Governor's Planning Councilon Developmental Disabilities Minnesota State Planning Agency201 Capitol Square Building550 Cedar Street St. Paul, Minnesota 55101PARENT ADVOCACYCHANGING EXPECTATIONS/PLANNING FOR THE FUTUREThis advocacy training manual for parents of developmentally disabled persons has been written by Legal Advocacy for Developmentally Disabled Persons in Minnesota. Funds were provided by a grant from the Governor's Planning Council on DevelopmentalDisabilities.Legal Advocacy for Developmentally Disabled Persons in Minnesota
222 Grain Exchange Building
323 Fourth Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415
Phone (612) 338-0968
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August 1984
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
LONG-RANGE PLANNING
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE PLANNING.
THE DIGNITY OF RISK
PUBLIC EDUCATION
LEGAL RIGHTS UNDER P.L. 94-142 .
WHAT EVERY PARENT SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SPECIAL
EDUCATION IN THE 80's. .
APPROPRIATE A BIG AND MIGHTY WORD
QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
STUDENTS (AGE 8-12
WHY INTEGRATE?
WHERETO START
THE SKILL "READINESS" TRAP: "PRE" MEANS NEVER
SAMPLE SKILLS PARENTS CAN TEACH
HOW TO MEASURE SUCCESS
QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS OF 12-16 YEAR-OLD STUDENTS
HOW THE DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL CAN STOP DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENTAL VS. FUNCTIONAL SKILL TRAINING
CAREER DEVELOPMENT HELPING SKILLS QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PARENTS
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR
HANDICAPPED YOUTH?
QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS OF 16-21 YEAR-OLD STUDENTS
LRE: DON'T CRAMP YOUR CHILD'S STYLE!
SUGGESTIONS FOR PLANNING
WHAT MAKES THEM AFRAID OF CHANGE
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE
NORMALIZATION
PARTIAL PARTICIPATION
PARTIAL PARTICIPATION QUESTIONNAIRE.
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION
NORMALIZATION MEANS
48-HOUR COMPARISON
COMPETITIVE EMPLOYMENT
WHY SHOULD ALICE WORK?
PARENT QUESTIONNAIRE
COMPETITIVE WAGE
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A JOB PLACEMENT.
WHERE ARE THE JOBS?
LAWS THAT PROHIBIT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT
SECTION 504
SECTION 501
SECTION 503
MINNESOTA HUMAN RIGHTS ACT
ACCESSIBILITY
SPECIFIC AREAS WHERE ACCESS HAS BEEN ASSURED BY FEDERAL OR STATE LAWS
THE ARCHITECTURAL BARRIERS ACT
SECTION 504
MINNESOTA STATE BUILDING CODE
ACCESS TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
VOTING, PARKING, RAMPED SIDEWALKS AND WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT .
ADAPTATIONS -WE ALL USE THEM
THE JOB PARTNERSHIP ACT
THE JOB PARTNERSHIP ACT FACT SHEETS
THE TARGETED JOBS TAX CREDIT PROGRAM
HIREABILITY
MINNESOTA-EMERGENCY EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (MEED).
MEED PROGRAM FACT SHEETS
FACTS ABOUT WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES
WHERE TO GET INFORMATION OR FILE A COMPLAINT
ARTICLE: JOB PLACEMENT AND FOLLOW-UP OF MODERATELY
AND SEVERELY HANDICAPPED INDIVIDUALS AFTER THREE YEARS
VOCATIONAL TRAINING
DIVISION OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION (DVR)
CAREERS/JOBS SURVEY
QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS WHOSE SON OR DAUGHTER COULD
RECEIVE DVR SERVICES
SUGGESTIONS FOR CAREER PLANNING
PROJECT PEP STUDY OF BARRIERS TO SUCCESS IN VOCATIONAL PROGRAMS
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
WHERE TO CALL FOR INFORMATION OR HELP
ARTICLE: VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ALTERNATIVES (VEA).
DAY SERVICES
SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT
SHELTERED EMPLOYMENT
QUESTIONS TO ASK IN REVIEWING SHELTERED WORKSHOP PLACEMENT. . . SHELTERED WORKSHOPS -SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
WORK ACTIVITY CENTERS (WAC)
QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT A WAC PLAN
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
EXISTING DAY PROGRAMS
DEVELOPMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT CENTERS (DAC)
QUALITY PROGRAMS FOR DEVELOPMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT CENTERS
FUNCTIONAL AND APPROPRIATE SKILLS
FUNCTIONAL SKILL TEST
QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS OF DAC PARTICIPANTS
ARTICLE:-WORKING IN THE COMMUNITY
ARTICLE: COMMUNITY PROGRAMS THAT WORK
RESIDENTIAL SERVICES IN MINNESOTA
WHERE TO GET INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
FINANCIAL SUPPORT/INCOME/HEALTH COST COVERAGE
SUPPLEMENTARY SECURITY INCOME (SSI)
MINNESOTA COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH PLAN
THE HILL-BURTON ACT
INSURANCE DISCRIMINATION
CONTINUATION OF INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR CHILDREN WITH
HANDICAPS
HOW THESE PROGRAMS CAN HELP TRANSITION INTO GREATER INDEPENDENCE
WHERE TO GET INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE.
THE PARENT AS ADVOCATE
STRATEGIES FOR PARENTS
MYTHS ABOUT SERVICES FOR DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED PERSONS
LET'S REALLY TALK MONEY
FIGURES ABOUT COSTS OF DAY AND RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS
WHAT AN ADVOCATE SHOULD LOOK FOR IN AN IEP, IPP
THE ROLE OF THE PARENT ADVOCATE AT STAFFING
SUGGESTIONS FORGOING PREPARED
ADVOCACY MUSCLE BUILD
ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES
ADVOCACY FOR INDEPENDENCE
ADVOCACY EXERCISE
CHAIN OF COMMAND EXERCISE
WHEN SHOULD YOU SEEK LEGAL HELP
PARENTS TOGETHER -SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
PARENTS TOGETHER -A MIGHTY STRONG THING
COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING
PARENT ADVOCACY FOR MEDICAL NEEDS
NOTES .
INTRODUCTION
If you are the parent of a child who has developmental disabilities you are probably already an advocate. You have probably had to attend team meetings and give your opinion about what you thought your son or daughter needed in day services. You have probably had to visit more than one training program to see which one you thought best suited your son's or daughter's abilities. When decisions were made that you thought were not in the best interests of your daughter or son you probably spoke out, wrote letters, or even requested legal help. All of these experiences are part of your role as an advocate for your son or daughter.
This manual is a tool for you to use in your continued role as advocate for your son or daughter. Many of the services your son or daughter are entitled to under the law are
in place. Public education now includes all children from age 4 to 21 who have
disabilities. Vocational training is available. Laws protecting the handicapped worker are in place. Day services are regulated by state laws and regulations. But the role of advocacy has not ended. Critical questions about the quality of services offered are being raised by professionals and parents alike. Are the services, as offered, a good use of your son's or daughter's valuable time? Is what they are learning useful in the "real" world? Are the job training skills being taught actually geared to 'real" work possibilities? Is your son or daughter being taught the living, social, and work skills needed for them to reach their potential for independence? Are they being allowed entrance into an integrated adult world?
Each section of this manual offers you questions and ideas to think about when planning, reviewing, and creating day services that maximize your son's or daughter's develop
ment. There are questions for you to ask yourself in examining your own attitudes and expectations towards your son or daughter's future. And, there are advocacy strategies you can use alone or with other parents to bring about needed changes for quality programming.
Your advocacy efforts along with your belief that your son or daughter has a more promising future can bring about changes which will benefit all persons with developmental disabilities. Use this manual as best you can. Add to it, pass it out to other parent advocates, and use it in group meetings. This is but a small part of what it takes to see to it that your son or daughter becomes all he or she is capable of becoming.
Your advocacy efforts in the past have made a great deal of difference. Your future
efforts can open the doors to a place where independence, self-worth, and dignity will belong to your son or daughter. And, only then, will it belong to us all.
.. . ..
,
LONG RANGE PLANNING
No one can know the future. None of us. can say for certain what the future holds for us. Yet, for many of us, it has been our visions of the future which have made successes possible. We know that decisions we make today help shape our future.
Long range planning for your son or daughter who has a disability is planning for his or her future. Your son or daughter has a future. Planning done now for school
programming, placement or training affects the kind of future he or she will have. Long-range planning for this future can affect the kinds of decisions that are made now. If the long-range plan is a plan for maximizing independence, then agreeing to a segregated setting where trivial skills are being taught is not in keeping with the long-range plan. If the long-range plan includes paid work in a supported work model, then learning work skills on make-believe instruments might not be the best use of time and resources. One parent said recently "It's better to aim too high and have to 90 back a few steps than to aim too low and not go enough steps forward."
