Employability Skills- Call Appropriately if Unable to Attend
Welcome back as we discuss Employability Skills and the Local Industry standards. We will continue to look at ways you can support your individual NOW for competitive employment. We will pick back up looking at Work Preparedness.
Work Preparedness: Call appropriately if unable to attend
Regular work attendance is a large part of individuals maintaining employment. In addition, many workplaces follow the 3 no-call, no-show rule for termination. Individuals can begin practicing letting people know when they will be absent at an early age so the habit is already in place when they begin to look at work.
Family Practice Ideas:
Help your intern keep a calendar visible at home that notes their activities and appointments so they begin to be aware and involved in their daily schedule. As they can, help your individual keep their calendar in their cell phone or a written planner they carry so it is always available.
When absences are known ahead of time, assist your individual in letting their teacher and bus driver/transportation know they will be out. This can start with a handwritten note or card they give their driver and teacher with the information. It makes them responsible but doesn’t require communication.
As your individual is able, assist them in contacting their school office in the preferred manner of communication about their absence. It’s excellent when this includes phone calls because it is great phone call practice and practice with someone who is usually more patient on the other end.
Regularly discuss “mental health days.” Everyone, especially our individuals, has times when they need a break from daily expectations. Work with your individual to identify these days by how they feel and what is happening. Help them self-advocate for this need.
School Practice Ideas:
Have the school/IEP team actively participate in a program of your individual, letting them know about absences, for example, receiving the card and knowing what to do.
Have the school support using the cell phone calendar or written planner for deadlines, due dates, and school breaks.
Have the IEP team also have “mental health day” conversations and work with the home to identify when a break would be more helpful than pushing through. Have school personnel support self-advocating this need.
How can you and your individual’s IEP team begin using these ideas now?
Deanna Heuring, Ed.S., has been an educational professional for 18 years, with 16 of those years dedicated to Special Education. For the past 12 years, Deanna has devoted her career to Transition Education. Under Federal Guidelines, Transition Education is the period between the ages of 16 and 21. Based on her own experience as both an educator and an advocate for families, Deanna discovered that life after formal education begins long before the age of 16. In June 2023, she established her own business, Graceful Transitions, with the specific intent of supporting families, IEP teams, and fellow educators in creating an environment that produces the best possible outcomes for individuals undergoing profound life transitions.
For more information about Deanna and her work, visit https://tinyurl.com/GracefulTransitions. Transition Education in Missouri, and most states, is considered the time period between the ages of 16 and 21. It refers to planning for life after graduation from K-12 education. Deanna believes families can prepare for "transition" long before age 16, which is the basis of the creation of Life Transition Services for Individuals with Disabilities.
https://sites.google.com/view/graceful-transitions-llc/home?authuser=0
