SKILLS FOR THE REAL WORLD PREPARING STUDENTS WITH ASD

SUSANNA JOHNSTON, CLAUDIA SCHULTE, JEANNE SMAY Author

01/06/2017 Added

481 Plays

Description

This presentation will focus on making Connections that will assist students to transition successfully into the workforce and life after school. Learning Objectives:  The learner will identify the critical skills necessary for transitioning into the world of work  The learner will recognize barriers and identify strategies to be successful in the workplace  The learner will identify steps for successful career planning/retention

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[00:00:02.313]Welcome to the webinar,
[00:00:03.843]Skills For The Real World.
[00:00:05.680]I'm Claudia Schulte, presenting
[00:00:07.983]with Susanna Johnston and Jeanne Smay.
[00:00:11.280]We are all three from
[00:00:12.384]the Autism Center of Nebraska in Omaha.
[00:00:15.660]We have a small employment service
[00:00:17.527]within the Autism Center called ACN Connections.
[00:00:21.616]We started seven years ago
[00:00:23.040]through a vocational rehabilitation grant.
[00:00:26.395]VR noticed there was a great need
[00:00:29.210]for services for individuals with high functioning autism.
[00:00:33.168]They were having difficulty finding jobs
[00:00:35.338]and then retaining jobs.
[00:00:38.822]I am a retired Millard Public Schools supervisor.
[00:00:42.629]I was a teacher, coordinator,
[00:00:44.595]and a principal of the young adult program.
[00:00:47.465]I also coordinated all the related services
[00:00:49.819]and was part of the autism committee.
[00:00:52.445]Susanna is a retired Omaha Public Schools supervisor.
[00:00:56.118]She supervised alternate curriculum programs
[00:00:58.825]and she was in charge of the autism consultation team.
[00:01:03.023]Jeanne Smay is a retired Omaha Public Schools supervisor.
[00:01:06.597]She supervised behaviorally disordered
[00:01:09.016]and the Work Experience program.
[00:01:11.681]And she also has experience in the field of mental health.
[00:01:17.062]She was a director of Educational Support Services
[00:01:19.476]at the University of Nebraska Med Center.
[00:01:22.257]She was in charge of the day treatment program
[00:01:24.928]for children and adolescents with mental health issues.
[00:01:31.234]Okay, so what important lessons have we learned?
[00:01:34.491]Based on what we've experienced so far
[00:01:36.425]in the last seven years,
[00:01:37.822]we were just really amazed at what we saw.
[00:01:41.908]And hopefully we're going to be able
[00:01:43.572]to give you some ideas for what needs to be emphasized
[00:01:46.689]to help prepare your students
[00:01:48.765]for the real world after school.
[00:01:53.090]What we were shocked at was the fact
[00:01:56.253]that so many of them just stayed at home
[00:02:00.111]and did nothing after school was over.
[00:02:02.826]They truly became couch potatoes.
[00:02:06.201]Began the pattern of staying up all night
[00:02:09.416]and then sleeping during the day,
[00:02:12.705]so they had no routine.
[00:02:15.316]They had no work experience,
[00:02:18.489]or little work experience to fall back on.
[00:02:22.528]And so they weren't working.
[00:02:25.149]They might have volunteered in high school,
[00:02:27.165]but didn't continue that.
[00:02:29.109]So they really had no outlet,
[00:02:33.199]or very little outlet for activity after school was over.
[00:02:38.467]One thing that was surprising to us as well
[00:02:41.599]when we started looking for jobs for this population,
[00:02:44.443]is there are no easy jobs out there.
[00:02:46.902]And every job involves multi-tasking,
[00:02:50.928]so that was a real eye opener for us.
[00:02:54.817]Grooming and hygiene become issues
[00:02:58.652]after school is over as well
[00:03:00.991]because there is no routine,
[00:03:03.667]so they don't have that routine
[00:03:05.936]where they get up in the morning
[00:03:07.107]and get ready for their day.
[00:03:08.824]So grooming and hygiene can become big issues
[00:03:11.682]and we'll talk about that some more.
[00:03:13.718]Transportation is huge.
[00:03:17.283]But the fact that they sit at home
[00:03:19.781]and isolate themselves was very disturbing to us.
[00:03:24.574]When you're at home doing nothing,
[00:03:26.118]you can become lazy and unmotivated and depressed.
[00:03:29.981]And that is a big concern,
[00:03:31.815]so we need to get them out there and give them jobs.
[00:03:35.786]Another concern was how much
[00:03:41.378]they relied still on parents.
[00:03:44.488]And we need to make them more of an advocate for themselves.
[00:03:49.552]Also looking at the accommodations
[00:03:52.435]that are out there in the workforce.
[00:03:55.564]In competitive employment,
[00:03:57.096]you cannot have those same accommodations
[00:03:59.426]that you had in school.
[00:04:01.384]And then another ah-ha for us was the fact
[00:04:05.612]that many of them had such unrealistic goals.
[00:04:09.928]You know they all wanted to be
[00:04:11.647]video game developers or work at Gamers or whatever.
[00:04:16.121]So, we are going to hopefully give you
[00:04:19.402]some insight into what we have learned
[00:04:22.791]from our experience and what skills we feel
[00:04:26.328]need to be emphasized in school
[00:04:30.878]and in their transition program
[00:04:33.195]so that they can be successful
[00:04:35.274]and be prepared for the real world.
[00:04:40.436]After looking at everything,
[00:04:42.190]all of the ah-has that we just discussed with you,
[00:04:45.228]we chose three critical areas of need
[00:04:47.573]that we thought we would address during this webinar.
[00:04:51.125]You see at the bottom of the triangle,
[00:04:52.627]communication is the biggest,
[00:04:54.619]because it is the foundation
[00:04:55.614]and the basis from which to start.
[00:04:58.092]Our clients, your students,
[00:05:00.354]have to be able to communicate
[00:05:01.976]with coworkers, supervisors,
[00:05:07.711]us when they're looking for jobs primarily.
[00:05:10.874]So that is a big area of need.
[00:05:13.101]The second one is work readiness.
[00:05:14.981]Not only hard skills but soft skills.
[00:05:17.686]And the third one is self advocacy.
[00:05:20.679]They have to be the ones to speak for themselves.
[00:05:23.115]They can no longer rely on teachers and parents.
[00:05:28.228]Communication, one of our more critical areas
[00:05:31.809]and the foundation for everything
[00:05:33.554]that goes on with our client.
[00:05:35.868]The first thing we talk about with our clients
[00:05:38.480]is our phone skills.
[00:05:40.754]Phone skills are so, so important.
[00:05:43.276]A lot of our clients come to us,
[00:05:46.627]they do not say hello or goodbye,
[00:05:49.531]or make any kind of response on the phone.