Making a long-range plan should involve aiming high. For too many years, too many people aimed too low when planning for persons with developmental disabilities. Years ago family doctors often suggested institutionalization as the long-range goal of the child with mental retardation. We have learned about the future that provided. Later, long-range planning included community group homes, training centers, and public school classrooms. Now we are learning about the futures many of these services provide. Many exist as mini-institutions placed in our communities. Participants and residents are treated like children in segregated environments where they have few choices, little meaningful
training and dim futures.
In asking the question, "What do I want for my son's or daughter's future? a you'll need to express your hopes for him or her. Whatever his or her disability, whatever its severity, your son's or daughter's future will be better if the long-range planning emphasizes developing independence. More and more options in programs and living arrangements are" being made available.
Early intervention and children with disabilities remaining in their homes have changed the futures for many. Futures for adults are being changed by long range planning for living and working as independently as possible.
We have made a great deal of progress over the years for our handicapped children. We have gotten them back into our communities by building group homes and day activity
centers. We have supported the building of sheltered workshops for their employment
needs. And, we have gotten our younger children 'free and appropriate education. But, now we must g? another step. We must gain access for our handicapped children into adulthood. They must be taught and given the opportunity to take their place as adults in their communities, their families, and in the work place.
(A parent whose son is in a supported work program in Richmond, Virginia.)
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE PLANNING
1.What do I want for w daughter's or son's future?
2.Where do I think my daughter or son will be living in one year? Ten years?
a) At home?
b) In an apartment?
c) In a semi-independent situation?
d) A group home?
e) Other?
3.How will my son or daughter spend his or her daytime after high school? In five years?
a) At a job?
b) In training?
c) At a sheltered workshop?
e) Other?
d) At a day achievement center?
4. Do I see the current services preparing my son or daughter for the future? For a future change into a more independent living and work environment?
THE DIGNITY OF RISK
What if you never got to make a mistake.
What if your money was always kept in an envelope where you couldn't get it.
What if you were never given a chance to do well at something.
What if you were always treated like a child.
What if your only chance to be with people different from you was with your own family.
What if the job you did was not useful.
What if you never got to make a decision.
What if the only risky thing you could do was to act out.
What if you couldn't go outside because the last time you went it rained.
What if you took the wrong bus once and now you can't take another one.
What if you got into trouble and were sent away and you couldn't come back because they always remember your 'trouble.
What if you worked and got paid $.46 an hour.
What if you had to wear your winter coat when it rained because it was all you had.
What if you had no privacy.
What if you could do part of the grocery shopping but weren't allowed to do any because you weren't able to do all of the shopping.
What if you spent three hours every day just waiting.
What if you grew old and never knew adulthood.
What never got a chance.
LEGAL RIGHTS OF THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED PERSON
UNDER P.L. 94-142
Public Education
P.L. 94-142 the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, signed into law in 1975 is designed to assure that all handicapped children from age 4 to 21 (in Minnesota) have available to them free, appropriate public education, including individualized education and related services to meet their needs.
What educational services is your handicapped child entitled to?
-An individualized education. This means a program which LS developed to meet your child's unique needs. The IEP or Individual Educational Plan states the goals and methods used to obtain those goals.
-An appropriate education. An appropriate education is measured by what is learned, how it is learned? and how much is learned and how this fits the needs of the individual student.
-Education in the least restrictive environment. Here the intent is for all handicapped
children to be educated with non-handicapped children to the maximum extent possible.
-Vocational education. Vocational education is one of the many areas of education provided for in P.L. 94-142. It should be part of an IEP as soon as appropriate.
-Due process. This is a series of steps through which a parent can go to secure appropriate
educational services for his OK her handicapped son or daughter.
WHAT EVERY PARENT SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION IN THE 80'S
1 Your child will become a more independent and productive human being the more he/she is integrated into community life..
2. Your child needs to learn skills he/she can use now or in the future.
3. Skills learned should be age-appropriate.
4. Beware when you are told that your child is not "ready" to learn a certain skill.
5. Participation in an activity is more important than independent performance.
6. The school has a responsibility to serve your child until 21 and to help prepare him/her for work.
7. Severely handicapped students learn better when skills
are taught as a" part of everyday activities.
8. The majority of teaching activities should have a clear
purpose that "makes sense" to the student so that he/she is motivated to participate.
9. Non-segregated school sites can provide learning opportunities in social and communication areas and promote acceptance of handicapped individuals by others.
. The key word for developing an IEP is "appropriate."' There is probably qo other word used by professionals and parents that is so vague and yet so attached to the very core of individualized learning. "Appropriate to each individual's needs" offers the possibility for endless educational opportunities, specially tailored exercises of skill development, and individualized measurements of success.
And, yet, because the word is so vague somethes parents and professionals alike ar~tt sure of its meaning. How is "appropriate" determined? How is it measured? And, how is it assured in the day-to-day school program? ,
Here are some ideas to think about when asking yourself "is this IEP appropriate," "is this skill appropriate to q son's or daughter's educational needs?" Always think about "appro priate" in connection with the idea of the "individual educational needs"of your son or daughter.
Is everyone in the special education classroom learning the same skills by the same methods? If so, then, it is probably true that the tasks or methods are inappropriate for someone in that room. Is that someone your daughter or son?
Look at the individual skill or task in terms of the long-range goals. It is "appropriate" if it contributes to obtaining those goals.
A learning exercise is "appropriate" if it is in alignment with your daughter's or son's rate of learning and level of ability. Marning to recognize numbers may b appropriate
if steady progress occurs over a reasonable length of time. If, after several years, your son or daughter can only recognize some of the numbers correctly some of the time the "appropriateness" of the task certainly should be questioned. Maybe the skill is needed as part of obtaining maximum independence but no progress is seen. Question the methods
used. Maybe the way of teaching the skill needs to be changed.
Appropriate programming applies to learning social behaviors as well as academic and
living skills. Think about what behavior is appropriate in your neighborhood, the grocery
store. That is the behavior to be sought. What is the "appropriate" way to achieve the needed behaviors: Rewards? Deprivation? M &M's? Isolation? Natural Consequences?
"Appropriate" changes with age, achievement, use of adaptive devices, experience, and advancements in understanding how to best provide educational services. An IEP that is basically unchanged after several years is probably no longer appropriate for your daughter or son. Either your daughter or son has gone past the stated goals and they are now stuck in repetition and boredom--or the goals and methods aren't appropriate because too little progress has been made.
An appropriate IEP is =e directed toward achieving continual progress in the areas of
learniag skills for independence, whether that is academic, vocational, or living skills. An appropriate IEP is one that truly takes into account your daughter's or son's interests, abilities, and progress. An IEP that underestimates the student's abilities will only waste precious time and reinforce a self image of lack of potential.
Add up the actual time spent in a school day on learning set tasks for your son or
daughter. How much time per day is spent sitting and waiting? Visit the classroom to obsewe what your son or daughter actually does while in school. You may find what they are teaching is appropriate but that not enough time is being devoted to learning the tasks.
Lou Brown, educator from Madison, says"the lower functioning the child the brighter the teacher has to be." Maybe it also means the better the IEP needs to be.
You as a parent already know a lot about how your son or daughter learns from being the primary teacher yourself. Make suggestions and share your techniques that have worked with the educators. Often they are overwhelmed by the difficulties and nearly desperate for the ideas. A good working relationship between you and the teacher will go a long way to providing an "appropriate and individualized educational program."
QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS (AGE 8-12).1. Does-my child participate in work activities in the classroom?2. Is my child being exposed to different work possibilities (i.e. by field trips, slides,
peers)? (Career awareness?)
3. Is my child being prepared for the vocational program of middle- school? (Work awareness, readiness?)
WHY INTEGRATE?
For many years, handicapped persons have been kept out of the mainstream of life. They have been kept out of schools, work places, and community activities, and they have been-relegated to separate schools, work places, and community activities. As a result, they have become stigmatized as handicapped and viewed as having such different needs from everyone else that they had to be segregated to meet those needs. As segregation
placed more distance between handicapped persons and others, the more they were stereotyped and misunderstood by others.
.
What are the benefits of a focus on integration in public school programs? Students can learn to function in environments that are more normalized. They learn to do things non-handicapped kids do with non-handicapped kids. They learn valuable social inte~ion skills with peers that they have no opportunity to learn if segregated. They learn to function more ways in more places because they are included in more activities in more places.
Integration does not happen by just transplanting kids to new classrooms. Much planning and forethought.is involved. Parents, non-handicapped students, and teachers
need special training and support to help the process go smoothly. This planning is crucial to the success of integration. An example from the experience of a teacher of severely handicapped children shows the need for planning, training, and support best:
The first few weeks of the new TMR class at the junior high, a mainstream teacher approaches the teacher of the TMR students one morning with a problem. John, one of the new junior high TMR students, was getting into the habit of swinging from this social studies teacher's doorjamb each morning. The qainstzeam teacher did not feel this behavior
was appropriate, but Johnts 6'3í frame discouraged him from trying to discipline directly.
