VCU RRTC



VCUPROJECT SEARCHEMPLOYMENT PREPARATION FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH AUTISM KATIE SIMS BSMAY 19, 2016Services provided by: Caption First, Inc. >> KATIE SIMS: Hello, I’m Katie Sims. I am a SECEP teacher in Norfolk, for Norfolk Public Schools. But, I’m also a Project Search instructor at Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth, [Virginia], and I work with high school students in their last year. They all have autism and they're working to go from school to work. So my PowerPoint is on employment preparation, and I'm going to go through what I do on a daily basis with my students during instructional time.So, the first three areas, independent living through morning activity and social learning through a question of the day, as well as preparing for changes with the calendar check, those are things that are done daily. And then I break down the organized areas for the different days of the week, like Monday phone calls, Tuesday, job interviews, Wednesday, problemsolving, Thursday, communication, and then Friday independent living or community skills. So, for example, Monday, it would be a morning activity, a question of the day, a calendar check, and then phone calls and so forth. This takes me about? instructional time is about an hour and depending on what you do, it would be around that time. So to start for independent learning I call it our morning activity. I try to keep it short and related to employment, but, of course, there will be times if it's a holiday or something special going on that you can go off about employment. But it is something that they can do independently, because this is something that I have them do when the different students arriving at different times and they can do it at their desk when they are waiting for other students to arrive. I try to keep it related to their interest and I'll go over a few examples.So the first example is word searchs or crossword puzzles, and so if the student wanted to get a job in the cafeteria, for example, or a restaurant, then you could make a crossword puzzle related to words that were in the cafeteria. There's lots of websites out there that will let you create your own word search crossword puzzles. Another example is that email practice, and this could be because the student might be receiving their work schedule when they get a real job through email, or they may get a training or they might want to ask their employer a question. So, knowing how to use email and the etiquette part of it is really important. So if you could practice with them, doing that, that may be something that you have to do oneonone, and do instruction on, but then once they got it it could be something they practice independently each day. Also, another example is a job application.So, then we have to do not only the paper and pencil job application but online, and, you know, it could be their dream job. So if they want to work at T.J. Maxx, get a T.J. Maxx application and have them practice filling out the information. If it's not independent they might need a little bit of support, but see what they can do. Another thing that we do, that they have done independently, is vocational activity.So they might be filing at their desk in alphabetical order, something that they could do on a job, and then something like folding laundry or linens. They can have a packing list, and put together an order by picture or by words. So just anything that will help prepare them for that job that they want to get.So have it related to something that is of interest to them.And moving on to preparing the changes. Every day we do a calendar check. And so I provide my students with a calendar, or if you have an agenda that you can get at like a Dollar Store or something, that would be great. Have them look at the calendar each day for upcoming events. So if there's something going on in the community, for example, on this called there was a heart walk Saturday, staff went to, we wanted to invite the students to come. Then letting them know is a great way for them to get involved in the community. Also, if there was a early release day then they know that that change is coming and they're going to be leaving early that day and their whole schedule is going to change, which I know from my students is really helpful if we support them with that change by leading up to it, not just dropping it on them the day of the change.I've found, also, that sending the parents the calendar is helpful. They can add doctors' appointments to it or something that they might be doing.So? and conversely the teachers and staff can work with them on them and prepare them for those changes.And also, something like a birthday, you know, that's coming up and they might be going out and doing something different on that day for a family event then that helps them prepare for that. If you have something one your class that you do, you can put that on there, and that would help them know what was coming up and going on in your classroom.So, moving on to social learning. I've called this question of the day. Because we just come up with a question, and it might be something that's real familiar to them so they can practice it and do it independently, but it may not.So, if it's unfamiliar, then you could teach the new skill and work on that with them.So I have examples here of what did you do over the weekend? Something that I think all of us talk about with our coworkers or friends.So, practicing that, and then also like something like related to work. So what kind of work do you do? What do you like to do at work?And then something of interest to them, also, is like what kind of music do you like or what TV show do you watch?So practicing that with them is really helpful and it gives them some social learning. I have an example here as well where we've kept it to their interests, and if it's appropriate question for work, which is what did you do over the weekend and then giving them examples of what that might be. So find out from their parents or asking them what do they do on a regular basis, and put a visual in there so that they know what to say when it's their turn. And what this looks like, and my classroom is the staff usually starts off asking the question to one of the students and saying: So what did you do this weekend? And then the staff audience I went to church this weekend and they would ask the students say what did you do this weekend and usually we pick a student that we know can give a fairly good answer for that and model the skill as well. And then they pick. And so it's kind of like turntaking around the room of some social questions. Some of them elaborate on it. Some of them it's real short. But the better they get at it with more practice.So just think of those questions that they would like to talk about, and that they could practice. And it would