[00:05:52.438]I've had a young man that would call
[00:05:55.148]and I would say, "Hello,"
[00:05:56.140]and he would just be breathing in the phone
[00:05:58.300]because he was not saying hello.
[00:06:01.535]Good thing I knew who he was.
[00:06:03.331]So those are the things that we have to teach our clients,
[00:06:06.135]that they have to greet,
[00:06:07.705]and that they have to let us know when
[00:06:10.019]they are done with the conversation.
[00:06:11.926]They can't see our face
[00:06:13.496]and so we need to tell them
[00:06:15.268]that they need to be communicating.
[00:06:17.616]Also when they're on the phone
[00:06:18.819]with employers, following up on interviews,
[00:06:22.055]we need to be sure and tell 'em
[00:06:23.164]to say thank you or thank you for your time.
[00:06:26.368]So many of our clients have an aversion to the phone.
[00:06:29.606]It causes them great anxiety.
[00:06:31.972]But they need to be learning
[00:06:34.416]and need to be taught how to use the phone
[00:06:37.806]as early as possible because
[00:06:39.848]practice will help alleviate some of that anxiety.
[00:06:43.545]A lot of employers do call back.
[00:06:47.004]And if our clients are not checking voicemail,
[00:06:49.900]which is another thing they need to do daily,
[00:06:52.496]then they're going to be missing important phone calls
[00:06:54.679]that maybe were trying to set up an interview.
[00:06:58.020]If they need to return a phone call,
[00:07:00.462]they need to do it a timely manner.
[00:07:02.611]We often use scripts to help our clients
[00:07:05.688]so that when they are on the phone,
[00:07:08.337]they won't get so anxious
[00:07:09.846]that they'll forget what they're going to say
[00:07:11.082]or not say anything at all.
[00:07:12.754]So they go ahead and read the script
[00:07:14.521]and the person on the other end of the phone
[00:07:16.150]has no idea that that's what they're doing.
[00:07:19.102]We also tried to put together an outline
[00:07:22.813]when they are listening to messages or taking messages.
[00:07:26.500]We need to find out who the name
[00:07:28.501]of the person is that's calling us.
[00:07:30.721]They need to write down the date,
[00:07:32.373]possibly the time they called and a short message.
[00:07:36.766]So many times our clients will say
[00:07:38.282]yes, we have an interview on Wednesday,
[00:07:40.734]and then they can't tell us what time it is
[00:07:43.232]and they can't tell us who called them.
[00:07:46.032]And then we have no way of being able
[00:07:48.044]to follow up on that.
[00:07:50.404]So phone skills are so, so important.
[00:07:54.389]Email although is just as important
[00:07:56.561]because in this day and age
[00:07:58.539]some of our employers are emailing them, our clients,
[00:08:02.611]and telling them, "Yes, we received your application,
[00:08:04.657]"and please call us during these hours
[00:08:07.692]"to set up an interview."
[00:08:09.420]And we have had numerous clients
[00:08:11.768]that will not check their email daily or twice daily, even.
[00:08:16.386]And a few days, even three weeks has gone by,
[00:08:19.950]and they have not checked their email
[00:08:22.004]and so they've missed a good job opportunity.
[00:08:27.472]We always try to show them
[00:08:30.307]what they say and what they impacts others.
[00:08:33.143]So when they are talking to us,
[00:08:36.337]we always ask them, "How do you think
[00:08:37.412]"that would make us feel?" or "How would that
[00:08:39.169]"make you feel if you said something like this?"
[00:08:42.310]I have a client who always
[00:08:43.627]starts her conversations with hey.
[00:08:46.220]And I tell her that that's not an appropriate way
[00:08:48.816]to begin a conversation.
[00:08:50.872]We need to say hi or hello,
[00:08:52.910]something to that nature.
[00:08:56.089]Social Media has become so big
[00:08:59.321]in all of our clients' worlds.
[00:09:01.733]And Facebook is huge.
[00:09:05.141]Social media types of things are huge.
[00:09:07.507]So many of our clients have hundreds of friends,
[00:09:11.799]and in reality they are not friends.
[00:09:14.290]And so we have to talk about boundaries
[00:09:16.719]and appropriate things to talk about
[00:09:18.716]and things to post on Facebook.
[00:09:21.255]We also teach our clients that many employers
[00:09:25.433]will Google or look on Facebook
[00:09:28.224]to kind of investigate what you've been up to,
[00:09:32.172]what kind of reputation they have,
[00:09:33.728]what kind of experiences they have.
[00:09:35.801]So they need to be really careful about what they post.
[00:09:40.981]We have had one client that got into trouble
[00:09:43.171]with her job when she was angry at a coworker.
[00:09:46.388]So she got on Facebook and she talked
[00:09:48.881]about this coworker and how she didn't like the company.
[00:09:51.922]Of course that got her into trouble
[00:09:53.289]because everybody follows Facebook it seems.
[00:10:00.078]Manners, manners are huge.
[00:10:02.692]Temple Grandin talked about schmooze rules
[00:10:04.848]and they are very critical.
[00:10:07.261]You can do a lot of things wrong in a job,
[00:10:10.387]but if you're polite and show manners,
[00:10:12.243]they tend to get overlooked.
[00:10:14.490]So please remember to say hi, goodbye,
[00:10:19.307]thank you, you're welcome, please.
[00:10:23.228]Smile when at all possible.
[00:10:26.581]Eye contact is good as well.
[00:10:29.494]But you need to help them to focus on the positive.
[00:10:34.935]And levels of communication.
[00:10:38.721]There's written communication, verbal communication,
[00:10:41.448]non-verbal, visual.
[00:10:43.443]Our clients need to be taught
[00:10:45.373]how to communicate in all those different ways.
[00:10:49.031]And they need to be taught about their audience.
[00:10:52.338]How you communicate with each
[00:10:53.626]individual audience is important.
[00:10:56.118]How they text their buddies or their family
[00:10:59.216]is very different of how they're going
[00:11:00.888]to email a prospective employer.
[00:11:04.492]Texting is really handy
[00:11:08.526]and convenient and quick because
[00:11:10.036]they do a lot of abbreviations
[00:11:11.842]and not complete sentences, spelling is not an issue.
[00:11:14.975]But if you're going to be emailing an employer back,
[00:11:17.215]you need to have good grammar,
[00:11:20.085]punctuation, and good spelling.
[00:11:22.538]So we always talk about think about your audience.
[00:11:25.664]And not everybody is your friend.
[00:11:28.206]We always talk about that, those levels.
[00:11:30.436]That you have close family and friends,
[00:11:33.262]and then you've got acquaintances,
[00:11:35.501]then you might have coworkers,
[00:11:37.148]and then you have strangers.
[00:11:38.577]And we really hit that hard about
[00:11:40.894]who falls into what category
[00:11:43.055]and how you should be talking to each person.
[00:11:46.605]We always try to teach small talk to our clients,
[00:11:50.167]things that could get them by.