He came to the TMR teacher with the question of, "What should I do? The TMR teacher promptly asked if the student was told to stop playing the Tarzan of the Doorway. "No," replied the mainstream teacher, "Can I do that?" The story ends with John giving up his Tarzan routine on the first request from the mainstream teacher the next day.
.
This little story demonstrates the need for educating those who lack experience with handicapped persons due to the years of segregation of handicapped persons from the remainder of society. Non-handicapped persons have come to perceive handicapped persons as much more different from everyone than they really are. Integration is not only a key to learning more functional skills for the handicapped person,: but a key to attitude change. Integration insures better attitudes toward handicapped persons throughout their
lives.
Segregation from non-handicapped environments and activities prevents your handicapped child from growing and developing to full capacity. Public Law 94-142 ensures your child's right to the least restrictive, most integrated education. Even though this is true, many handicapped learners go to school in settings that keep them totally isolated from the non-handicapped world. Just as it was "easier" for public schools not to service severely handicapped children in the past, it is "easier" for handicapped children to remain segregated from others today. Handicapped students continue to suffer the consequences.
As a parent, you can help make the difference by doing your part in helping your child become a part of the community outside of the school day and making sure he or she is integrated as much as possible during the school day.
WHERE TO START
Start from where you are.
Look at what you are teaching at home. Next, look at school, compare the two. Often
there is overlap, too often, many differences. Do you expect the same results as the school?
Better results? Are your expectations lower? Does your son or daughter perform one thing independently at home and not perform the same skill in school.
Inconsistencies decrease the chances for successful learning.
The parent and teacher need each other. They must teach each other and be open to learn from each other. There is not enough time for your daughter or son for time to be wasted.
But, there is enough time for your daughter or son to learn functional skills
or skills learned for independence that will last a lifetime.
THE SKILL "READINESS" TRAP: DOES "PRE" MEAN NEVER?
Picture yourself at an annual IEP meeting for your handicapped child. Does the scenario run something like this?
There are at least ten professionals in attendance telling you what your child needs.
Of course, their expertise makes them more informed about your child's needs you're just the parent. The IEP meeting itself is like a hurried business meeting. Everybody seems to know the planned agenda but you.
First, the school staff presents information gathered from their evaluations of your child. Billy is at the three-year level developmentally and at the Piagetian pre-operational stage even though he is 15 years old chronologically. That's why we have been teaching him to match shapes on worksheets like these in the pre-reading area. When he masters this, he'll be ready to match letters and when he does that, he'll be ready to start working on phonics. The next step is beginning reading. Wefre also teaching him a range of other skills appropriate to his level of development. For example, for pre-dressing, he's learning
to open and close the world's largest zipper tacked to a piece of plywood hung on the wall. And for leisure skills, he's learning how to sing "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands." That's Billy's program for the coming year.
Well, as a committed parent you have listened to these IEP plans carefully. You have some questions in your mind but decide against asking them in order not to look
foolish or make too many waves. But those questions linger in your mind:
When will Billy learn to match those shapes? He's been bringing home the same
worksheets for 5 years.
How much does Billy need to learn the "clap your hands" song? He sings along pretty well at Sunday School, and, besides, it was pretty embarrassing when he burst into song at that restaurant last week.
When will Billy learn to zip up his jacket instead of the zipper board?
Will Billy be a preschooler forever?
It's unfortunate that so many good questions never get asked. School is supposed to help your child become more independent and productive. If preschool skills are not
learned during the elementary school years, secondary level training should shift its focus to more age-appropriate, funct~onal skill training efforts. Secondary special education should foster independence at home and in the community, as well as in school. Parents worry about who will "take care" of their child when they are gone. School should be giving their child skills that reduce the need for constant help and supervision so that the child will need less care from others.
So ask tho'se questions at the IEP meetings. Be a parent who knows that your input is cruczal to tne IEF process. Don't let "pre" mean "never" for your child.
SAMPLE SKILLS PARENTS CAN TEACH
(Adapt- from "'Parents' Role in Career Education, " U. of Nebraska)
1.Make the bed
2.Operate the dishwasher
3.Operate the washing machine/clothes dryer
4.Use a screw driver
5.Peel carrots/potatoes
6.Sweep or mop the floor
7.Vacuum the carpet/operate the vacuum cleaner
8.Pump gas into automobile
9.Check the oil in the automobile
10.Check a book out of the public library
11.Call 'Information' to inquire about a telephone number, call for 'Time'
12.Make a bank deposit/withdrawal
13.Write a check properly
14.Use public transportation such as a bus or taxi
15.Buy groceries from a prepared list
16.Write a friendly letter/address envelope
17.Set a table correctly: clean up after dinner
18.Make correct money exchanges for small purchases
19.Make appropriate telephOne conversation
20.Fold/store/han9 clothes properly
21.Change bicycle tire
22.Perform simple home repairs. .
23.Follow directions for simple recipes
HOW TO MEASURE SUCCESS
All of us have learned to measure the success of our handicapped children by certain standards. The standard we traditionally usedw~ progress along a developmental continuum -- a step by step progress through a carefully ordered system -- and by
measuring the loss of unwanted or disruptive behaviors. Now, educators and parents alike are starting to question this way or 'model' of learning. "Successa is often unobtainable
or too slow or, if "success" is gained, the lessons learned have little value in the world of home or community or work by the time they are learned.
We now know that all children with handicaps can learn. The next step is to ask 'w= should they be learning?-l~ children can learn and some learn slower than others, should all children be taught the same things? If, on the model of the developmental continuum, a certain skill is seen as appropriate to a four-year old's development, should the educators view it a success when a 20-year old achieves that goal? Dr. Richard S. Keel, of
University of Washington, says "to be sure, some growth is better than no growth. Getting better at the wrong things, is not getting better."
So, a new approach is needed. Functional skills are being looked at in developing IEPSS and curriculum: what does the child need to know to function in his or her home, neighborhood, grocery store, and have a more independent future. What skills will be needed for communication, mobility, and social interactions.
Parents are a key part of developing functional goals. Often it is the parent who knows what skills are needed to function in the community as they are the ones who will take the child to church, restaurants, and parks. And, the school, in order to not just teach good behavior within school, must begin to use the community as the place where learning takes place. The home or community is the 'natUral environment' fOr the learning. Dr..Neal states in his 'Innovatim Mel Pxog~am for Autistic Children and Their Teachers
(IMPACT)":
A truly functional educational program must encompass all environments in which the child interacts. The enhancement of independent functioning skills for those settings increases the likelihood of the child entering the least restrictive environment possible. With parents and teachers working together, each childOs potential for ultimate functioning can be
realized.
QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS OF 12-16 YEU-OLD STUDENTS
1.Is work training beginning?
2.Is it being done in a way that allows trying out a variety of job skills?
3.Is it in the 'least restrictive environment"?
4.How much of the school day is assigned to work, leisure, living skill preparation?
5.Is my child being xnade ready for vocational training?
6.Are my child's individual strengths being built upon?
7.Are my childcs interests being considered?
HOW THE DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL CAN STOP DEVELOPMENT
Twenty years ago, our knowledge in the area of teaching handicapped learnecs was very limited. In fact, many school-age handicapped children never even had the opportunity to attend school. The more handicapped a child was, the less that was known about how to teach that learner useful skills.
The developmental model became the major teaching tool of the day. With this model, a child's development is measured or tested and compared to that of non-handicapped children the same age. Skills are neatly sequenced in order of "normal"
development and the handicapped children were instructed in skill areas, beginning at whatever point they fit. into the sequence. This can work well with less
handicapped children who are less different from their non-handicapped peers.
What happens to. the severely handicapped child whose instruction is based solely on the developmental model? This type of child starts at the bottom of all the skill sequences and struggles 'slowly upward. He or she may still be working on preschool skills as an adult. Over the years some educators began to question the usefulness of the developmental model with older children that were more severely handicapped. Relying on the developmental sequence for teaching these children seemed to produce "eternal
preschoolers" with many dependencies on others.
The educators who questioned the developmental model began to try to 'think of more appropriate ways to help severely handicapped children participate in more normalized activities in their environments and become more independ~at and productive as adults. Here are some guidelines they developed to help you evaluate your child's training
programs:
1.Your child needs to learn skills he will use now or in the future. Teaching him or her to hop on one leg wonlt help him o. hu. in the adult world.
2.Your child will become more independent and productive if what he. or she is taught makes him a part of community life. Preschool skills do not ease an adult handicapped person into the community.
3.Skills taught should be age-appropriate whenever possible. Why teach him or her to put
the toys into the box when he or she could be putting the silverware into the drawer?
