by Chantal Sicile-Kira<\/p>\n
Editorial Note:<\/strong> This article originally appeared in The Autism File in February 2009 and discusses Chantal’s son, Jeremy Sicile-Kira. Find out more about Jeremy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Jeremy does not like jobs with physical activities but likes to work with ideas and be able to tell others what to do\u2026. As the case manager, I see Jeremy\u2019s strong assets like working data, communicating with people to purchase\/buy\/manage a business. He is able to do gross motor activities, but often finds fine motor activities difficult and frustrating. Jeremy needs more opportunities exploring jobs and finding out what he would do to have fun and earn money. \u00a0These last two ideas are very important to Jeremy.”<\/p>\n — Allan Gustafson, Interview with Jeremy Sicile-Kira Like all parents, my husband and I worry \u00a0about our son, Jeremy, and what his future will look like. Jeremy is now 20 years old, and with \u00a0the economic situation being what it is, we are doubly concerned about the financial aspects of Jeremy\u2019s \u00a0life as an adult. But as the saying goes, worry gets you nowhere – fast. Preparing, planning and creative thinking is a better alternative to wringing our hands.<\/p>\n When thinking about employment for your child or student \u00a0on the spectrum, there are a few \u00a0aspects that need to be focused on: \u00a0the life skills he or she needs to learn; a clear understanding of what employers look for in an employee; the interests and strengths of the person on the spectrum; the usefulness of mentors; and the different employment structures currently available.<\/p>\n In my latest book, Autism Life Skills : From Communication and Safety to Self-Esteem and More \u2013 10 Essential Abilities Every Child Needs and Deserves to Learn, the ten skill areas covered are important for all aspects of life, whether \u00a0at school, at home, or in the community. Some of the skills \u00a0such as self-regulation, independence, social relationships, \u00a0and self-advocacy are \u00a0important \u00a0for getting and keeping a job. The topic of earning a living is the last chapter in my book, because being able to get and hold a job \u00a0is really a culmination of \u00a0all the life skills \u00a0hopefully learned during the school \u2013age years, whether a person is on or off the spectrum. For example, for someone to be accepted in a workplace, they must be able to control their emotional and sensory meltdowns. A certain amount of independence is needed at most jobs. Understanding that you should speak to your boss differently than you would to \u00a0a colleague is important to know in most work situations. Self advocacy skills are \u00a0necessary in order to request what you need to get the job done.<\/p>\n Life skills in general \u00a0should be broken down and translated into IEP goals and objectives, especially during middle school, high school and \u00a0transition years. Obviously, everyone is different and the skill level reached for each of these skills is different depending on the person, but every student needs to learn a minimum in order to live and work in the community.<\/p>\n Too often, \u00a0when \u00a0looking for a job placement for \u00a0a person on the spectrum, people take the approach of asking for handout, or a favor. We need to \u00a0approach this differently. I took a look at the top 10 skills and attributes most employers \u00a0look for as identified by the Bureau of Labor (Job Outlook, 2003) and I discovered that many of those attributes are attributes people \u00a0on the spectrum have, yet rarely do we sell those attributes to prospective employers. Here\u2019s \u00a0the top ten of what \u00a0employers look for: honesty and \u00a0integrity; a strong work ethic; analytical skills; computer skills; teamwork; time management and organizational skills; communication skills (oral and written); flexibility; interpersonal skills; motivation \/ initiative.<\/p>\n Now, many of you reading this are probably \u00a0focusing on the skills in this list your child or student does not have. Look at it again, and think about what attributes your child does have. For example, most people on the spectrum are honest to a fault \u2013 they are usually \u00a0the ones in the store saying \u201cyes\u201d when a woman trying on a dress says \u201cDoes this make me look fat?\u201d \u00a0They are not the employee who will be caught with his hand in the cash till. \u00a0That\u2019s a positive point to sell. A strong work ethic applies to most of our guys \u2013 the ones who do not like a change in routine and are going to be there rain or shine. They will not be calling in sick because they had one too many martinis the night before, or leave early because they have an event to attend. \u00a0Analytical skills are really \u2018obsessive attention to detail,\u2019 and many of our children have that. The child who likes to line up blocks and trains probably has good organizational skills. Teamwork and flexibility are difficult areas for many, but we should be teaching flexibility at school (there are ways of doing that), and teamwork can be handled by ensuring the person on the spectrum has one person on the team that he is in contact with for all needed \u00a0information. Many of our children with Asperger\u2019s are good communicators, and some have become journalists, speechwriters and professors.<\/p>\n The point is, when people are selling a product and\/ or service, \u00a0they market the positive attributes, \u00a0not the negatives. And that\u2019s precisely what we need to be doing with any prospective employees on the spectrum.