[00:11:51.744]Some surface language, I guess is what you would call it.
[00:11:55.288]So again, communication is huge.
[00:11:58.620]And if you can start that in the very, very beginning,
[00:12:02.701]it will only transfer over into the world of work.
[00:12:09.759]The second area of need is work readiness.
[00:12:12.517]So there are a lot of skills under work readiness
[00:12:16.731]that we would like to see developed.
[00:12:20.512]And if you can help in high school that would be great
[00:12:23.484]because we see these as issues
[00:12:25.554]as we're working with our individuals at finding employment.
[00:12:29.563]Flexibility is the first one.
[00:12:31.710]We feel that they have to be able
[00:12:35.757]to adjust and adapt to change
[00:12:38.126]in order to be successful on the job.
[00:12:41.158]On the job, there are schedule changes,
[00:12:43.321]work task changes, different bosses with different styles,
[00:12:47.610]there are different coworkers from day to day.
[00:12:50.254]So no day is the same.
[00:12:53.956]And so we've worked so hard up to this point,
[00:12:56.447]I know in school, to have them be successful
[00:13:01.253]by using structure and routine.
[00:13:03.612]But now we have to start branching out
[00:13:05.449]and getting them to develop a willingness
[00:13:08.271]to try new things and new places without getting upset.
[00:13:12.449]So it's so important to be exposed
[00:13:14.534]to different places and different people.
[00:13:17.929]So good for students to have
[00:13:21.329]different teachers that they interact with,
[00:13:24.177]different paras that they interact with,
[00:13:26.666]and actually change classes and have,
[00:13:30.811]maybe throw in some different expectations
[00:13:33.254]throughout the day and see how they deal with it
[00:13:36.936]because in life and work there's always going to be change.
[00:13:42.029]And we need to work them through this.
[00:13:46.704]Rigid thinking, that leads to problems on the job.
[00:13:50.848]If you're not able to accept a change or adapt,
[00:13:54.701]you're going to have problems.
[00:13:56.694]I am working with a young lady right now
[00:13:58.817]who I am trying to teach her how to
[00:14:03.612]accept when there's a change without getting upset.
[00:14:06.836]Because she knows the job,
[00:14:08.082]she's able to do the skills,
[00:14:10.302]but whenever there is a change in her supplies,
[00:14:15.536]if someone has moved her supplies,
[00:14:17.560]or if there is something that's broken,
[00:14:22.366]or something out of the ordinary,
[00:14:24.138]she is not able to handle that right now.
[00:14:27.028]So we're trying to work on accepting
[00:14:29.309]the change and adapting.
[00:14:31.374]Just last week when I went there,
[00:14:34.008]I could hear her saying, "No, no, that's not the right way.
[00:14:37.285]"That's a no-no."
[00:14:38.549]And I walked in to the bathroom that she was cleaning
[00:14:41.768]and she was so upset because
[00:14:44.179]someone had put office trash in the bathroom trash container
[00:14:49.540]and she did not like that.
[00:14:51.353]She knew that that was not the right trash,
[00:14:53.894]and she was almost not going to empty it
[00:14:56.011]because it wasn't right.
[00:14:57.723]So we need to try to help them prepare for change
[00:15:03.212]and help them be able to manage that and be more flexible.
[00:15:07.226]So we know that if you do some priming,
[00:15:11.391]or know ahead of time when there's a change, that is good.
[00:15:15.219]And we try to emphasize that with employers
[00:15:17.505]on the job as well, that if there are gonna be big changes,
[00:15:21.061]it helps them to know ahead
[00:15:22.820]so they can manage that.
[00:15:26.157]So getting them to be more flexible and adapting.
[00:15:31.196]The next one is time management.
[00:15:33.614]Time management includes actually
[00:15:36.086]being able to tell time.
[00:15:38.423]It was amazing to us that some of our clients
[00:15:41.297]didn't even know how to tell time,
[00:15:43.576]either digitally or analog.
[00:15:47.995]You know, having that awareness of time is important
[00:15:52.416]because some of them don't even have
[00:15:56.498]a sense of any urgency about time, about being on time,
[00:16:01.210]and about how it looks to another person
[00:16:04.490]when you're not on time.
[00:16:05.686]That can be perceived as being very rude.
[00:16:08.282]So giving that perspective to them about time management.
[00:16:14.984]Keeping track of elapsed time.
[00:16:17.105]This is very, very important when you're on the job,
[00:16:20.083]knowing when to go and come back from break.
[00:16:24.090]So you might have to set the timer on your phone
[00:16:29.547]to know when to go back on break.
[00:16:32.562]Knowing how long it takes to get things done.
[00:16:37.729]Knowing that I have this much time
[00:16:41.302]and I have to give this much accomplished.
[00:16:43.529]So that's very critical, like a job in a warehouse,
[00:16:47.614]in a production environment.
[00:16:51.868]I've actually used a visual timer
[00:16:53.984]to show the time passing by
[00:16:57.357]in a production setting, in a warehouse setting,
[00:17:00.198]and this was helpful.
[00:17:01.791]So time is very important,
[00:17:03.665]and getting them to have that awareness,
[00:17:06.391]as well as the skill of telling time.
[00:17:09.353]So being on time for class, being on time for meetings.
[00:17:12.887]You can really emphasize that.
[00:17:15.422]One of the things that also is important
[00:17:17.832]under time management is they are often very perfectionistic
[00:17:23.175]and this sometimes hinders them from getting things done.
[00:17:26.877]They may be rechecking and rechecking.
[00:17:29.244]So it's important to teach them
[00:17:32.073]that it's okay to check things once and move on.
[00:17:35.972]So time is very, very important and managing time.
[00:17:40.818]The next is organization,
[00:17:42.714]actually looking at the work space.
[00:17:46.980]Clutter can cause sensory overload in some people
[00:17:50.445]and can be confusing.
[00:17:52.798]So trying to look at the work environment
[00:17:55.270]and see how it can be organized
[00:17:57.502]because it can be distracting
[00:17:59.351]from them being able to focus on the job.
[00:18:03.037]I have a young lady that I worked with
[00:18:05.817]who had a job in a retail store
[00:18:08.210]and she really did quite well.
[00:18:11.086]She was a very organized individual.
[00:18:13.391]And she loved putting the clothes out on the shelves
[00:18:18.516]and doing the folding and reorganizing
[00:18:23.334]and having everything look really nice.
[00:18:25.827]But part of her job was also
[00:18:27.822]going to the dressing rooms
[00:18:29.951]and putting those clothes back on the sales floor.
[00:18:34.908]And you can imagine how overwhelming that might be
[00:18:38.628]to someone who is so organized
[00:18:40.868]to see all the clothes thrown around in dressing rooms.