4.Beware when someone tells you that your child is not "ready" developmentally to
learn a particular skill. Chances are it would be best to teach him or her to participate in the activity with help rather than waiting until he or she is "ready". Your child needs as many chances as he or she can participate in the activities of his non-handicapped peers. Wouldn't you rather see your handicapped teenager feed himself or herself with assistance rather than be fed?
DEVELOPMENTAL VS. FUNCTIONAL SKILL TRAININGDevelopmentalSpeech and Language1)Says "please" and "thank you" 2)Points to picture when) examiner names: dog, cat, key, girl, etc 3)Names when shown picture of: car, nail, pencil, wagon, duck, etc. 4)Indicates body partsFunctional1)indicates basic wants and needs2)Orders food at McDonald's3)(For a non-verbal individual) Rings bell to signal desire to communicate4)Asks for help when necessary
Developmental
Gross Motor
1) Stands on one foot for 5 seconds
2)Walks balance beam with hands at sides
3)Walks stepping over a 5 cm by 10 cm board without difficulty
Functional
1) Walks up and downstairs
2)Gets in and out of chair
3) Steps down from curb
Developmental
Fine Motor
1)Uses pincer grasp
2)Folds paper and creases
3)Strings beads
4)Cuts clay with cookie cutter
5)Stacks 5 blocks
Functional
1)Puts coins into vending machine independently
2)Closes sandwich bag using twister tie
3)Turns doorknob
4)Dials telephone
5)Screws and unscrews jar lids
Developmental
Academics
1) Reads flashcards
2)Gives appropriate amount of change from a dollar
3)Adds and subtracts
4)Tells time on hour
Functional
1)Follows recipes on individualized cards to prepare meals
2)Gives cashier one dollar amount for purchases
3)Uses calculator
4)Responds to pre-set watch alarm
Developmental
Leisure
1)Plays with puzzles
2)Colors
3)Finger paints
Functional
Age Appropriate 1)Plays video games2)Uses radio 3)Goes to community sporting events
CAREER DEVEMPMENT EELPING SKILLS QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PARENTS (Vocational advocacy for Parents-Tratiers Manual. Patricia D. Beebe, Kim Kessler)1.Do I listen to my child's expression of dreams about who he/she wants to become?2.Can I accept my child as a growing person, regardless of his/her strengths and weaknesses?3.Do I take the time to participate in my child's fantasy games acting out jobs?4.Can I relate to jobs and things my child likes to do, even if I have had no expedience in those fields?
5.Do I supply my child with books, magazines, and games from which interests, capacities, values, and job skills can be experienced andlearnedabout?
6.Do I serve as a career model and introduce my child to other vocations outside my
field of work?
7.Can I permit my child to try out work experiences, even though I may not like the work myself?
8.Can I find and use job information resources in helping my child learn more about specific occupations?
9.Do I support the schoolOs efforts in career education?
10.Can I pe~t.my child to explore interests in nontraditional occupations regardless of sex or social or economic background or handicap?
Yes No
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR HANDICAPPED
YOUTH (Parents Advocating for Vocat~onal Education)
Basic Issues for Advocates
I.Basic values:
All handicapped individuals have potential to learn; to live with self-respect and dignity.
Low expectations have undermined this potential: we must expect disabled young people to become as independent as possible and expect schools and other institutions to equip handicapped individuals to participate in the real world.
Equal opportunity to receive vocational education is a right under law.
Vocational education must be based on individual capacities, not on stereotyped, old myths about what disabled people can or cannot do.
Disabled young people must be integrated into regular vocational education programs to the greatest extent possible.
Vocational education planning must be individualized to meet unique needs of each disabled student.
II.Basic components of good vocational education for handi
capped youth:
1.Assessment: gathering relevant information about assets and deficits in many areas--acadmic, physical, social, emtional, vocational interest, aptitude, motivation experience.
The need for new kinds of testing methods using "hands-on" experiences sensitive evaluators, input from many sourcesc
2.Appropriate adaptations or special aids and assistance for individual students.
3.Counseling . . .based on new opportunities, willingness to stand up for disabled rightsf
commitment to individual needs Wd aptitudes, not based on old stereotyped vocational goals. "
A project of the Parents' Campaign for Handicapped Children and Youth
4.Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) must include a vocational component.
Ask : 'How will this IEP help my child prepare for his futurs?" Include work-related goals, such as socialization, personal and emotional development. Consult students about their ideas and goals. Pin down responsibility for services. Who will provide evaluation,
training or related service? When?
5.Task Analysis.
Essential to break work-skill into teachable parts that will lead to greater and greater mastery of the job. Teaching steps related to job-skills is the essence of all vocational education; for handicapped students, the steps may need to be further broken down to teachable parts.
6.Cooperation between Special Education and Vocational Education.
Each has expertise to give to the other; cooperation is essential if programs are to be effective.
7.Inter-agency planning.
Vocational Rehabilitation agency workers must work with special education and vocational education administrators in over-all planning for delivery of services. Inter-agency
memorandum issued by Federal Government, October 1978, calls for interagency planning. Advocates must follow through, to bring this about on state, local and school levels.
8.Links with business. Job training must be based on reality. What are the real opportunities for work?
Essential to plan with bueiness leaders--so that skills taught will lead employment. Business needs to be sensitized to needs and abilities of handicapped employees, cooperation can lead to analyzing jobs and job skills to be taught.
9.Independent living skills.
A relevant curriculum for handicapp~" students must include skills and challenges related to living and getting along in the real world.
10.Job development and followup.
Placement and followup are part of training--to open up opportunities and make sure that students have support they need until they can make it on their own.
QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS OF 16-21 YEAR OLD STUDENTS1.Is there a vocational training plan?2.How much of the day is being spent on learning of skills for independence?3.Is work training occurring on a 'real" work site?4.Is my child being offered the vocational training that suits his or her needs? Interests? Strengths?5.Is post-school vocational planning OCCUrrin9?6.Is DVR involved?7.Are the skills being taught age-appropriate?
8.Is there a transition plan from public schmling to adult services?
LRE: DON'T CRAMP YOUR CHILD' S STYLE!
LRE, least restrictive environment. What should that mean to the parent of a handicapped child? It is probably the most important term you could learn these days to
ensure that your child becomes an adult who stretches to the limits of his or her capabilities.
Your child will learn more and become a more independent and productive human being if he or she is integrated into community life as much as possible. This means it is
best for him or her to participate in activities in environments as similar as possible to those used by non-handicapped people. The job of parents and educators is to help the
handicapped youngster function in the least restrictive environment possible -at home, school, work, or play.
As you might guess, LRE plays a part in all segments of your child's life. At home, it could mean that he or she learns to put on his own shoes because of the wonders of velcro! At school, it could mean that he or she has non-handicapped friends because he has the opportunity to go to school in the same building and even share in some of their instruction. At work, it could mean that he or she has a regular job bussing tables in a local cafeteria and teaches some non-handicapped adults about what efficient workers handicapped people can be. At play, it could mean that he or she goes to a Twins game and shows everybody there that he or she can cheer as loud as anyone.
Parents, help make sure your handicapped child has the opportunity to function in LREs throughout his life. Donst cramp his or her style!!
SUGGESTIONS FOR PLANNING
1.Write down the skills your son or daughter already has.
2.List the things that can be done independently, the tasks for which some assistance is required.
3.List the tasks your son or daughter likes, dislikes.
4.List skills you would like to see taught:
For mre independence at home
For more independence in leisure time
For more independence in work
5.List career/task preferences of daughter or son.
6.List career/task preferences you have.
7.List community or integrated opportunities your daughter or son could participate in which currently they cannot because of disability, behavior, physical barriers.
WHAT MAKES THEM IU'RAID OF CHANGE?
(Parents Mvocating for Vocational Education)
Advocates- for vocational education for handicapped youth will probably find that schools stubbornly resist changing their policies and practices. John Gugerty, in an article
calling for better research in methods of teaching handicapped students, outlined some of the reasons why this is so.
Each group within a school has a different set of fears and worries about integrating handicapped youth in regular vocational classes, Gugerty points out.
Administrators have these concerns:
1.Organization. Administrators are concerned about how to carry out mainstreaming and how to measure it. How do we know which methods of integrating handicapped students
are best for the student and most effective for the school? What is the best way to plan, coordinate and staff the new program? Can admission standards be imposed without discriminating against handicapped students?
2.Teacher Training. What skills and knowledge do teachers need? What type of inservice training is best? How will they know teachers are adequately prepared?
3.IEP's. What is the best way to develop and monitor these plans?
4.Accountability. Who is ultimately responsible for the success of handicapped students?
How should they be evaluated? Do existing degreesand certification systems have to be changed?
5.Legal Concerns. What is the school's legal responsibility for success in educating handicapped students and insuring their safety? If labels are eliminated, will state special education funds be lost?