<\/p>\n It is extremely important to consider what your child or student likes or is passionate (ie obsessed) about and figure out how that can help him earn money. In most cases, people on the spectrum can be difficult to motivate \u2013 unless it involves something they are really into. For some, it is quite obvious what they are particularly interested in because they don\u2019t let you forget. The trick is to figure out how to use that interest and turn it into a moneymaker, or to find a career field that can use that particular interest or talent. That\u2019s where mentors come into play (more about that later).<\/p>\n For most on the spectrum, a job will be their one connection to the community, and their main activity. If a neurotypical hates his job, he usually has another aspect of his life that is bringing him pleasure \u2013 his family, his church, athletic activities. However, most on the spectrum do not have family or friends or many outside groups they belong to, so it is important to help them find work that will fulfill them in some way.<\/p>\n There are those for whom it is fairly obvious what they are passionate about. For many like my son, Jeremy, it is a much less obvious. There doesn\u2019t seem to be anything he is particularly obsessed about \u00a0that could lead to employment. \u00a0He used to love to spin tops (physics researcher?), and to follow the patterns in carpets and floor tiles (carpet checker in a rug factory?), now he is mostly focused on communicating about girls with his support people (beauty contest judge?). However, by having different people work with him or observe him in different environments, we have been able to come up with ideas to try out, and jobs \u00a0to avoid.<\/p>\n When thinking about Jeremy\u2019s future money- making potential (either in a job, customized employment, or self-employment), we thought about the different strengths and weaknesses Jeremy had. \u00a0The questions we asked ourselves \u00a0are the same that most people should consider when helping someone on the spectrum who is considering employment. For example, we asked:<\/p>\n Jeremy is interested in the concept of self-employment and did well in two self-employment experiences he tried in high school. \u00a0He had a lot more control over his environment and what his daily tasks consisted of then he would have had in a regular employment situation. However, if he were to apply for a job, there are \u00a0many questions he would need to ask an prospective employer (or someone would have to ask for him) \u00a0during the interview process to ensure a good fit between himself and the job as well as the work environment.<\/p>\n Mentors can help figure out how to turn an interest into a job, or \u00a0into a means to earn money. Temple Grandin (Thinking in Pictures; Developing Talents) speaks often about the importance of mentors in helping to turn interests into marketable skills. \u00a0That is what helped her become the success she is today. \u00a0Temple had mentors \u00a0from her science teacher at school to her aunt, from family friends to colleagues who were crucial to her success. If your child appears to have skills or \u00a0a real interest in a specific area, \u00a0someone \u00a0who works in that field \u00a0\u00a0can help \u00a0the child \u00a0realize the application of his interests. \u00a0Parents may realize their child\u2019s talent, but not know all about a certain employment area.<\/p>\n For example, \u00a0\u00a0a child may enjoy spending hours on the computer, but \u00a0his parent who is a taxi driver or a school teacher or an attorney, may \u00a0not know anything aobut the field of computers and employment possibilities. Someone who works in computers \u2013 perhaps a tech guy the family knows- \u00a0can give insight to what is \u00a0applicable \u00a0to someone with \u00a0that child\u2019s talents.<\/p>\n Mentors can also help a student feel valued as \u00a0that person will be interested in the same topic he is and will enjoy hearing what the child has to say, whereas family members \u00a0may be tired of hearing about a topic they have no interest in.<\/p>\n There are different employment structures currently available and by analyzing a person\u2019s strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, and by asking some of the questions above, \u00a0a clearer idea of what could be a good match with the person on the spectrum is possible. There is full-time work, part-time employment, seasonal work, year round employment and so on.<\/p>\n Other less traditional structures \u00a0are becoming more popular, and this is probably in response to the realization that most adults with disabilities are unemployed. In 2002, \u00a0unemployment figures for disabled adults hovered at 70% and had done so for the previous 12 years (2002 Report by the President\u2019s Commission on Excellence in Special Education). \u00a0\u00a0This report showed us that besides needing to do a better job of preparing our students for employment, meant we also had to start looking at other employment structures more conducive to individual employee needs.<\/p>\n One \u00a0less traditional structure \u00a0is customized employment, which \u00a0means that the work is tailored to the individual, not the other way around. It can mean job carving, where one job is carved up into different tasks \u00a0and shared by several people, giving each employee the part of the job they enjoy or excel at the most. Another type of customized employment is self-employment, which is sometimes referred to as micro-enterprise and \u00a0which basically means having your own business or being self-employed. \u00a0This can be a good \u00a0option for those who are having a difficult time fitting into \u00a0regular paid positions, or when there is no position available. This option is gaining popularity in the US as well as in the UK. \u00a0For some examples of self-employment initiatives by people with developmental disabilities, \u00a0visit http:\/\/www.incomelinks.biz\/projects.