[00:18:46.893]This actually became quite overwhelming to her
[00:18:51.672]and she would actually do some things
[00:18:54.450]that were avoidance type behavior
[00:18:57.851]rather than do that part of her job
[00:19:00.393]because it was just too overwhelming.
[00:19:03.648]So we had to come up with a way
[00:19:06.250]that she could organize and prioritize.
[00:19:10.594]So she might do a job,
[00:19:14.730]like straightening the shelves first
[00:19:16.644]and folding the clothes
[00:19:17.589]and then go back and do,
[00:19:20.342]a short time doing the dressing room,
[00:19:22.308]and then go back and forth
[00:19:23.719]between things she liked
[00:19:25.168]and things that were least liked, like the dressing room.
[00:19:29.681]So organizing and prioritizing tasks is very important,
[00:19:35.730]and looking at using organizational tools,
[00:19:39.175]such as checklists when you're working
[00:19:41.935]to know when you've accomplished something
[00:19:47.637]and organizing what priority tasks
[00:19:50.907]need to be done before other tasks.
[00:19:55.425]Meeting expectations and productivity
[00:19:57.830]is a very important skill to look at under work readiness
[00:20:01.813]because every job has certain job requirements
[00:20:06.426]and there is an expectation to work at a certain level,
[00:20:11.093]a certain standard in that competitive employment job.
[00:20:16.306]So we need to look at things
[00:20:19.289]that they can do as far as the expectations.
[00:20:26.117]When we're in school we look at maybe exceptions
[00:20:30.895]to things more than out in the real world.
[00:20:34.395]So they might be given extra time for something,
[00:20:37.611]but out in the real world they're not going to be
[00:20:40.334]given extra time to get things done.
[00:20:43.383]They need to know the expectations
[00:20:45.422]and they need to be able to work towards
[00:20:47.751]those expectations and standards.
[00:20:51.256]So it's important that they have rules
[00:20:53.831]and responsibilities at the school level and at home
[00:20:58.986]because if they don't have those,
[00:21:01.991]they're not going to be able to
[00:21:04.157]work up to the standard in a job.
[00:21:07.649]This also includes looking at the standards
[00:21:11.680]and the policies in a job
[00:21:14.185]as far as using electronics,
[00:21:16.793]using their phone, things like that.
[00:21:20.375]There are certain expectations
[00:21:22.961]and they have to abide by them.
[00:21:26.321]The last one on this slide is teamwork.
[00:21:28.857]And working on a team and doing your share
[00:21:31.703]is very, very important.
[00:21:33.067]I know many of our individuals would prefer to work alone,
[00:21:37.929]but there are really very limited jobs
[00:21:41.222]as far as working completely alone.
[00:21:45.025]So you need to learn how to work with others, do your part.
[00:21:50.517]So in school you can work on group projects,
[00:21:54.164]you can participate in clubs and sports and all of that,
[00:21:57.975]but it's very important to learn how
[00:22:00.183]to get along with others even when you may not like someone.
[00:22:05.334]That's something that I've been emphasizing
[00:22:08.513]with one of my current clients.
[00:22:11.195]You don't always have to like the people that you work with,
[00:22:14.960]but you have to get along when you're working.
[00:22:18.549]So you have to teach them how to tolerate,
[00:22:22.688]how to work with different individuals.
[00:22:25.117]So there are things that just need
[00:22:27.849]to be developed in that way,
[00:22:29.348]but you really need to learn how
[00:22:31.757]to be a part of a team and doing your share
[00:22:35.299]and getting things done together.
[00:22:39.653]Working with different bosses and different personalities
[00:22:43.820]is very important as well.
[00:22:52.409]Okay, work readiness
[00:22:54.113]also includes handling feedback.
[00:22:58.391]Our clients sometimes mistake feedback for criticism,
[00:23:02.348]so they get defensive or argumentative,
[00:23:05.570]but just getting the students to realize
[00:23:08.763]that when somebody is giving you feedback,
[00:23:12.209]they're not criticizing, they're just trying to help
[00:23:15.638]and give you some direction.
[00:23:18.260]So sometimes we need to actually give them
[00:23:21.183]what to say and how to look.
[00:23:24.368]They look away or it looks like they're not paying attention
[00:23:28.448]when the boss may be giving them some direction,
[00:23:32.041]so we actually practice how to look
[00:23:34.816]when they're getting feedback.
[00:23:38.587]We have actually made a taking
[00:23:41.768]feedback card to remind them.
[00:23:45.007]So the steps to taking feedback might say,
[00:23:47.553]look at the person, nod, listen,
[00:23:52.042]restate the problem back to them or the issue
[00:23:54.670]and then thank the person and change your behavior.
[00:23:59.105]So handling feedback is very important,
[00:24:02.696]and getting them to understand
[00:24:04.649]that it's not meant to be negative.
[00:24:06.931]So when you have a student that is
[00:24:11.753]not taking redirection well,
[00:24:14.222]you definitely need to work with them on handling that.
[00:24:18.810]The next thing is developing stamina.
[00:24:22.877]And that was, like I said earlier,
[00:24:25.593]one of our ah-has for what we saw
[00:24:30.735]when they went home they just became couch potatoes.
[00:24:35.406]So it's so very important for them
[00:24:38.578]to keep to some type of routine
[00:24:40.605]once they're out of school because
[00:24:43.383]they develop that poor sleep schedule,
[00:24:45.956]up all night, sleep during the day,
[00:24:49.444]and then they miss appointments.
[00:24:50.821]I've worked with several young men
[00:24:52.627]that have missed their appointments because
[00:24:55.789]they were sleeping and their excuse has been
[00:24:59.254]that they were up all night playing their video games late
[00:25:03.861]and just didn't hear their alarm.
[00:25:06.872]So getting them to establish a routine is important
[00:25:11.486]and also to do some physical activity.
[00:25:16.452]They need to go to the gym, go for walks.
[00:25:20.341]That's very, very important to continue
[00:25:22.987]to exercise and get out of the house.
[00:25:26.393]So continuing to do that physical activity
[00:25:31.618]as well as some recreational things.
[00:25:34.249]So one thing we also saw was that they isolate themselves
[00:25:38.546]and that's part of just a change in their routine
[00:25:43.504]by not being in school.
[00:25:45.694]So we need to keep them engaged and physically active
[00:25:50.082]because when you get a job it's important
[00:25:51.943]that you have enough stamina physically
[00:25:55.257]to be on your feet all day or be alert.
[00:26:00.097]And you do need to have at least
[00:26:01.659]a four hour period where you can be up
[00:26:05.409]on your foot and also sustain attention.
[00:26:08.850]So usually you have four hours before you can take a break.
[00:26:13.112]So that's very, very important.
[00:26:16.035]The next thing is job shadowing.
[00:26:20.007]And this has actually been very beneficial
[00:26:22.808]for some of our clients because
[00:26:26.099]they have gone to environments or to look at jobs
[00:26:29.660]that they were interested in
[00:26:32.362]and have actually been able to be hired at those positions.
