics.
8. Using augmentative-communication equipment to participate in spelling bees.
This
course of action requires that someone believe the client is capable of
learning and performing the tasks. It requires spending the energy to focus the
rest of the team on the goals.
Summary
If students who have acceptable cognition, are
significantly speech impaired, cannot write normally, and use wheelchairs for
mobility are to find good jobs upon graduation, they are going to have to take
some technical skills to the table in order for the vocational counselor to
place them in a meaningful position. “He does computer drafting” or “She writes
and submits articles to the paper” will go a long way toward overcoming the “No
Job Skill”/”No Job Interest” problems.
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