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n Although I would encourage Jeremy to try \u00a0an employment opportunity that seems like a good fit, I am not holding my breath waiting for that job to show up on the horizon. I am not convinced that that much has changed since 2002 in the job market in regards to hiring disabled people, and certainly with all the neurotypicals now jobless, I don\u2019t anticipate a huge rush of employers looking to hire my son.<\/p>\n I became interested in the concept of self-employment or micro-enterprise \u00a0when Jeremy was not offered any \u00a0work experiences during his first few years of high school, about 5 years ago. The workability person at the time felt that Jeremy was not ready for any of \u00a0the job options she had in the community. \u00a0His teacher, however, felt everyone, including Jeremy, had potential, and was open to creating a self-employment experience under workability. At that time, Jeremy could not communicate as readily as he can now, and so we had to \u00a0come up with ideas based on observations that people who knew \u00a0Jeremy made about his strengths and weaknesses, his likes and dislikes, and then ask him yes or no questions.<\/p>\n I had heard of people with developmental disabilities having their own business. \u00a0When the opportunity came, I \u00a0attended a workshop on the process and how it could work, and it made sense to me for someone like Jeremy. \u00a0It was clear that if workability was telling me there was not \u00a0\u00a0a work experience opportunity for \u00a0Jeremy, I was going to have to create something for him \u00a0to learn \u201con the job\u201d skills.<\/p>\n Jeremy\u2019s teacher came up with the idea of starting a sandwich delivery service for the teachers, based on Jeremy\u2019s strengths and likes, and the fact that by the end of the week, the teachers were sick of the on-site lunch option, and so there was a need for such a service. \u00a0Jeremy\u2019s second experience was providing \u00a0a needed product (selling flowers to peers at school where no flowers were available on campus). By actually doing these businesses, Jeremy learned valuable business lessons. \u00a0These lessons were complimented by general education classes he took those semesters, such as a class on marketing and another one on economics. For his class projects he had to write papers on how he applied those principles to his job. Some of these lessons were: \u00a0the cost of doing business; the difference between a profit and a loss; \u00a0how marketing, location and \u00a0price affected the numbers of customers he was able to attract and keep. Jeremy also learned that if \u00a0he could not do all aspects of his job, \u00a0he had to pay someone else to do the parts he could not. In reality, it is these kinds of business lessons all neurotypical teens should be learning in the current economy.<\/p>\n That being said, self-employment is not for everyone and necessitates a business support team. The business support team can be made up of a teacher or parent, a paraprofessional, a mentor , a friend, someone who has business experience. Each person brings their knowledge to the team. \u00a0\u00a0The business team helps to advise in areas the person needs help with, and also does parts of the business the person cannot, just as in all businesses (ie I pay a tech guy to take care of my website because I can\u2019t). There are free resources, available on-line for those who are not experienced in starting up a business.<\/p>\n Looking at \u00a0\u00a0self employment as an option sometimes leads to an actual job. The process of discovering a person\u2019s strengths and weaknesses, can lead to discovering \u00a0areas of traditional employment that \u00a0had not been considered for that person previously. Sometimes it leads to a job offer \u00a0from a business in the local community that \u00a0the person had visited \u00a0to \u00a0get more \u00a0information about his area of interest.<\/p>\n Teaching children and teens on the spectrum needed life skills is a necessary \u00a0preparation to \u00a0life as a money-earning adult. Analyzing the needs of both the potential employee and employer, as well as looking at the different options in employment structures is necessary to ensuring a good match. Finding a mentor can help with a successful \u00a0transition to gainful employment.<\/p>\n This year, Jeremy is benefiting from two workability experiences while he is studying to earn his high school diploma. Twice a week he works at the local library (which he has visited on a regular basis for the last 10 years). Once a week he helps develop the business and marketing plans for the micro-enterprise experience that some of the other students are working on through workability. Jeremy \u00a0has come a long way thanks to all the different team members along the way who believed in his potential. It takes a village\u2026.<\/p>\n\n
\nTransition Year 07-08<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nNecessary Life Skills<\/h2>\n
What Employers Look for When Hiring<\/h2>\n
The Child\u2019s Interests and Strengths<\/h2>\n
\n
The Importance of Mentors<\/h2>\n
Different Employment Structures<\/h2>\n
Self Employment as an Option<\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n