Senior Year First

Hi Lisa,

I think you are doing an excellent job in getting Laney's senior year in place which is the most important goal. And, I do agree 100% that giving her the opportunity to have a normal senior year is the most important thing, especially graduation.

If you go to the transition conference, I would think you could get the information - in printed form - about the state of Iowa's policy for a student with a disability who will not be getting a regular diploma and wishes to participate in graduation exercises and still return for continuing transition services.

You said that she will go to the AEA center this summer for an assessment. If so, I would make plans to drive over and talk to the director of the program there towards the end of her evaluation to find out:

(1) What are her job strengths and weaknesses in terms of generalized work place skills as well as specific job clusters? This would help you judge kind of job placements that have been set up for her as you could always request a different one/two for the second semester.

(2) What do they see "realistically" about her chances for employment part-time in a year with no direct support? AND What kinds of training do they think she will need between age 18 and 21 that might improve her chance to get a job? If you can see that the AEA center has a plan with sequential goals in place, then this may truly be the best place for her to go after high school.

(3) Still with the AEA center being one hour away, how would they provide direct job support for Laney closer to her community if she was ready for employemnt?

(4) Can you tell me would the school division pay for transportation services through age 21 to the AEA center or does the center pick up this cost through age 21 or for anyone it serves?

(5) Most importantly for the long term hard as it may be to ask - what are the options for her at the AEA center if she does not gain employability level skills? This information may help you to decide in her senior year to press the school for continued local services.

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A couple of asides. If you go to the transition conference, you will probably hear much of the push being on getting the young adult out into the work world as opposed to going to a center-based program. ***However,the fact of the matter is that this may not be the option for every young adult with a disability. One needs to evaluate carefully the community work site in terms of the young adult:

(1) Does the employer have a record of hiring workers with a disability or is he/she the first one?

(2) Does there seem to be a supportive environment - friendly and perhaps a bit flexible coworkers and manager because it may be rocky at times?

(3) Is there a strong and reliable job coach to train the individual on the job and who will have the hours available to troubleshoot if needed and monitor regularly?

(4) Will the person end up working in the community, but really just being by himeself/herself really during the work day?

(5) Will the person have reliable transportation to and from work?

(6) Does the person have the personal skills to be out in the work world - perhaps on their own - and deal with mean people or an emergency such as bus not coming etc. by cell phone or going to a manager?

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Conversely, in evaluating a center-based program which usually serves adults with a range of disabilities and skills level, one might closely look at:

(1) Does there seem to be a variety of work tasks available that give individuals a range of jobs to do?

(2) Does the center have plans and opportunities in place for participants who are interested in and able to acquire increasingly more complex skills or is there just one or two main jobs tasks that most perform?

(3) Is there a positive and supportive atmosphere at the center-based program between staff and employees?

(4) Does the individual have friends at the center and also seem to enjoy and benefit from the social aspect of going to work there with others whom he/she knows?

(5) Since Laney has the MR Waiver, you might also ask for employees with the waiver, if work is slow at times or even as a regular part of the center's program offerings are there program opportunities outside of "the work" that they offer participants. Again, it is possible you may find that a lot of these offerings are for those with more challenges, BUT there may also be some programs that she would enjoy having the opportunity to do.

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A final thought Lisa is to think about how using the school for work related services after senior year might help Laney find a volunteer job that she enjoys and could do on her own. The one place I would suggest you explore possibilities with if she would enjoy it is your public library.

(1) Are you and Laney still working there 16 hours a month because these are skills that the school division could also work with her to reenforce in learning?

(2) How about having a job coach go with her to teach her about one section -- I am thinking the children's section -- to shelve books?

(3) Does she read well enough that she might be able to read to one or two children or just help them look at picture books while a Mom looks for books in the children's area?

(4) Are there story hours where she could be an extra set of hands.

**You would be presenting any relationship to the school as the possibility of employment as a general part-time worker. I mean the school can't say there is a chance of work at a store having one come only one day a week so if she likes the library, this may be a good, safe place for a future volunteer job.

My other though along this line might be a Head Start program or other preschool/daycare at a church for instance in your area to see if she could go into the classroom with a job coach and learn the skills over a couple of years to be even a "volunteer assistant" to the program. Also, this program often serves meals to the kids so she could possibly use the cafeteria skills she is learning in such a setting.

In a way, I hope by going into detail into how I think about such things that I can perhaps other parents of teens learn how to frame questions and think about options. I had help along the way from an excellent Vocational Planner at my daughter's high school who I became friends with and just got off the phone with. Her greatest gift to me was always being "realisitc" as this is no time for pie in the sky wild ideas of what may be.....

Cheryl