Teachers have a different set of concerns:
1.Teaching Processes and Materials. Will handicapped students in the classroom require a lot,more time in individualized instruction and lots of new materials? What modifications are needed in existing materials?
2.Classroom Management. Will there be discipline problems, or interpersonal problems between the handicapped and other students.
3.Accountability. What measures will be used to judge the teacher's performance in educating handicapped students?
4.Evaluation. Will the teacher be able to set the standards by which the student enters, stays in, is dropped from, or successfully completes the course? How should these standards be established?
Students--both handicapped and not-- also have concerns. Handicapped students may be anxious about being accepted by their teachers and peers. They may be worried about their
ability to compete successfully. Non-handicapped students may be afraid they won't know how to act or how much they should help handicapped students. They may feel neglected by a teacher spending more time with a handicapped student. They may feel that individualized criteria for success are unfair.
Obviously, parents and advocates have many concerns also, from the quality of education available to the effect of diagnostic,labels on performance. But understanding the
worries of"the other groups will make them more effective as advocates.
Organizational Characteristics
Large organizations, including schools, share certain characteristics which make them reluctant to change. These may relate to questions of fact, emotion, or resources.
Some are:
1.The drive for the organization to perpetuate itself--to stay in existence.
2.The desire of the staff for security, fellowship and respect.
3.The emotional investment of staff members in certain skills and practices.
4.Comfort with the existing situation and fear of the unknown.
5.Sensitivity to various pressure-groups.
6.Cost (money, emotional energy, physical energy, and time) .
7.Prevailing philosophy and values.
8.Political factors.
To be a successful advocate, you must keep in mind that all the issues are not going to be on the table. People often do not express what they really feel, and sometimes
they are not even fully aware of what they feel. When you go into a negotiation, be aware of both the expressed and the hidden concerns of all participants.
Abstracted and adapted from: Gugerty, John. "Discovering What Works Best in Educating Handicapped Students: ThereCs NO Substitute for Good Rssearch.W American Vocational Journal, April 1978.
Here are the names and phone numbers of places which may be able to help you if you want additional information or assistance:
1.Advocate for the Blind 645-3930
1821 University Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55104
2.Legal Advocacy for the Developmentally 338-0968
Disabled of Minnesota (800/292-4150 Toll Free)
222 Grain Exchange Building
323 Fourth Avenue S
Minneapolis, MN 55415
3.Legal Advocacy Project for Hearing (TTY) 332-4668
Impaired Persons (Voice) 332-1441
222 Grain Exchange
323 Fourth Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55415. .
4.Minnesota Foundation for Better 222-6866
Speech and Hearing
508 Bremer Building
7th & Robert
St. Paul, MN 55101
5.Minnesota Association for Children and 646-6136
Adults with Learning Disabilities
1821 University Avenue, 494 North
St. Paul, MN 55104
6.Minnesota Epilepsy League 340-7630
Citizents Aid Building
404 S. Eighth Street, Room 242
Minneapolis, MN 55404
7.P.A.C.E.R. Center, Inc. 827-2966
(Parent Advocacy Coalition for Education Rights)
4701 Chicago Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55407
8.United Cerebral Palsy of Minnesota 646-7588
Griggs-Midway Building
1821 University Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55104
9.Association for Retarded Citizens, 827-5641 800-582-5256
Minnesota
3225 Lyndale Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55408
PARTIAL PARTICIPATION
For years individuals with handicaps have been excluded from many of the activities non-handicapped people do and the places non-handicapped people go because they do not have all the skills necessary to participate independently. They weren't 'ready".
The problem is that people tend not to get "ready" when they have no access to settings which non-handicapped people use. The best place to teach skills is where they are used and needed, so even if the outcome may never be full independence at least some of the skills can usually be acquired.
The principle of partial participation affirms that all individuals with severe handicaps can acquire many skills that will enable them to participate at least in part in the same settings as persons without handicaps. A person with handicaps may not be able to find the necessary items at a grocery store but he or she may be able to put foods in a cart and push that cart around the store. "A person with handicaps may not be able to perform all the steps required to make a sack lunch, but he or she can probably learn some of the steps.
If persons with handicaps are going to live more normal, productive and valued lives, they must spend more of their time doing what you and I do. Lacking all the skills or even lacking the potential to acquire all the skills for a particular activity should no longer be a reason to exclude persons with handicaps from real-world activities in real-world settings.
Partial Participation Questionnaire
List the parts of each following task that your son or daughter can currently perform. List parts that he or she could perform with training or adaptive devices.
1.Getting Dressed
Can Do NOW
Could Do With Training And/Or Adaptive Device
2.Doing the Laundry
Can Do Now
Could Do With Training And/Or Adaptive Device
3.Making Toast
Can Do NOW
Could w With Training And/Or Adaptive Device
4.Vacuuming the Carpet
Can Do Now.
Could DO With Training And/Or Adaptive Device.
5.Making a Phone Call
Can DO Now.
Could Do With Training And/Or Adaptive Device.
6.Setting the Table
Can Do Now.
Could Do With Training And/Or Adaptive Device.
7.Making Lunch
Can Do Now.
Could Do With Training And/Or Adaptive Device.
8.Grocery Shopping
Can Do Now.
Could Do With Training And/Or Adaptive Device.
9.Using the Stereo
Can DO Now.
Could Do With Training And/Or Adaptive Device.
10.Getting a Sandwich Out Of a Machine
Can Do Now.
Could Do With Training And/Or Adaptive Device.
11.Playing Electronic Games
Can DO Now.
Could Do With Training And/Or Adaptive Device.
12.Operating a Computer
Can Do Now.
Could DO With Training And/Or Adaptive Device.
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION
Persons with handicaps spend most of their time in settings with other handicapped persons. During the day they go to developmencai achievement centers, sheltered workshops or handicapped-only schools or classrooms. Afterward, if they are adults, they most likely go to a group home with other persons with handicaps. These settings bear little resemblance to the places most non-handicapped persons spend their time.
"Community integration" goes beyond living in the community. State hospitals ensure physical segregation but even community facilities at this point usually mean social segregation. The movement toward "community integration" is a movement to provide persons with handicaps a more normalized life-style with an emphasis on using community settings and interacting with non-handicapped persons.
"Community integration" does not mean field trips in which many persons with handicaps go en masse to the bowling alley, movie theatre or circus. Persons with handicaps represent a small proportion of the population, but when they are seen in the
community, they tend to be in large groups. To truly be integrated into the community persons with handicaps should be using community settings on a regular basis individually or in groups no larger than three at a time.
"Community integration" means using stores, libraries, laundromats, churches and all the other settings available to any non-handicapped members of the community and having the opportunity to interact with non-handicapped persons.
To achieve community integration, persons with handicaps must learn community skills in natural community settings, thus community skills should be a major focus of training
programs. Vocational skills should be learned in the community, recreational skills should be learned in the community as should shopping, banking, and other skills.
When persons with handicaps are working, playing and interacting with non-handicapped people on a regular basis and are accepted as valuable members of our society, then we will have achieved community integration.
Normalization means . . .a normal rhythm of the day.
You get out of bed in the morning, even if you are profoundly retarded and physically handicapped; you get dressed, and leave the house for school or work, you don't stay home; in the morning you anticipate events, in the evening you think back on what you have accomplished; the day is not monotonous 24 hours with every minute endless.
You eat at normal times of the day and in a normal fashion; not just with a spoon~ unless YOU are an infant; not in bed, but at a table; not early in the afternoon for the convenience of the staff.
Normalization means . . .a normal rhythm of the week.
You live in one place, go to work in another, and participate in leisure activities in
yet another. You anticipate leisure activities on weekends, and look forward to getting back to school or work on Monday.
Normalization means a normal rhythm of the year. A vacation to break the routines of the year.
Seasonal changes bring with them a variety of types of foods, work, cultural events, sports, leisure activities.
Just think . . . we thrive on these seaonal changes.
Normalization means . . .normal developmental experiences of the life cycle.
In childhood, children, but not adults, go to summer camps.
In adolescence, one is interested in grooming, hairstyles, music, boyfriends and girlfriends.
In adulthood, life is filled with work
and responsibilities.
In old age, one has memories to look back on, and can enjoy the wisdom of experience.
Normalization means . . .having a range of choices, wishes, desires respected and considered.
Adults have the freedom to decide, where they would like to live, what kind of job they would like to have and can best perform. Whether they would prefer to go bowling with a group, instead of staying home to watch television.
Normalization means . . .living in a world made of two sexes.
Children and adults both develop relationships with members of the opposite sex.
Teenagers become interested in having boyfriends and girlfriends.
And adults may fall in love, and decide to marry.
Normalization means . . .the right to normal economic standards.
All of us have basic financial privileges and responsibilities, are able to take advantage
of compensatory economic security means, such as child allowances, old age pensions, and minimum wage regulations.
