Arc of Stanly County

Individual Barrier to Competitive Employment

Many people who might be employed face multiple challenges in finding competitive employment. Typically, for people with significant disabilities, there is not just one barrier to employment. Negative behaviors are a prime barrier to overcome. A second barrier may be parental refusal to allow an adult child to work in a specific job or place. People with severe disabilities often cannot be interviewed in traditional manners, and may present a negative first impression on interview, so even with parental permission, a person may not be able to present him/herself in a manner that is acceptable to an employer. For employers who already have a bias against people with disabilities, it is difficult to convince the employer to hire a person with negative behaviors, who is not independent in all self care tasks, and who cannot follow worksite rules independently. In addition, it if often difficult to withdraw a coach from an individual with significant needs, as creating natural supports is difficult due to employees' attempts to distance themselves from someone with acting out behaviors.

Strategy to Address Barrier

Creative Persistence - When multiple barriers to competitive employment exist for an individual, the barriers must be managed not only as individual barriers, but also as a combination of barriers. Barriers must be perceived by staff as fun challenges rather than negative problems to be overcome. With creativity and persistence, barriers for people with severe disabilities can be overcome. In this situation, the barriers listed above were addressed through job carving, natural low technology cues, creating-buy in from employees, using built in reinforcers, educating the current employees and providing intensive training that capitalizes on relationships, and educating family members other than the primary caregiver. Finally, the barriers were also addressed because staff supported the consumer’s dreams, rather than using the realities that they believed existed for the consumer.

Case Example of Indivisual Change Strategy

Leslie is a man who has significant disabilities. He is autistic, severely retarded, and is unable to maintain eye contact. Instead, he maintains a silly grin, giggles, and rolls his eyes when addressed. He rarely speaks, and when he does, it is often to parrot the last sentence said by another person. Instead, he frequently makes weird noises. Leslie touches people all of the time in an effort to communicate, but often pushes people hard on their shoulder. If Leslie does not know you, he is likely to sneak up behind you and put his hand roughly on your shoulder. Leslie is a diabetic who does not control his food intake and forgets to take his medications.

Leslie was employed at a university as a dishwasher in an enclave with staff supervision over ten years ago. The university determined that it no longer needed the enclave, so the job ended. For the past ten years, staff worked with Leslie to attempt to find him appropriate competitive employment. Nothing worked. Leslie was determined that he would work again at the university, and no amount of reason or coaxing could deter him from his goal. His mother agreed that this was the goal. Over the ten year period in discussion, the university was approached several times, but each time the answer was a resounding “NO!”

When it became apparent that staff were spinning wheels trying to talk Leslie into another job, it was determined that the barriers existing that prevented Leslie from working at the university as a dishwasher must be overcome. Staff determined that persistence and creativity would be used as strategies to overcome the barriers. It took them six months, and lots of persistence and creativity.

Staff began by taking Leslie to the workplace to check on his application. This was the wrong approach, as people were immediately turned off by this person who sounded and acted so differently. So the strategy changed. Instead of taking Leslie with her, the job coach began checking back on the application frequently by herself. She established a relationship with the new dietary manager, who explained that he had had a previous bad experience hiring a person with a disability. He continually told the job coach that he didn’t need any more employees. The job coach helped the dietary manager identify the university’s needs, and explained the concept of job carving. She had to convince the dietary manager through positive approaches and persistence that job carving was in the best interests of the university. Eventually, perhaps only to get rid of the pesky job coach, the dietary manager agreed to meet Leslie and have an interview. Staff knew that a traditional interview would not work, so the job coach was able to persuade the employer to do a skills based interview.

Leslie came into the kitchen, put on an apron, and proceeded to empty the dishwasher and put dishes away. He had remembered for ten years where each dish and utensil was stored. The manager was impressed, and agreed to try him if the other issues could be resolved.

Mother was a second barrier. She did not want her son working in a public place without staff where he might be harmed. Instead of continuing to work with mother, staff approached sister, and convinced sister that this was the best approach. Sister and job coach together were able to persuade mother that she should let Leslie try the job. Educating family members other than the primary caregiver can often help persuade a caregiver to allow the individual a chance.

Inappropriate workplace behaviors were a barrier to overcome. Leslie was in a kitchen, and likely to eat whatever he saw. He had to take medications at a certain time. He was unable to tell time. In addition, Leslie would not follow work rules. He did not want to take a break. However, if required to take a break, he would sit for the rest of the day. Staff were concerned that Leslie would roughly touch everyone at the worksite, and that employees would not accept him and his behaviors.

Fortunately for Leslie, there were staff still working in the University kitchen who had known him ten years previously, and were not afraid of him, nor were they concerned about working with him. The job coach capitalized on these existing relationships. The job coach educated the current employees and provided intensive training as to what to expect from Leslie and why. Together the job coach and dietary employees brainstormed ways in which Leslie could be successful without the job coach, using current employees as natural supports.

First, they tackled the issue of Leslie stopping at break time and never returning to work. Leslie wore two watches, each with an alarm. One watch is set to when break begins, and the other watch is set to when break ends. With these natural low technology cues, Leslie is able to take breaks appropriately. He also knows that when his alarm goes off the first time he is to take medications. Employees also know this is the time for medications, so prompt Leslie at that time to take his medications. Leslie also needed regular eye contact to keep working. He didn’t need anyone to talk to him, but just to look at him. As helping Leslie was a group project that the employees had bought into, employees trained themselves to look at him at least every 30 minutes. In this way, Leslie was able to continue working without prompts. Leslie also ate everything he wanted, not sticking to his diet. Employees who eat lunch with him remind him about what he can and cannot eat, another natural support.

Like many people, Leslie needed reinforcement to continue to work, even though he enjoyed his work. The employees determined that Leslie most enjoyed breaking down the boxes that the employees had emptied on any given day. This became a regular end of the day task, and acts as a built in reinforcer for Leslie. No one has to reinforce him, the task reinforces him.

Staff were concerned about Leslie’s touching behavior. The job coach explained to Leslie that if he were to have his heart’s desire, the dishwashing job at the university, he could not communicate with students or other people coming to the cafeteria by roughly touching them. Leslie was so happy in his job and his relationships with co-workers, that he was able to control his impulse, and has only touched someone once. Leslie is happy, which is a key to controlling his negative behaviors. He is working at a full commensurate wage for his position at the University.

Strategies to address barriers: Organizational | Individual

Allegan County Community Mental Health
The Arc of Stanly County, Inc.
Career Design & Development Services
Career Support Systems, Inc.
The Cobb/Douglas Community Services Boards (CSBs)
HPS, Helping People Succeed, Inc.
KFI
Rise, Inc.
Via of Lehigh Valley