Online Reading 3

Job discrimination based on disability is prohibited by law. If we can train and education students to hold meaningful employment that matches their skills and interests, we provide a tangible "freeing" of youth. That is a pretty fundamental function, being self supporting, feeling as though there is a contribution on can make to others and to society.

Even more fundamental is the matter of self esteem. Each of us wants to be valued for who we are, but that is not enough. We have an urgent desire to "DO," to complete jobs, to make a difference by our performance, to feel useful. Sometimes, those with limited experiences may believe that being disabled means unable - or that the disabled are lacking in motivation. Not true!

Instead of seeing a youth as unmotivated, why not find out what the student can do well and then discover what they spend time doing - since that will give you the best notion of what to encourage. Practically speaking, what steps might an educator or parent set up to provide the most supportive situation?

Enhancing the Future of Each Student
Step	Who can do this for the student	IDEA 97 requirement
Find student strengths	Teachers, Parent, student	Yes
Identify parent concerns	Parents, student	Yes
Vocational evaluation	Job Services, Psychologist, teacher can do informal assessments, student can share what he or she likes to do or dreams of doing	No - but important - and there are many on-line places to enhance the search for expertise
Special factors	Any participants who know of a student's need for assistive devices, special language tutoring, etc.	Yes

Specific Adult Outcomes for Transition Services Dependent on individual needs and strengths
Possible Outcome	What do we mean	IDEA 97 requirement
Postsecondary education	University or college education	Yes
Continuing & adult education	Informal courses, training, job support	Yes
Vocational training	Job Services, technical institutes, Jr. college	Yes
Employment	Integrated employment, self employment	Yes
Adult services	Transportation, medical support, day programs, residential program, respite care, recreation	Yes
Community participation	Voting, use of public and private services	Yes
Independent living	Living arrangement is carefully planned - may be living at home with parents in semi-independent setting, supported in an apartment with money management, residential group homes with peers	Yes

When the child is small, it is easy to get involved in the day to day pieces of self help, reading, math. With the IEP process, it is too easy to get involved in the student's weaknesses, to try to overcome limitations, shore up the things that are not working well.

That does not give students the support that will take them confidently into the future. Waiting until the student is 14 to address transition and the future can also be short sighted. These young people have gifts, desires, needs. Being disabled is universal. We each have things we cannot do - and things we should not choose to do for a living. The key to good choices and future happiness is that magical formula of calling upon strengths, minimizing the amount of time the student is frustrated - doing what he or she does not like or cannot do.

It is not hard to develop a plan to strengthen a student. After all, we have the key to it -- the student.

Honor the individuality of the person,

Watch to see what the student likes to do, what is chosen for a pastime

Believe in the likelihood of finding something the person can share with others, a way of making a contribution

Keep an open mind, an optimism about the importance of the person - as a person

Collaborate, sharing the views of all who work with the student

Look for creative and novel ways to educate the student and for novel things the student might do. Remember that new jobs, new ideas, emerge all the time. A decade ago, no one had heard of Amazon.com. Now it is a thriving business. Yes, students have worked at thrift shops, cleaned tables at fast food chains, put together curtain rods. But that is not all there is - it is only what we did then - the future is rich with possibility.

Is there really a need for helping youth transition into the world of work? Shouldn't they be able to take care of things themselves - or else see the guidance counselor at school? The Smith text provides the following facts.

Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Have the lowest grades of any group with disabilities; Fail more courses than others with disabilities; are retained more often; fail more minimum competency tests than the other categories; Experience a high rate of drop out; Become part of the justice system; Arrests occur at the rate of 58%

Learning Disabilities: Less than half complete high school with a diploma; Approximately 4% go from high school to college; In a recent survey by Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) 45% of those with learning disabilities were employed full time; 30% could only gain part time employment; 25% were unemployed; In 1992, nearly half of the employed made less than $7000.00.

Low Incidence Disabilities: The focus here is successful integration into the community rather than institutionalization. Transition may mean moving from an institution into a less restrictive environment. Few find employment or are able to live in unassisted arrangements. There certainly are exceptions - like Temple Grandin, who has a doctorate and makes significant contributions to the well-being of youth with autism, writes books and works with animals.

Mental Retardation: Have the lowest employment rate of any disability group; Females are employed even less often than males; Many need the support of a job developer and job coach to make entry into the world of work; when Federal subsidies or job coaches are no longer available, the employment is frequently terminated; Many are unable to sustain unsupported living - with 85% of young adults living at home

Physical and Health issues: There is little difference in the employment and post secondary education success for this category and the average adult

Speech and Language: There is little difference in the employment and post secondary education success for this category and the average adult

Visually Impaired: Only 26% of adults are employed; access to recreation, leisure and cultural activities are limited

You may wish to look for vocational tests on line. There are some good sites out there.

Online Reading: Vocational and Transition Skills