[00:26:36.027]So they actually go to the job,
[00:26:38.961]they watch the job being done,
[00:26:41.378]and what the components of the job
[00:26:43.475]and the requirements of the job,
[00:26:45.785]and look at the skills that are required.
[00:26:48.853]So it is a very good way of them
[00:26:52.416]seeing that yes, they can do it.
[00:26:54.579]We've worked with several clients
[00:26:56.725]that have so much anxiety about going into the workforce
[00:27:02.676]and they needed that opportunity
[00:27:07.980]to see the job in order to feel comfortable.
[00:27:11.748]We had one young lady who was kind of interested,
[00:27:15.243]never had a job, was kinda interested
[00:27:17.058]in maybe working at the grocery store.
[00:27:21.645]So she looked at the job of courtesy clerk.
[00:27:24.634]And we worked with the HR manager
[00:27:27.082]to allow her to do that.
[00:27:28.681]And when she saw the job, thought she could do it,
[00:27:32.541]she was able to meet the HR manager
[00:27:35.176]and interacted well with her
[00:27:38.464]and saw that yeah, she could probably do it.
[00:27:41.648]And so she got hired and was very successful there.
[00:27:46.467]Another client that I worked with
[00:27:49.437]was kind of interested in working in a warehouse,
[00:27:52.198]but once we toured the warehouse,
[00:27:56.949]quickly found that that was not
[00:27:58.659]an appropriate place for her because of the noise.
[00:28:04.182]There were lots of noise, it wasn't constant,
[00:28:09.072]but it would be bells whistling
[00:28:11.326]or something when something came down the line.
[00:28:13.926]And we had to get out of that environment pretty quickly
[00:28:18.416]because it was really bothering her.
[00:28:22.968]Another thing that it can show
[00:28:25.907]is many of our young people want to be gamers.
[00:28:29.856]And so I had one young man that wanted
[00:28:32.326]to work in a comic book store because
[00:28:35.536]he was very interested in a certain series or whatever
[00:28:38.772]and thought that would be a good job for him.
[00:28:40.938]Well, when we went to the comic book store,
[00:28:43.983]it was very clear that you don't just
[00:28:47.621]talk to people about the comics that you're interested in.
[00:28:51.333]You have to do a lot of multi-tasking.
[00:28:53.607]You are cashiering, you are stocking,
[00:28:57.266]you are talking to people about many different things,
[00:29:01.109]and dealing with a lot of different aspects
[00:29:06.224]all at once so that was important for him to see
[00:29:09.818]and he really saw that that was something
[00:29:13.808]that he maybe could not do.
[00:29:15.784]So that was an eye opener for him.
[00:29:19.767]Another area is job exploration.
[00:29:23.393]And that's very important so that they
[00:29:26.205]can investigate and explore jobs and careers.
[00:29:29.893]And so that should definitely start in high school
[00:29:33.498]so that they know an area of interest
[00:29:37.097]and maybe what they'd like to do
[00:29:38.573]and actually research the skills that are needed
[00:29:42.427]and what kind of schooling might be needed,
[00:29:45.132]and really looking at if it matches
[00:29:47.899]their conditions, as well as skills.
[00:29:50.439]So getting them to be realistic about a career
[00:29:54.582]or a job is very, very important.
[00:29:57.953]And the last is transportation.
[00:30:01.077]So, how are they going places now?
[00:30:04.929]Do they take the bus?
[00:30:06.335]Do they walk?
[00:30:08.356]Do they ride a bike?
[00:30:10.793]Do members of their family take them everywhere?
[00:30:14.213]Or are they able to drive themselves?
[00:30:19.887]We work with many clients
[00:30:21.097]who actually drive and do very well,
[00:30:23.826]so that's an option if they're able to handle it.
[00:30:28.073]Our bus system is kind of limited geographically.
[00:30:34.001]It doesn't go very far west,
[00:30:35.977]but factors to consider when you're looking
[00:30:40.130]at transportation includes safety, weather,
[00:30:45.173]the availability of family.
[00:30:47.332]I had one young lady that I worked with
[00:30:48.914]who has very limited availability
[00:30:51.857]because she could only work in the morning
[00:30:55.892]from the hours of 7:00 a.m. to noon
[00:30:59.283]because that's when her mom is available to take her.
[00:31:03.604]So it really limits opportunities.
[00:31:06.609]So they need to really look at how
[00:31:10.104]they're getting places now
[00:31:12.107]and they need to be able to have
[00:31:14.649]some reliable form of transportation.
[00:31:17.614]That's very, very important.
[00:31:22.408]Discussions regarding dressing for an interview
[00:31:25.062]as well as while you're on the job is essential.
[00:31:28.636]For starters, cut offs, T-shirts, and flip-flops
[00:31:31.471]are not appropriate attire, unless you're a lifeguard.
[00:31:36.565]When a prospective employee meets the interviewer,
[00:31:40.091]that person makes a judgment within three
[00:31:42.665]to seven seconds about whether that candidate
[00:31:45.960]is a good fit for the job or not.
[00:31:48.972]That impression is critical,
[00:31:50.817]and how one is dressed is a big part of that impression.
[00:31:55.608]Looking at the environment for which
[00:31:57.065]the candidate is applying can help
[00:31:59.281]identify appropriate interview attire.
[00:32:02.069]For example, nice jeans and a polo
[00:32:04.903]or a button down shirt is suitable
[00:32:06.809]for an interview in a warehouse.
[00:32:09.218]However, if the candidate is applying
[00:32:11.329]for a job that will meet the public,
[00:32:13.616]then khakis or black pants and a dressier shirt
[00:32:16.754]are recommended for guys.
[00:32:18.621]Nice slacks and a blouse or a dress for gals.
[00:32:23.267]Don't forget to suggest looking at nicer shoes
[00:32:26.852]in the closet for an interview.
[00:32:29.007]Worn out tennis shoes cannot add
[00:32:31.360]to an outfit that is looking nice,
[00:32:35.454]but looking at your feet would kind of be a problem.
[00:32:41.708]Also a reminder, we're living in an age
[00:32:45.054]where there's lots of piercing and tattoos
[00:32:47.475]and you need to make sure that you remind people
[00:32:50.532]that have piercings that those need to be removed
[00:32:53.142]at an interview and oftentimes cannot be worn on the job.
[00:32:57.302]And covering a tattoo is also important.
[00:33:01.758]Many businesses require wearing a uniform,
[00:33:04.419]so be sure to discuss that possibility
[00:33:06.652]when you're having students explore job opportunities.
[00:33:11.240]And we have found through our career planning,
[00:33:13.659]that that is a critical question
[00:33:15.986]because most are willing to wear uniforms,
[00:33:18.748]but if they are not willing to wear a uniform,
[00:33:21.343]then that needs to be addressed.