We should have money to decide how to spend, on personal luxuries or necessities.
Normalization means . . .living in normal housing in a normal neighborhood.
Not in a large facility with 20, 50, or 100 other people because you are retarded.
And not isolated from the rest of the conununity.
Normal locations and normal size homes will give residents better opportunities for successful integration with their communities.
Written by Bengt Nirje, a leader of the Swedish parent movement.
48-HOUR COMPARISON
-.
One way to look at the question of normalization is to compare your day with that of your daughter's or son's day. List by the hour what you do during an average week day and then an average weekend day. Do the same for your child's week day and weekend
day. See how the two lists compare.
YOUR WEEK DAY YOUR CHILD'S WEEK DAY
48-HOUR COMPARISON
YOUR WEEKEND DAY YOUR CHILD'S WEEKEND DAY
WHY SHOULD ALICE WORK
For many years now, competitive employment for persons with developmental disabilities has been rare. Persons with developmental disabilities were viewed by professionals,
parents, and employers alike as too impaired for employment. They were seen rather as perpetual children, dependent and needing looking after. We have looked after them in institutions, group homes, family homes, developmental achievement centers, and sheltered workshops. The assunmtions that supported dependence of disabled individuals became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Limited expectations produce limited results.
In the past few years these assumptions of "dependence" have begun to fall part. Our society is beginning to change its view of handicapped individuals. The effects and success of 'normalization' have begun to show us the way to the entrance for the individual with disabilities into the "real" world.
Our society places a high value on work and income in measuring the adult individual's worth or status. Once a handicapped individual enters the world of "real" work, that person's status both to himself or herself and those around him or her changes. Their contribution to our society becomes visible to their family, co-workers, and community.
Income earned becomes a means to partial or full financial independence. No one would defend SS1 as a "living wage."
And there are other aspects of "real" work which benefit the person with disabilities. Being part of an environment where working side-by-side with nonhandicapped workers is possible is important. We learn from each other continually. Having the opportunity to develop new social skills and behavior becomes possible with good role models. Other workers learn to raise their level of expectations of the handicapped worker by being able to see what it is they are actually capable of doing. Myths become useless.
There is a distinction made by some between 'work' and 'labor. ' Preston Smeltzer, in an article entitled "Why Work is Important" states that "work, believe it or not, is a basic need of all human beings." Work is something we should choose to do. It improves our ability to survive and improves the quality of life through income. We are able to feel society is benefiting from our efforts. And, as a result of our work, we learn that we are worthwhile as human beings, we are useful.
Former President Johnson once said "The hunger for use and to go unused is the greatest hunger of all." Work lets us know that the world in some way is better off because we are here.
Labor is lacking recognition, or wage, or a sense of selfworth. Labor is involuntary and
lacks meaningfulness or significance to the one who performs it.
As parents we need to recognize our son's or daughter's need for work. There is the human need to feel useful or needed, to feel like a person's existence is worth the effort.
More and more vocational programs are being created that train for real and meaningful work. Supported work models are being created so that individuals can have help on the job. Job placements are possible through new programs like targeted jobs tax credit programs and special funding. Earlier vocational training makes more possible.
Expectations get raised. Use of adaptive devices is common. In a day of technical advances much more is possible on the job site in making a particular job accessible.
Successes by other handicapped individuals pave the way for more employment
opportunities. In some communities employment opportunities are created based on unmet needs in that community. In one such community a business was set up to provide hot lunch for day care centers. It serves to employ both handicapped and non-handicapped workers, provides a needed service, and contributes both financially and psychologically to the employees of the small enterprise.
Why Alice should work is no different from why you or I should work. We have it as a human right. When a job is "labor" something else should be sought. Handicapped individuals used to clean toilets in our state institutions but that was 'labor.' There was no wage, no dignity, and no recognition. But, it did show early that more was possible. Now,
'work' is possible and should be seen as a logical course to follow. Without dignity and purpose an individual is without hope.
PARENT QUESTIONNAIRE
(Vocational Advocacy for Parents-Trainers Manual Patricia D. Beebe, Kim Kessler)
1.Would you like your daughter or son to have a job at some point in the future?
yes (Go to question #2)
undecided
no (Go to question #4)
2.Which type of placement do you consider most appropriate for your daughter or son, after being properly trained?
sheltered workshop
competitive employment
type of work you prefer, if any (example: food service)
don't know
3.Which type of job do you cocsider most appropriate for your son or daughter?
full-time
part-time
either
undecided Go to question #5.
4.Which of the following best explains your feelings about future employment for your son or daughter?(Circle letter of your choice.)
a.He or she is too handicapped to ever hold a job
b.The income and benefits earned through working are not worth giving up their present government benefits
c.I would always worry about how my daughter or son was treated by the people she or he worked with and met on the job.
d.Transportation to and from their job would be too large a problem
e.Other (please specify):
5.Do you like the idea of job training being conducted at the center attended by your son or daughter?
yes
undecided
no (Go to question #8)
6.Below is a list of possible center activities. Please rank each of them on a scale from O to 5, as to how important it is in your opinion. The highest rating is 5, meaning great
importance. The lowest is O, meaning no importance. Ratings of 1, 2, 3, or 4 may be used to score between the extremes.
Leisure skills training (learning to play checkers, etc.)
Personal grooming skills
Job training
Recreational activities
Functional academics (learning to tell time, count money, etc.) Go to question #7.
7.Which of the following types of job training do you feel it would be proper for the center to include in its program? (Make a check mark besides your answers.)
Actual on-the-job training at locations in the community
Practicing different tasks at the center (such as washing pots or cleaning bathrooms)
Job simulation, including doing work and receiving token payment
Actual subcontracting with various organizations to do such things as stuffing envelopes, with a piece-rate form of payment
8.Which of the following best explains your feelings about job training at the center? (Circle letter of your choice.)
a.My daughter or son is not going to work, and therefore I would rather see the center concentrate on something else.
b.I feel that few if any of those attending the center would benefit from such training.
c.I feel the center is not able to handle such training adequately.
d.I feel it is not an appropriate activity for the center.
e.Other: Go to question #9.
9.What are some items of potential interest you may have when considering the possibility of a job for your son or daughter.
Job satisfaction for my daughter or son
Possibility for increased social contact by my son or daughter
The gaining of additional income
Increased sense of independence for my daughter or son
Increased freedom for myself
Other (please specify) :
10.Listed below are several items of possible concern to parents of retarded adults, as you
consider employ ment for your daughters and sons. Please find the three of most concern to you, and rank them as in the previous question.
Possible loss of government benefits
Quality of training for the job
Possible mistreatment of my son or daughter by persons they work with, or other person met at the job
Frustration possibly experienced by my daughter or son
Difficulty of getting him of her to and from work
Whether or not there are appropriate jobs available with interested employers
Other (please specify) :11.The information requested below would be helpful, but you free not to answer.a. The sex of your child attending the center: Male Femaleb. His or her age: under 20 years 20-30 years 30-40 years over 40 years
12.Any other comments you wish to make with respect to the topics covered in this questionnaire (use reverse side, if necessary) :
COMPETITIVE WAGE
An individual with a disability has the right to earn the same wage for the sane work as the non-handicapped employee.
Federal law does provide that an employer in competitive employment may pay less than the minimum wage if 1) the special wage rate is necessary to prevent the curtailment of the employee opportunity for employment, and 2) the worker's capacity for work is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury. 29 C.F.R. s525.5(a) and (b).
In order for less than minimum wage to be paid the employer must obtain a special certificate from the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. The employer must describe the intended occupation, and detail the disability. When a special certificate has been issued the wage must be at least 75 percent of minimum wage.
The wage for any work, whether hourly or piece-rate, must be based on the actual wage earned by non-handicapped workers doing the same work in the same area.
There are also special certificates availableto allow trainees as part of a vocational rehabilitation program lowered wagest but not less than 50 percent minimum wage.
Less than 50 percent minimum wage for employment or training requires another special certificate.
Minnesota State law also requires a special certificate fOr payment of wages less than minimum wage.
If no permit is granted, no matter how seriously the worker at least minimum wage is handicapped, he or she must be paid Minn. R. S5200. 0030.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A JOB PLACEMENT
--Continuous flow of meaningful work
--Opportunities for interaction with non-handicapped workers
--Availability of community resources
--Transportation
--Accessible work environment
--Social climate
--Adaptations possible
Utilize or create materials and devices adapted for skill or rules. Provide personal assistance and supervision. Adaptation in physical environment. Adaptation in social] attitudinal environment. What is needed to make the worker with disabilities blend in--not stick out.
--Individualized job development
--Job retention strategies
Maintain initial training contacts including job skills, transportation, and social skills.
Follow up with the employer in an organized systematic process.Often the job skills are fine but problems with transportation or at home are more likely to impact the success of a job placement.
