Young adults with developmental disabilities are finding and keeping paid employment, thanks to various types of work experience programs that exist across Canada and the U.S.
A group called Attainment Company creates products for people with special challenges. According to the company's website, there are a variety of work experience programs for people with special needs. Each has a different focus and serves different needs.
- Competitive employment programs assume the person will perform as well on the job as his or her non-challenged peers.
- Supported employment programs provide assistance to both the employee and the employer. Job coaches are often key components in these programs. They perform a variety of supportive activities, depending on the need and the situation.
- Work-study programs help special needs students pursue paid employment during school time. Transition coordinators set up these programs but are not as involved as job coaches would be.
Developmentally challenged individuals can be very successful in the workplace, given the right kind of support. Keenan Wellar is a former teacher and the co-founder of LiveWorkPlay (LWP). He remembers a program participant with a talent for data entry.
Despite her anxiety, the young woman agreed to a work experience placement with a credit card company. The placement was a success. In time, the company created a temporary, paid position for her.
"It was very informal," says Wellar. "They were just giving it a try."
That was four years ago. The young woman now has a permanent, part-time position performing data entry for the same employer.
Founded in 1995, LWP helps people with developmental disabilities live productively.
The program offers on-the-job training in clerical functions. It develops volunteer and work experience opportunities for its participants. Job coaches offer support to clients for up to six months.
Which type of program is best? That's a tough call. Experts disagree on even such basic issues as the preferred term to use when referring to the special needs people who participate in such programs.
Some advocate using the word "consumers." Opponents prefer to use the term "client." In other programs, participants are called simply "participants" or "students."
"It is clear in our minds that our participants are our clients," says Wellar.
There is also controversy among experts as to what a program must do to be successful.
Current thinking, for example, has it that the best programs are short. You help the person find employment, offer support for a time, then withdraw services and allow the person to function independently.
But that approach doesn't work well with developmentally challenged people, says Mary Brown. Brown is the coordinator of the supported employment program at Boston College.
She finds that ongoing, long-term support is crucial to the individual's success. For one thing, employers are more willing to agree to a work experience program or to supported employment if they know that ongoing help is available.
Secondly, in today's rapidly changing work environment, employees are expected to learn new skills and to adapt to new situations. Brown points out that each change triggers a need for retraining.
And lastly, the consumer's personal issues can get in the way. When this happens, the consumer needs support to help them refocus.
"You sell the consumer short when you fade and move on," Brown says.
Wellar agrees that helping clients identify their skills and providing training for them is not an easy process. Environmental issues come and go over time.
"The individual can be up and down, depending on their mental state," he says.
All-round support is another critical factor in a program's success. As Wellar sees it, his clients need support not just in the school or job setting, but also in the personal areas including transportation, home, relationships, social opportunities and life skills.
"There are not a lot of agencies that service this population for that reason," Wellar says. "We are the only agency [in town] that does this."
The supported employment program at Boston College has been providing work experience placements and job coaching to young people with developmental challenges since 1987.
"In that time, we have lost only three people in terms of not being able to keep them employed," Brown says.
With only 23 participants (and a waiting list), the program is among the smaller ones. Being a small program helps.
"We provide custom support," says Brown. "We troubleshoot and that goes a long way to keep them successful."
The program also offers work experience training to students from a life skills program in a local school. After graduation, the students are eligible to apply for supported employment.
The program at Boston College is unique in that all but one of the employers are on the school campus. The coaches are able to provide much more intensive support than they could if they had to travel throughout the city to visit participating employers.
However, while these programs are worthwhile, they don't often have stable funding. And since governments fund many such programs in part or in whole, there are regional differences in the degree of support.
In the U.S., work experience is sometimes included in a life skills program that is taught as a component of a special education program within a school district.
Some students might need help in developing their employability skills. Others need to work on life skills.
"An individual education program is developed for each student," says Charles Rogers. He is a public relations associate with the Council for Exceptional Children.
There are many programs out there, says Rogers, and they all work a little differently. In some cases, the special education teacher might help the student find a job.
Some programs have kids with disabilities working an hour or two a week in a business. They develop a feel for what the work world is like.
Job coaches help them understand what is required. Eventually, the coach backs away so the student can try it alone.
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