[00:33:25.378]It's never too soon to address hygiene.
[00:33:28.060]I think one of the things
[00:33:29.363]that the three of us have found
[00:33:30.916]is that almost always we have to remind
[00:33:34.900]our clients before they go to an interview
[00:33:38.032]what it is they need to do to really look nice.
[00:33:41.731]All of us have also been called by an employer
[00:33:45.239]with issues about hygiene,
[00:33:48.534]and have had to address those with the client
[00:33:51.472]and help the employer kind of bridge
[00:33:54.790]that transition about hygiene.
[00:33:57.922]Recently I had a call from a business
[00:34:00.873]where I had a client that was working,
[00:34:04.181]and he had the job down pat, he had the skills,
[00:34:07.397]he had all the necessary ability to do the job,
[00:34:12.204]but his hygiene was creating quite a problem.
[00:34:15.624]He was not showering and not using deodorant,
[00:34:18.494]and his team members were complaining to the supervisor
[00:34:21.795]about not wanting to work around him.
[00:34:26.211]Having body odor and not showering,
[00:34:29.407]or not being clean can really jeopardize
[00:34:32.243]your relationship with others in the work setting
[00:34:35.099]and cause a really big problem
[00:34:37.321]if you're working with the public.
[00:34:40.060]Don't be afraid to address hygiene issues head on.
[00:34:43.764]We've had to be very direct and to the point,
[00:34:47.176]helping our clients understand the importance
[00:34:50.047]of good hygiene habits.
[00:34:52.659]And this helps to prevent embarrassment
[00:34:54.504]for the employer and the employee.
[00:34:58.526]Reminders are always necessary for follow up
[00:35:01.505]about shaving, having clean hair,
[00:35:04.424]trimmed and clean fingernails.
[00:35:06.837]If fingernails are long,
[00:35:09.204]that's something that an interviewer
[00:35:11.505]or somebody in the work setting will notice immediately
[00:35:15.265]because they're usually dirty also.
[00:35:18.254]Having your teeth brushed and no bad breath,
[00:35:20.691]using deodorant, and showering,
[00:35:23.358]have been always addressed by us prior to an interview.
[00:35:29.502]It's important when assisting individuals
[00:35:31.172]in job exploration to research the requirements,
[00:35:35.149]such as what are the necessary skills
[00:35:37.859]and abilities needed for the job.
[00:35:41.128]A good example might be some warehouse jobs
[00:35:46.737]need forklift experience
[00:35:48.492]and there may be an added line
[00:35:50.364]that training will be provided.
[00:35:52.500]But if training is not provided,
[00:35:54.217]then applying for that kind of a job
[00:35:56.714]will give you the experience of an application,
[00:35:59.357]but will probably not land you an interview.
[00:36:03.229]Most entry level jobs train on the job
[00:36:06.059]and have designated employees
[00:36:07.685]that provide that kind of training.
[00:36:10.256]A few examples of those entry level jobs
[00:36:12.578]are a courtesy clerk at a grocery store,
[00:36:15.120]a dietary aide at a retirement home,
[00:36:18.226]a busser at a restaurant,
[00:36:19.936]and some initial entry level jobs in custodial.
[00:36:25.255]Researching jobs online is a great opportunity
[00:36:29.492]for individuals and a starting point,
[00:36:32.123]so that many businesses have videos online
[00:36:36.141]that assist in understanding the skills
[00:36:38.219]and educational background and training
[00:36:40.427]that is necessary to perform the requirements of the job.
[00:36:48.853]We found that all of our clients
[00:36:51.385]have a very difficult time looking at goal setting
[00:36:55.488]and setting realistic goals for themselves.
[00:36:58.084]When they are looking at exploration of jobs
[00:37:02.177]there are a lot of important aspects to consider.
[00:37:06.060]Will the job provide a viable income now and in the future?
[00:37:11.323]Is there flexible scheduling?
[00:37:13.401]We have many clients that attend school
[00:37:16.117]and want to work part-time.
[00:37:18.268]But if a job doesn't allow for that kind of scheduling,
[00:37:21.293]then it's probably not a good match.
[00:37:24.617]What are the opportunities for advancement?
[00:37:27.846]Are there any benefits associated with the job?
[00:37:31.125]And sometimes benefits are provided
[00:37:32.993]if you're working at least 32 hours a week
[00:37:36.193]and you have been on the job
[00:37:37.590]for at least three to six months.
[00:37:40.676]Is there any vacation?
[00:37:42.128]Is healthcare provided after a certain amount of time?
[00:37:47.673]Is there a probationary period?
[00:37:50.687]Is the job needed in the community?
[00:37:54.000]We've talked about this, that we have many clients
[00:37:57.233]that desire to develop games
[00:37:59.220]or do something associated with video games.
[00:38:03.176]But in our community and the marketplace in the Omaha area,
[00:38:07.216]and actually across the state of Nebraska,
[00:38:09.538]this skill set is not needed.
[00:38:12.553]Always be able to help the individual
[00:38:14.979]to find whether this is a hobby or a realistic goal.
[00:38:19.974]Hobbies can pique interest,
[00:38:21.502]but sometimes do not translate
[00:38:23.462]into a marketable skill set.
[00:38:28.418]Lastly, make certain that individuals are realistic
[00:38:32.427]about a specific job or place of employment.
[00:38:36.970]Refusing to work at a restaurant because you don't like
[00:38:40.014]the food that it offers is not a realistic goal.
[00:38:44.089]I have a client right now
[00:38:45.610]that is desiring to do food preparation,
[00:38:49.366]and he's had experience with that,
[00:38:51.321]but he limits himself totally
[00:38:54.507]by not applying to any jobs
[00:38:57.428]where he doesn't go to on a regular basis
[00:39:00.592]or that he doesn't care for the food.
[00:39:04.424]Not working in a store because you don't like
[00:39:07.727]the clothes they sell is another example
[00:39:10.394]of not being flexible enough
[00:39:13.695]to look at what the job market
[00:39:16.538]is offering in the community.
[00:39:18.848]So those kinds of things that can kind of widen
[00:39:22.015]and expand goal setting are extremely important.
[00:39:28.986]Volunteering experience is an excellent way
[00:39:31.227]of building pre readiness work skills
[00:39:34.116]and related work experience.
[00:39:37.771]And a resume, when it's being developed sometimes
[00:39:40.259]doesn't look like that you've done anything,
[00:39:43.427]but if you have that volunteer experience there,
[00:39:46.037]many businesses look at that
[00:39:48.231]as pre-preparation for the world of work.
[00:39:51.853]Volunteering really does the following kinds of things.
[00:39:55.069]It teaches good work ethic,
[00:39:57.845]while developing skills of independence,
[00:40:00.384]reliability, punctuality,
[00:40:03.532]and most importantly, time management.