WHERE ARE THE JOBS?
Are vocational programs geared to training for jobs available?
Are vocational training institutions visible to the community? Using 'real' training sites for training which might lead to employment?
Is "targeted job tax credit" being offered? Used?
Are new ideas being developed to create new jobs in a community? I.e. small businesses, needed services.
Does your employer hire the handicapped?
Do you hire the handicapped?
Does your local social service hire the person with developmental disabilities? Church? Red Cross? Government agency? Disabilities council?
Employment needs to be found for only one person at a time. Each person will have different interests and different skills. The employment is for that individual, not something
that every person at the DAC will or would choose to do.
LAWS THAT PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY
A lingering barrier to employment for the qualified person with a disability is
discrimination. Both federal and state lawsand regulations have been passed to protect the qualified worker with a handicap from being denied the right to a certain job because of the handicap.
1.Section 504 provides that: "No otherwise handicapped individual in the United States . . shall, solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied
the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal assistance or under any program conducted by any executive agency or by the United States Postal Service." 29 U.S.C. ~794 (Sllpp. 1979).
The regulations for Section 504 include protections from discriminatory employment practices by employers receiving federal financial assistance. Section 504 considers a person with a handicap as "qualified" if with reasonable accommodation he or she can perform the essentials of a job. 45 C.F.R. S84 .3 (k) (1) . Reasonable accommodation may-include such provisions as making facilities used by the employee readily accessible and usable to-that person, job restructuring, modified work schedules, modifying or acquiring equipment or devices, provision of readers or interpreters, and other similar accommodations. The employer is required to provide these reasonable accommodations
"unless it would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program." Undue hardships will be measured in relationship to a program's size, budget, cost of necessary accommodation, and nature of the program's operation.
2.Section 501--Affirmative Action in the Employment of Handicapped Persons.
Federal agencies and the Postal Service are required to develop Affirmative Action plans for the hiring, placement, and advancement of persons with handicaps. 29 U.S.C. 5791.
3.Section 503 requires all employers who hold federal contracts exceeding $2,500 to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified persons with handicaps.
This affirmative action provision states that employers should adopt strong outreach programs to find and promote qualified persons with handicaps and make reasonable accommodations through such means as modified work schedules and adaptive equipment.
41 C.F.R. 560.741.1.
4.Minnesota Human Rights Act
The Minnesota Human Rights Act forbids discrimination on the basis of disability by employers, labor unions, and employment agencies. Employers may not fire, refuse to
hire, or discriminate in terms of employment on the basis of dsability. The Human Rights Act specifies that persons with handicaps cannot be treated differentially except on a "bona fide occupational qualification." This means where the occupation or work performs requires certain qualifications for the performance of the task. An example would be a job where ladder climbing was necessary and the applicant was confined to a wheelchair or had frequent seizures. Here the employed could deny the job because a "bona fide occupational qualification" could not be met by the applicant. However, if a qualified typist was denied a job because of confinement to a wheelchair then discrimination cculd be claimed.
The Minnesota Human Rights Act requires employers to offer reasonable accommodation to persons with handicaps.These requirements are largely modeled on those contained in the federal government's Section 504 regulations.
ACCESSIBILITY
Physical barriers can make all the difference in the world to someone who cannot cross those barriers because of handicapping conditions. Many progressive laws have been passedto assure that public and private facilities and services provide for equal access for both the non-handicapped and the handicapped person. As a result of these laws persons
with handicaps have the same opportunities to choose where they live, work, and recreate as do persons who never had barriers obstructing their path.
As more and more persons with disabilities get better and better vocational training and earlier encouragement for independence the issue of accessibility becomes critical to their success in achieving an assured quality of life. Access to the full range of opportunities in housing, employment, and leisure time activities isaright which was hard fought for by individuals who themselves experienced the barriers.
.
SPECIFIC AREAS WHERE ACCESS HAS BEEN ASSURED B!? FEDEIVJL OR STATE LAWS
1.The Architectural Barriers Act
This act provides for equal access to buildings which are a) constructed or altered by or on behalf of the United States, b) leased in whole or part by the federal government after August 1968, or C) financed in whole Or part by a grant or lease from the United States
government after August 12, 1968.
2.The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board assists in the enforcement of the Architectural Barriers Act.
3.Section 504 requires agencies receiving federal financial assistance to make their programs accessible to persons with handicaps.
4.The Minnesota State Building Code requires certain new or remodeled facilities to provide equal access in such areas as:
a) site approaches,
b) door and doorways,
c) automobile parking areas,
d) toilet facilities,
e) controls and electrical switches,
f) tactile identifications.
Minn. R. S1340.0300-.0900.
5.Section 504 provides for access to programs:
"NO qualified handicapped person shall, because a recipient's facilities are inaccessible to or unusable by handicapped persons, be denied the benefits of, be excluded from participation in, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or actlvltY
to which this part applies."45 C.F.R. 584.21.
Access to Public Transportation.
6.This right to equal access appliesto public transit buses, rapid rail, commuter and light rail systems, airport terminals and hiqhway rest area facilities"
7.Access to Voting Polling Places.
8.Parking--Handicapped Sites and Stickers.
9.Ramped Sidewalks--Every city in Minnesota is required to install ramped sidewalks when installing or replacing sidewalks, curbs, or gutters.
10.Wheelchair Securement Devices--?my person providing motor vehicle transportation for persons occupying wheelchairs must provide safety devices. The securement device must be secured before pulling the vehicle into motion.
ADAPTATIONS-- WE ALL USE THEM
Adaptations for Mobility:
Crutches
Wheelchairs
Braces
Driving Devices
Golf Carts
Elevators
Walkers
Mopeds
Pallets
Helicopters
Hand Pedalled Tricycles
Adaptations for Communication:
Braille
Speak Boards
Hearing Aids
Computers
Typewriters
Federal Express
Bliss Symbols
Adaptations for Work:
Safety Glasses
Steel Toed Shoes
Tool Belts
Flip Cards with
Job Symbols
Prongs to Get the Toast Out
Stool to Stand On
Two People Doing One Job
A Three Piece Suit
Handmade Device to Pick Up Laundry Bins for Sorting
Adaptations for Leisure:
Electronic Games
Popcorn Makers
Knob Controlled Stereo
Computer
Double Blade for Ice Skates
Water Flotation Devices
Hot Tubs
Roller Skates
Signed Television Programs
And, what about adaptations for behaviors?
Every day, in every family and work placel adaptations are being made for people's
behaviors. A factory worker ignores her Coworkers gripe sessions. One family member takes over another's job before that person gets more upset and breaks something" we learn from each other how to adapt our behavioro The rules are different in different places. In one job the workers can talk to their hearts' content. In the next job doing the same work, the rules may require silence. One family encourages loud disputes and saying what people think, but another family might frown heavily on raising voices.
We can't teach needed behaviors isolated from natural environments. Environments
determine the acceptable behaviors. What is acceptable in a classroom learning grocery shopping skills is different than what is acceptable in the actual grocery store.
THE JOB PARTNERSHIP ACT
In October of 1982 the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) was signed into law to replace the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) . The purpose of JTPA is:
To establish programs to prepare youth and unskilled adults for entry into the labor force and to afford job training to those economically disadvantaged individuals and other individuals facing serious barriers to employment who are in special need of such training to obtain productive employment.
Minnesota's allocation for the period of October 1, 1983 June 30, 1984, was $29 million.
$21.3 million of that allocation went for local job training, support services and adminis
tration. $4.1 million was allocated for services to groups with special needs and statewide coordination activities. Other groups served were dislocated workers and displaced
homemakers.
Persons vith handicaps 'are included in the 'special needs group", as identified by the Governor's Job Training Council. These persons may receive the same job training services offered to any eligible participant of a job training program. Training services include remedial education, classroom instruction, vocational counseling, temporary work experience, on-the-job training, job upgrading and retraining job search assistance and job placement.
The decision to serve special groups is made primarily by local private industry councils.
The Governor's Job Training Council allocates funds to local program operators for
job training. The allocations are based partly on recommendations by local private industry councils and partly on labor market information gathered about the area.
To find out what programs are being offered in your area contact the local job training office or write to the Governor's Job Training Office, 690 American Center Building, 150 E. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55101.
JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT ALLOCATIONS To MINNESOTA
October 1, 1983- June 30, 1984
"See "Key Contact Person" list for your county's service area.
THE TARGETED JOBS TAX CREDIT PROGRAM
For every eligible person hired under the Targeted Jobs Tax Credit Program the employer
receives a waqe credit the first year equal to 50 percent of wages paid up to$6,000-or a $3,000 maximum credit. The second year the credit is 25 percent of wages up to $6,000 or $1,500 maximum credit.
Who is the "targeted group?"
Persons eligible must belong to one of the following:
1.Handicapped persons who are enrolled in or have completed vocational rehabilitation
programs.
