Ready or Not Here I Come!

By Mike Flaherty and Marlene Disburg, Organizational Consultants at The Rural Institute

Readiness has become the prevailing measurement decision makers use when determining if and when a person with a disability should work in the community. Evaluating readiness takes a variety of formats, using both subjective and objective measurements. Regardless of the method that is ultimately used, the decision maker's assumptions about people with disabilities remain the same—extensive in-house (sheltered) preparation is necessary before a person with a disability can succeed in the community. Training people with disabilities to be ready implies that the natural ways of learning and growing in the community have little consequence for them. A great deal of time, energy, and money is spent teaching skills to people with disabilities in unnatural work environments in the belief that once these skills are mastered in the unnatural/sheltered settings, the individual will be ready to work in the community. These readiness training models ignore the power of real world experiences. These training models also underestimate the importance of learning through "trial and error." Readiness training is often preceded by standardized functional employment assessments, which severely limit customer choice. Ultimately, the getting ready method deprives the customer of personal choice.

I'm It! or The Customer is Always Right!

There is no shortage of "canned" readiness programs, but what about alternatives? What is available? How is it done? Where is it done? Who does it? When does it happen? The answers to all these questions are either directly or indirectly dependent on the individual with the disability seeking employment in the community. Simply put, the customer is it, the right and the best choice to be the ultimate decision maker in terms of what is possible. The phrase "the customer is always right" is most appropriate in supporting the decisions and work choices an individual with the disability makes.

One critical issue when making good employment decisions is getting all the information available about the jobs that the customer wants in the community. You can use a naturally occurring model to gather and evaluate this information—a model that the vast majority of non-disabled persons have used consistently and successfully to identify their choice of work. In its simplest application, gathering information is nothing more sophisticated than "trial and error." Beneath the application of the "try it and see what happens" method, is the core of experience-based learning, a naturally occurring self-assessment in the community. The customer gets immediate, real responses to his/her work trial in the actual work situations he/she is considering.

In community based self-assessments, the customers are in control; they are the best available experts on their wishes. The customer is the ultimate consultant as to the best practice of matching the job to the job seeker.

Where and How is It Done?

Customer self-assessments start everywhere and anywhere. Typically advocates, family, or job developers will initiate the process, with the direct input of the customer. The critical first step is listening to the dreams, goals, and expectations of the customer. A formalized listening process may include person-centered planning or futures planning, where the customer talks about his/her life dreams, goals, etc. The customer lists the employment choices he/she wants to explore in the community.

This information lays the groundwork for the second step, identifying all the potential job sites and sources that reflect the customer's wishes. The job choices the customer offers can potentially range from general to quite specific, depending on the individual's level of prior experience with the community. An open ended approach is invaluable, potentially providing customers with a variety of venues to explore during their job exploration. The identification process can range from an informal visit to a business for basic employment information to specific long-term on-site work simulations and on-the-job work trials. Emphasis is on the natural teaching that occurs on real job sites, not in static or sterile getting-ready models.

The final step is choosing the job site that provides the best environment for customer self-assessment. Of all the potential jobs explored, which most closely matches the customer's wishes? Key to the development and ongoing maintenance of community jobs are the efforts of parents, friends, and advocates. Clear communication among all concerned (with the values of customer self-assessment and satisfaction always in the foreground) is critical to establishing successful short and long-term relationships.

Ready Or Not Here I Go! Jeremy's Story

This is Jeremy's story, an example of the value of utilizing the supports that naturally exist in family and community. Jeremy's story does not follow the narrow constraints of the readiness model. His story illustrates the power of listening, identifying, and making choices for ourselves.

Jeremy is a sandy-blonde, slender teenager. His large dancing blue eyes—obscured but not paled by thick corrective lenses—inviting warm smile, and enormous personality greeted us a few months ago when we went to listen and talk about Jeremy's future planning. We learned that Jeremy loves Nintendo and hunting. He passed the Hunter Safety Course two years ago and looks forward to hunting elk with his father again this fall. Jeremy, like all 15 year olds, has many career interests (veterinarian, artist, policeman, sales, garbage collection) but most of all, Jeremy wants to build things, and has identified carpenter assistant as his career choice. Jeremy attends high school in Stevensville, Montana, and would exchange time in English or Math for class periods in Shop/Industrial Arts.

Jeremy describes himself as a "good person, honest, (most of the time)" he qualifies. Jeremy has to be reminded to mind his manners but says he is getting better. He likes a clean bedroom and takes responsibility for that family chore. Jeremy enjoys playing practical jokes on his family and friends, and accepts payback for his playfulness—Jeremy has a great sense of humor. He says he has "a soft spot" for people and babies and also expresses a particular fondness for the family dog Rustler and his horse Tachonee. Jeremy, riding his red and white Suzuki four-wheeler, mimics a bright comet streaking across the night sky. Hang on to your seats—Jeremy is full of spontaneous energy. It's easy to like Jeremy.

Jeremy was born with spina bifida, Arnold Chiari Syndrome, and hydroecphalus. He uses a wheelchair most of the day but works hard to use a walker for short periods of time. Jeremy has a loving supportive family and strong community support system. He has established himself as a contributing member of his community and his parents are identified in the community as "Jeremy's mom" and "Jeremy's dad." Jeremy has dreams of living on his own in the nearby town of Hamilton and plans to support himself through his choice to work in the field of carpentry, like his good friend and mentor Wayne. Although Wayne and his wife Karen taught Jeremy in school, they have become more than his teachers; they are valuable supports to Jeremy and his family.

"Ready or Not. Here I Am!"

This summer Jeremy will be training to use basic woodworking tools. With funds from a Social Security Plan for Achieving Self Support (PASS plan) Jeremy will purchase a scroll saw and work toward getting a position as a carpenter's assistant soon after his graduation. Wayne will instruct and assist Jeremy in the safe operation of power tools and carpentry techniques. Because Jeremy has three more years of school left before he graduates, he and Wayne will work intensely over the next three summers. Jeremy will practice and expand his acquired skills through high school shop classes and continued instruction from Wayne during the school years. Jeremy and his family are active participants in developing his Individual Education Plan (IEP). His IEP will be customer-driven, with course work supporting Jeremy's desire for carpentry work. His IEP is individual—not developed from a canned template. Jeremy's vocational preparation experiences are structured to support his choices and Jeremy will continue to identify his strengths and needs over the course of his school life.

As Jeremy's circle of relationships expands in his community, he will meet other employers, friends, and mentors. Over time, he will change his mind on many occasions and based on his experiences may make a choice to do something different. Naturally, life is full of change, challenges, and new information for all of us—for Jeremy, too!

How long does it take to get ready? Jeremy doesn't ask. He says, "JUST DO IT!"