[00:40:06.591]Susanna kind of alluded to that
[00:40:08.179]when she talked about time management.
[00:40:10.877]And that is a very important piece
[00:40:13.433]of being able to use that time management
[00:40:16.725]on the job and getting ready to go to work each day.
[00:40:21.066]It also teaches the mechanics of working,
[00:40:23.181]how to clock in, how to complete assignments,
[00:40:26.207]and as Claudia mentioned earlier,
[00:40:28.592]communication is the basis of everything,
[00:40:31.675]and how to talk to your coworkers is a real key.
[00:40:38.756]It also helps determine one's likes and dislikes for a job.
[00:40:42.980]If you have been in a volunteer situation at a library,
[00:40:47.019]and you're stocking shelves with returned books,
[00:40:51.146]and you absolutely hate that job,
[00:40:53.831]you're not gonna probably do a very good job
[00:40:56.277]as a stocking associate in a retail business.
[00:41:02.020]Volunteering also assists in building
[00:41:03.915]a network of connections.
[00:41:06.439]And sometimes volunteer jobs do turn into employment.
[00:41:11.575]It also builds a great reference base
[00:41:14.337]for potential reference checks
[00:41:18.038]for people that are looking for competitive employment.
[00:41:23.470]Students begin to understand the expectations
[00:41:25.692]of a job and how to handle stress on the job.
[00:41:28.931]And what the three of us have found,
[00:41:30.826]there isn't any job that's easy,
[00:41:33.178]and every job has its own stress issues.
[00:41:37.935]Also students learn to handle feedback
[00:41:40.049]from supervisors and coworkers
[00:41:42.104]while developing communication skills
[00:41:44.696]and they begin to learn the policies
[00:41:46.760]and the rules of a business.
[00:41:50.552]If you're wondering where are good places to apply,
[00:41:53.299]what we have found in our community
[00:41:56.057]is that local libraries, public libraries,
[00:42:00.051]the Humane Society or rescue shelters.
[00:42:04.098]Oftentimes we have clients
[00:42:05.935]that have volunteered at churches
[00:42:08.518]where they've prepared the bulletins on Sunday morning
[00:42:11.736]or they've done light office work.
[00:42:14.491]Non-profits, such as the Salvation Army
[00:42:16.904]are always looking for bell ringers.
[00:42:19.127]Habitat For Humanity is a great opportunity.
[00:42:23.065]There are youth builds, there are womens' builds,
[00:42:25.450]there are all kinds of builds in a community
[00:42:28.788]where people can volunteer.
[00:42:32.374]And the American Red Cross
[00:42:33.844]and thrift stores are also good volunteer opportunities.
[00:42:42.478]The next area of need that we identified
[00:42:45.188]at the top of our triangle is self advocacy.
[00:42:48.921]And this is really something
[00:42:50.340]that needs to start as young as we can.
[00:42:54.745]They really need to know about themselves
[00:42:57.787]and be able to speak up about themselves
[00:43:00.588]and know what they need
[00:43:02.823]and what their strengths are and their challenges.
[00:43:06.992]So knowing your strengths is very important,
[00:43:10.000]identifying what you're good at.
[00:43:11.994]That is really critical in knowing
[00:43:14.014]what will be good for them in a job.
[00:43:17.354]Knowing your challenges,
[00:43:20.487]what is going to help you overcome your challenges.
[00:43:24.024]When you have a difficult time
[00:43:27.335]understanding verbal directions,
[00:43:29.301]you need to know that written instructions
[00:43:32.422]can be helpful, things like that.
[00:43:35.993]It's just important to know how they learn best
[00:43:39.037]and what helps them overcome their challenges.
[00:43:43.748]When we look at self advocacy,
[00:43:48.116]I think that they need to work on
[00:43:51.370]when and how to ask for help.
[00:43:54.969]They must be able to identify,
[00:43:57.691]if they have a problem, what they should do.
[00:44:00.349]So oftentimes what we see is that our individuals
[00:44:05.377]have trouble making choices and making decisions.
[00:44:10.591]So it's really important in school
[00:44:13.242]to help them learn that process.
[00:44:16.625]We need to help them learn
[00:44:20.670]the process of decision-making,
[00:44:22.853]you know look at the five steps of decision-making.
[00:44:26.051]What's the decision you need to make?
[00:44:27.881]What decisions could you make?
[00:44:30.177]And then look at the pluses and minuses
[00:44:33.073]of each of the those choices
[00:44:34.880]and then pick the best choice for them
[00:44:37.106]and then evaluate did they make the best choice.
[00:44:41.842]Decision-making I think is
[00:44:43.302]a critical component of self advocacy.
[00:44:47.492]And then knowing about your disability,
[00:44:50.755]that is really critical when you get into the job market.
[00:44:56.386]Knowing if you want to disclose to the employer.
[00:44:59.635]And we leave it up to the individual
[00:45:01.374]whether they want to or not.
[00:45:03.676]But I think in the case of an individual on the spectrum,
[00:45:08.305]it is they bring so many unique things
[00:45:13.066]to a job because of their characteristics of autism.
[00:45:16.799]They have characteristics that are valuable to an employer.
[00:45:22.185]They are very dependable because
[00:45:24.793]they're very rule bound, many times.
[00:45:27.089]And they want to be there.
[00:45:30.022]So their strengths and challenges
[00:45:33.127]are very, very important for them
[00:45:35.060]to be aware of and to know.
[00:45:38.148]How would they describe themselves to someone?
[00:45:41.446]They need to understand how
[00:45:43.424]their autism affects how they interact with others
[00:45:48.097]and how they operate in an environment.
[00:45:51.814]So their characteristics are truly strengths in many cases
[00:45:57.541]and they need to be aware of that.
[00:45:59.112]It's not a bad thing to be on the spectrum.
[00:46:02.544]They are very detail oriented often,
[00:46:05.929]or very accurate and able to spot irregularities.
[00:46:12.318]So somebody that is doing proofreading,
[00:46:16.139]or we have a young man that we worked
[00:46:18.767]with years ago who was very detailed
[00:46:23.782]and very accurate and almost perfectionistic.
[00:46:29.650]And he was able to get a job
[00:46:32.091]as a zip sort operator at First Data.
[00:46:36.263]And those characteristics are critical
[00:46:39.501]for being successful on that job as a zip sort operator.
[00:46:44.972]So he was very accurate in being
[00:46:47.985]able to sort out the zip codes
[00:46:50.661]because they do all their mail sorting by zip code
[00:46:54.055]and they have to be very efficient at that.
[00:46:58.214]So that was a real good job match for him because,
[00:47:03.943]and those characteristics of his autism
[00:47:07.352]made it a good match for him.
[00:47:12.879]Knowing about your disability,
[00:47:14.209]being able to make decisions,
[00:47:16.515]knowing when and how to ask for help,
[00:47:19.315]I'm going back to that because
[00:47:20.779]you need to look at who to ask,
[00:47:25.454]you need to be aware of like the chain of command at a job,
[00:47:30.856]you need to know how to appropriately ask for things.
