Transcript Discovery - OneStops.info

NCWD/A Customized
Employment Teleconference
Series
Discovery: An Approach for Assessing
Applicants for Customized Employment
Ellen Condon, University of MT Rural Institute
Employment for All, and MG&A
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Customized Employment
In Customized employment we begin with
the premise that everyone can work.
The customized approach considers both
the needs of the individual with a disability
AND the employer.
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Customized…

Job Descriptions are based on employee
contributions that mesh with employer
need.

Disclose information about disability and
need for accommodations for the purpose of
negotiation.
3
Customized job
responsibilities

Job responsibilities are based upon
individual’s strengths, needs and interests
and is designed to meet the specific needs
of an employer.
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Traditional Assessments

Measured readiness in unfamiliar and often
times artificial environments,
 Compared production and performance of
people with disabilities to others, or to
standardized norms,
 Typically highlight deficits of people with
significant disabilities.
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Customized Employment

May include employment developed
through job carving, self-employment, or
other job restructuring activities that result
in job responsibilities being customized
and individually negotiated to fit the needs
of an individual.
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If we are going to market an
individual’s contributions and
design jobs which emphasize
skills and abilities, or create selfemployment which maximizes a
person’s participation, then the
questions we need answered in
assessment are:
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Assessment necessary for
Customized Employment
Individual’s strengths, interests and
contributions,
 Impact of disability to identify conditions of
employment, plan for supports and
negotiate on their behalf with the employer,
 And explain how they get things done,
 Strategies, supports or environments where
they are at their best.

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Carley graduated from Polson
High school in 2002. Her
contributions include:

Outgoing and friendly
 Takes pride in her work
 Able to memorize the layout of large stores
 Meticulous about returning items
 Strives to be independent
 Quite capable of asking for assistance
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Discovery
The process of gathering
information about a person
for the purpose of job
development
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Discovery
“who is the
person?”
Vocational Profile:
A tool to
capture
information
Customized Planning
Meeting
Develop a
training /support
plan
“what will they
Do for
work?”
Negotiate a
job or design
a business
Representational
Portfolio
Information gathered in
Discovery

Already existing information,
 From people who know the person best,
 In environments that make sense for the
person:
– Home, school, community, familiar places,
unfamiliar activities that are relevant or of
interest to the person.
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The information learned in
Discovery is used to create the
parameters of, or template for
customization: the conditions,
tasks, supports for the individual
on the job…
the information is never used to
“weed people out” of
employment.
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Describing Information gathered

You need to observe and capture
information about the impact of an
individual’s disability for future
negotiations with employers about supports,
accommodations, tasks an individual can
do,

And to plan for comprehensive ongoing
supports.
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Ask Questions….
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Discovery

Uncovering existing information
 Not measuring or comparing
 Not testing or evaluating
 Does not predict performance
 Ecologically valid information
 Empowers students and families
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Through Discovery we learn
about:

Connections to people and the community
 Interests and preferences
 Support needs
 Strategies or adaptations that currently are
used by the person or their supports
 The individual’s contributions
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Why do Discovery?
Understand how the person’s disability
impacts their life
 Identify what is needed for supports in the
work environment
 To develop a training/support plan
 To identify the individual’s contributions
and tasks that they can do.

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Methods to offer
Discovery or Exploration

Facilitated
 Shared
 Self Directed
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Tools/Skills for Discovery
Tools
 Listening
 Reflecting
 Sharing
 Seeing
 Describing
 Negotiating
Skills
 Conversation
 Interview
 Observation
 Time together
 Review
 Information Collection
 Disclosure Plan

Recognizing the “best” of
a job seeker
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Places/People
Places
 Person’s home
 Neighborhood
 Routine places
 Community
 Professional contexts
People
 Job Seeker
 Close family members
 Trusted friends
 Support staff
 Professionals who care
 Business community
contacts
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Information







Routines; weekend, weekdays, seasons
Social activities, transportation
Previous work, chores, volunteer activities
Education background
Home/community supports received
How the job seeker communicates, socializes,
does academics, gets around the community
Vocational skills
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Next Step…
planning for job development

Consolidate the discovered information into
conditions (a template for customization)
 Translate contributions into employer
language,
 Identify job tasks,
 Assemble your team for a planning meeting.
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