2.Young peo~le, 18 through 24 years of age, who are from low-income families.
3.Persons who have been receiving general welfare assistance for 30 days or more.
4.Recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SS1) payments.
Other targeted groups included low income Vietnam-era veterans, welfare clients receiving AFDC, participants in WIN (Work Incentive Programs) and young people age 16 and
17 from low income families for summer employment.
Who selects the employee?
The employer hires the person who best meets their needs and requirements.
What is the procedure for the employer to receive the Tax Credit ?
1.The Job Service issues a voucher to an individual, being considered for the job, stating they are a member of a "targeted" group .
2.If the person is hired, the employer COmpletes five items on the voucher, signs it, and mails it into the Job Service office--a 10-ininute job.
3.The Job Service sends the employer an EMPLOYER
CERTIFICATION which is then used for tax credit.
What are the restrictions for the employer?
The tax credit is limited to 90 percent of the employer's tax liability. However, the employer can carry unused portions of the credit back three years or fomard 15 years.
Also, the voucher or written request for certification to the Job Service must be on or before the employee's first day of work in order to claim the tax credit.
Job Service is listed in the telephone directory under "Minnesota State Offices" or "Government Offices-State."
HireAbility
HireAbility is a consortium of five' 'Project with Industry" job placement units in Minnesota and Wisconsln, working with the Minnesota Divisicn of~~ocatlonal Rehabilitation. HireAbility has already ~laced over 6,000 employees with
disabilities in competitive employment.
HireAbility works directly with employers to screen and place the best suited applicant for the job.The project also provides on-site evaluation once placement has occurred to determine if the placement works for both emPloYee and employer.
A toll free number is available for more information 1-800328-9095.
The goal of this job program is to help businesses grow and at the same time create long-term employment opportunities for unemployed Minnesotans. The Minnesota Emergency Employment Development Program was established by the State legislature to provide temporary payroll subsidies to employers to help create 12,000 new permanent jobs.
This program is geared to new businesses and newly expanding businesses.An employer who hires an employee under this program may be reimbursed up to $4 an hour in wages and up to $1 an hour in fringe benefits, for up to six months. There is no limit to the number of workers a business can employ under this program. The Targeted Jobs Tax
Credit Program can be used at the same time by hiring employees who qualify for the program. The tax credit will be applied to the portion the employer pays in wages.
FACTS ABOUT WORXERS WITH DISABILITIES
Disabled workers are as productive as non-disabled workers.
-Several st,udies show that workers with disabilities, properly and selectively placed, are very productive workers.
-E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. , America's 16th largest employer, conducted an eight-month study of 1,452 employees with physical disabilities. 91 percent were rated average
or better on job performance.
Disabled workers are safe.
-The DuPont studies show that 96 percent of disabled workers were rated average or better on safety--both on and off the job.
-In another study of 100 large corporations, 57 percent of the corporations reported lower accident rates for employees with disabilities, 41 percent reported accident rates which were the same as those of able-bodied employees, and only 2 percent reported higher accident rates.
Company insurance rates will not skyrocket if disabled employees are hired.
-A survey of 279 companies conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers says that 90 percent of those companies report no effect on insurance costs.
-Regarding Worker's Compensation: "Second Injury" laws are in effect in all 50 states;
these laws protect the employer, by limiting liability for on-the-job injuries caused or aggravated by an employee's handicap. Actually, claims to the Second Injurl Fund are seldom made-a tribute to the safety consciousness of employees with disabilities.
-Regarding health insurance: Extending policies to include disabled workers probably will have little, if any, impact on the cost of providing benefits--u=s. Bureau of Labor statistics indicate employees with disabilities do not use more illness and accident benefits than other employees.
It doesn't cost a lot of mcney to make adjustments in the workplace.
-Probably not. The HireAbility placement staff who follow up placements with a visit to the
workplace--recommend onlY necessary modifications, such as a $15 desk lamp.
-When a modification is necessary, 51 percent cost nothing and 20 percent cost between $1 and $500; but most disabled workers require no special work arrangements according to the DuPont study.
Cornpanies can get tax credits for employing disabled workers?
-Yes. A federal program allows most companies to receive Targeted Job Tax Credits when they employ disabled workers. A company can receive a credit of up to $4,500 for each employee during his or her first two years of employment under this program.
Company accountants and tax attorneys love it.
Absenteeism isn't greater among disabled workers.
-The DuPont study shows that 79 percent of the workers with disabilities were rated average or better in attendance than other workers.
-In the study of 100 corporations? 55 percent of the corporations report lower absenteeism for disabled workers, 40 percent found no difference, and only 5 percent found higher
absenteeism.
Disabled workers don't have a higher turnover rate.
-The members of HireAbility report 80 percent of their placements are on the job a year or more.
-The DuPont study reported 93 percent of their employees with disabilities have average or better records of staying on the job.
-In the study of 100 corporations, 83 percent reported lower turnover rates for workers with disabilities, 16 percent reported the same turnover rates? and only 1 percent re ported a higher turnover rate.
Disabled workers are accepted by other employees.
-Most employees with disabilities are accepted when co-workers begin to see them as a person, not as a disability.We fear what we do not know; as we come to know and understand a new person or a new situation, we learn to accept. Disabled workers don't need preferential treatment.
-Most want an equal chance to be hired, work hard, receive training and be promoted based on their abilities.
For questions or complaints regarding assessability under the State Building Code contact:
Minnesota State Council for the Handicapped Metro Square
Seventh and Robert Streets
St. Paul, MN 55101
(612) 296-6785
TTY (612) 296-8205
For complaints against an employer with federal contracts of $2500 or more, contact the:
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
U.S. Department of Labor
100 North 6th Street
Minneapolis, MN SS403
For complaints against an employer receiving federal financial assistance, contact the federal agency providing most assistance. E.g., for complaints involving financial
assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services, contact:
Regional Director
OCR/HHS/Region V
300 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
For more information or assistance contact-
Inquiries or complaints regarding wages:
Commissioner of Labor and Industry
444 Lafayette Road
St. Paul,Minnesota 55101
The Job Partnership Act:
Governor's Job Training Office
690 American Center Building
150 E. Kellogg Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55101
(612) 296-8004
Minnesota Emergency Employment Development Program:
Contact local Unemployment Compensation Office or
Call (612) 297-4566
HireAbility Toll-free Number 1-800-328-9095
Job Placement and Follow-up of Moderately and Severely Handicapped Individuals After Three Years
Paul Wchman, Mark Hill, Patricia Goodall, Paula Cleveland, Valerie Brookc, and Julian H. PauccosG Jr.
Author Imformation
Paul Wchman. Ph. D., Associate Professor ,Special Educacion. Virginia Commonwealth University
Mark Hill. M.S.Ed.. Project Coordinator. Project Employability; Inamctor. Virginia Commonwealth University.
PauIcia Goodall. M. S.. Placement Specialist. Project Employability, Richmond. Virginia.
Paula Cleveland. M.S.. Replication Site Coordinator and Rehabilitation Coordinator. Project Employability. Richmond. Virginia.
Valerie Brooke. B.A.. Training Specialist. Project Employability, Richmond. Virginia.
Julian H. Pentecost Jr., B. A.. Training Specialist. - Project Employability. Richmond. Virginia.
This paper describes the results of a three-year job placement project for moderately and severeiy handicapped individuals in Virginia. This project developed a training by staff at the job site. Staff advocacy also took place with co-workers and employers. All clients
were paid by employers as partt of the regular work force. Although is still ongoing as it seeks to replicate training and placement procedures throughout Virginia, at the three year point, 63 clients have been placed, with 42 currently working, for a retention rate of 67%. These individuals have collectively earned $265,000 and paid well over $26,000 in state and federal taxes. Moreover, most of these clients had long records of exclusion from non-sheltered and even sheltered work, since they were viewed by professionals and parents as "realistically unemployed". This report highlights the major characteristics and conclusions drawn from staff efforts to this point.
The job placement of moderately and severely handicapped individuah has begun to
receive serious anention within the past several years. As it has become increasingly evident that adult day programs (Bellamy, Sheehan, Horner, & Boles. 1980) and sheltered workshops (Whitehead. 1979) are not the only vocational alternatives for moderately and severely handicapped persons. Efforts have sprang up to initiate and evaluate nonsheltered competitive employment as a less restrictive option (Revell. Arnold. Taylor, & Zatz-Blother, 1982).
In one recent program, Clarke, Greenwood, Abramovitz, and Bellamy (1980) provided a demonstration of how moderately and severely handicapped youth might be placed into summers jobs that would facilitate their eventual long-term competitive employment. Mauer, Teas, and Bates (Note 1) have also demonstrated the success aspects of competitive employment with a small number of school-age trainable retarded youth. Similarly, Sowers. Thomp-