[00:47:36.459]Not be demanding.
[00:47:38.730]And sometimes that is hard.
[00:47:40.953]It all goes back to that communication piece,
[00:47:43.440]which is the foundation for what we do.
[00:47:46.537]Being able to communicate those things appropriately.
[00:47:52.360]And then just realizing that
[00:47:56.658]it's time for them to take the initiative.
[00:47:59.209]They can hopefully have been a part
[00:48:02.455]of identifying their needs throughout school,
[00:48:06.063]so that they have participated in their IEPs
[00:48:08.870]and have been able to identify
[00:48:13.086]what kinds of things would be helpful for them to work on.
[00:48:18.409]It's amazing when they have come to us
[00:48:20.912]and we're doing our intake and our career plan,
[00:48:25.329]that many of them really truly
[00:48:27.568]haven't thought about what they're good at.
[00:48:30.469]So they need to develop that awareness of what
[00:48:33.790]they're good at and then what their challenges might be,
[00:48:37.175]and how they can work at overcoming them,
[00:48:40.819]because on the job you can have some things
[00:48:45.620]that might be helpful for them as far as
[00:48:49.067]like using the visuals and things like that,
[00:48:51.800]that are very effective in helping them
[00:48:55.394]with their challenges, but just that awareness piece
[00:48:59.030]I think is so important
[00:49:01.217]and being able to know their disability
[00:49:05.456]and know what they want to tell coworkers and employers.
[00:49:09.021]So you might have them learn how
[00:49:11.308]to do a little description of themselves.
[00:49:15.462]And that could be very useful for them in the future.
[00:49:19.092]So that is basically self advocacy,
[00:49:23.783]kind of letting them have the lead in things,
[00:49:31.055]in knowing themselves, so getting to know themselves
[00:49:33.431]is so very critical for this.
[00:49:39.159]Lastly, knowing your responsibilities
[00:49:42.024]is essential to be able to transition successfully
[00:49:46.498]to the world of work.
[00:49:48.410]And we can begin at home and at school
[00:49:50.958]by having some of these expectations for our clients
[00:49:55.238]that will help with that transition.
[00:49:58.679]Completing chores at home is a very good thing,
[00:50:02.722]to have clients or students,
[00:50:06.400]or your child working on their own chores
[00:50:10.142]and having that responsibility to complete those chores.
[00:50:14.324]Just setting an alarm and getting up,
[00:50:16.316]as Susanna mentioned before,
[00:50:17.836]we have many clients that miss appointments
[00:50:21.772]because they don't have the time down correct
[00:50:24.379]or they haven't set an alarm
[00:50:25.930]to get up and they've overslept.
[00:50:28.061]And that is not going to be a very effective way
[00:50:31.899]of handling yourself on the job.
[00:50:34.769]Planning your lunches, planning your clothing,
[00:50:37.466]doing your laundry, being able to pick out
[00:50:40.137]an outfit that's an appropriate outfit
[00:50:42.855]to wear at specific occasions, and the hygiene.
[00:50:46.716]I think we talked about that at length,
[00:50:49.017]about the need for making sure that
[00:50:54.495]everything is handled in that way,
[00:50:56.557]the showering, wearing deodorant,
[00:50:58.545]shaving, clean fingernails,
[00:51:01.287]fingernails that are cut, your hair is clean.
[00:51:04.971]At school, I think we need to have some
[00:51:07.140]high expectations for those kinds of soft skills.
[00:51:11.063]Arriving to school on time and to class on time.
[00:51:15.095]Completing classwork and meeting those kinds of time lines.
[00:51:18.491]It's fine if you're in class and you have an assignment,
[00:51:21.984]but if you forget to turn in an assignment,
[00:51:24.462]I think that we sometimes allow students
[00:51:29.250]to do those kinds of things
[00:51:30.721]and those things do not transition
[00:51:33.305]well to the work setting.
[00:51:34.461]So we need to have high expectations
[00:51:36.486]about getting those assignments turned in.
[00:51:39.786]Having the necessary equipment,
[00:51:41.482]the tools and supplies for class, ahead of time.
[00:51:45.294]And this is a very big responsibility,
[00:51:49.524]and it also goes back to that advocating for yourself
[00:51:54.039]is being able to ask for clarification
[00:51:56.812]when you need it or help if you need it.
[00:51:59.757]Taking the initiative in opportunities
[00:52:02.989]that are available at school
[00:52:04.965]and to kind of help students along the way
[00:52:07.793]and supporting that taking initiative.
[00:52:10.704]Knowing about the school calendar.
[00:52:12.367]When are vacation days?
[00:52:14.439]When are the days that they're not expected
[00:52:16.283]to be at school because it's teacher inservice days?
[00:52:19.921]And knowing how to handle your lunch account.
[00:52:22.724]Knowing when you're running out of money
[00:52:24.436]and that you need to reinvest in your lunch account.
[00:52:28.041]Those are all things that sometimes I think
[00:52:30.674]that we kind of support maybe a little too much
[00:52:34.711]and that we can start to have students
[00:52:37.059]be a little bit more independent.
[00:52:39.414]And requesting a homework assignment
[00:52:41.145]if you're going to be absent or you've been sick,
[00:52:43.846]to come in and request what it is that you need to do,
[00:52:46.551]to turn in something so that it is presented
[00:52:50.526]after you've been absent from school.
[00:52:58.631]So to wrap this up,
[00:53:01.134]your challenge is to think about the areas of needs
[00:53:03.769]and all the skills that we have discussed
[00:53:05.641]and see if you can put those into an IEP
[00:53:10.155]in a real meaningful way
[00:53:11.894]to help with the transition process.
[00:53:14.506]Try to link it to the real world.
[00:53:16.780]We believe that the IEP should be aligned,
[00:53:19.892]as well as the post-secondary goals,
[00:53:22.081]to exactly what they would like
[00:53:23.859]to do when they leave school.
[00:53:25.596]And we know those things change over time,
[00:53:28.087]but I think that if you could include
[00:53:30.316]some of those responsibilities,
[00:53:32.914]the creating independence,
[00:53:36.910]then the kids will have a head start
[00:53:39.492]in having a smooth transition into the world of work.
[00:53:48.695]We want to thank you for being
[00:53:49.839]with us during this webinar.
[00:53:51.698]Our contact information is displayed on the last slide.
[00:53:55.973]You can either get a hold of us by email
[00:53:58.231]or call us at 402-315-1000
[00:54:01.988]and we will be happy to answer any questions
[00:54:04.629]or address any concerns.
[00:54:06.609]Thank you for your participation.

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SKILLS FOR THE REAL WORLD PREPARING STUDENTS WITH ASD

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