be great for work.So then I move on to organizing the instruction by the day of the week.And on Monday we do phone calls and this could be things like you're calling out to say that you're sick or you're going to be late.We've also practiced scheduling their public transportation, and maybe something's wrong and they need to call their job coach once they get a job. So we usually start off with the sick or late, because that's something that actually happens at school, as well.And then we have them practice it, keep it really simple with their name, their reason, and then reminding them to use manners. And we have an example of that.So, we use a script. And it's real simple. We actually use our office number. We use our real phone. And have them practice dialing the numbers.And then I'm Katie so I might use myself and say, hello, this is Katie, and then wait for the person to talk and then tell them I'm sick, I'm not coming to work today. And then say that thank you for letting us know and we say thank you, goodbye. So keeping it real simple, where you're calling, your name, why you're not going to be there, and then thanking them for, you know, taking your call.I've learned that if you make it a little bit more fun and silly then they get a little bit more excited about it.So we've come up with something like if they were late, you know, I can see one of my students saying it's raining cats and dogs outside and so I'm going to be really late and I'm not going to? I'm not going to be there today, because, you know, my dog ate all of my work clothes or something like that.So, we? we've tried to make it fun, but then remind them, also, that you can't necessarily do that when it comes to work. You have to be serious, but we try to make it a little fun during the instructional time. This script is an example of one that we made a little bit more individualized. Because the students? this student, in particular, wasn't doing the stop and listening. So if I would? was being bad they would have called and said, hi, I'm Katie. I'm sick, I'm not coming to work today. Thank you, goodbye. So we had to gesture and do the visuals of and as to and listen in between so that they heard the other person. And we practiced it and practiced it.I remember one of my parents doing this with one of their students with me and be on speaker, and the student went through everything of saying they weren't going to be there and they were sick.And the parent then getting on the phone with me when they were finished and just being really sort of just so proud, and couldn't believe that they could do this with the practice. It was only like a month into school. So, giving these guys a little bit of support and practice really makes a huge difference.And they do it. Then they start to call us when they're actually going to be late or they're actually going to be sick. So it really does prepare them for those work skills that we don't always think about. On Tuesdays we do job interview practice. And I use a script. And we talk to them about how they get to work today or what special job skills they have. Using a lot of visuals really helps our guys.So we start off with the visuals, and support them with those, and then we fade them away as we need to.Here is an example of an interview questions that we use for a student that give them help with. We ask them what they like best to do or what they liked about their job and this particular student liked unload ago truck and sorting clothes but then we asked him what do you like least favorite and he said that he doesn't like hanging the clothes on the hangers, so we remind them that everything at work is not going to be everything that they love to do. It might be some of the things that you really love to do, but some things that you don't really love to do. But it is your job to do the things. So we get it all done.We also practice things like do you want to work during the day or at night? And this person wanted? the student said: Daytime worked for them. Paragraph another thing I think about is when you're asking them the questions, asking them in different order, and then also asking them in a different way.Just so that they don't memorize the same exact questions and answers, because they are probably not going to be the same ones with a real interview.So we may ask them: Do you prefer days or nights, just switching it up a little bit.Another thing is asking them for their special job skills, because we want the students to definitely know what their strengths are and be able to tell them.So if they're really good at stocking, then we want them to say: I'm really good at stocking items. I'm a neat stocker.If they're good at cleaning, making sure that they say I like cleaning, I enjoy cleaning or I enjoy organizing. So the special skills that they have, and word that a little bit different sometimes because somebody's not always going to word it as special job skills. And then references was another hard one for my students. They didn't understand what a reference was. But yet it's always going to be on a job application or something they might be asked.So putting a name, and a picture, if you have one, of a reference of somebody that is a teacher or somebody that they can list there that they've worked with is helpful for them to learn these terms that they might not hear until they're doing a job interview.On Wednesday, this is probably one of my favorite ones, is problemsolving scenarios. We definitely have things that we see might come up on a job and we practice.One that I can definitely know that is really helpful is a calming strategy.So this is an example of that question. Using the real life scenarios, and those things that really need to be practiced, because they're going to be important when they come to work, is? so if you're really upset, what would you do? Would you ask for a break and use one of your common strategies? You know, would you get really loud with somebody, or would you? maybe go and ask to talk to somebody about what's going on. So, I like giving a definite wrong answer which obviously is, you know, talking loud to somebody or getting upset and showing it to everybody at work.Or a good answer, which they might need to do until they learn what a common strategy that works for them is, but maybe going and talking to somebody about what's going on, but we know it that that may not always be possible. So teaching them a common strategy and knowing what that is and practicing it is really important. So this is a problemsolving strategies that we've used of giving them the choices, giving the visuals, and having them make the best choice, and then maybe another choice but definitely not the wrong one and what's wrong and why it might happen is important.Thursday we do a variety of things, but it's really just taking some of the things that we've already talked about and narrowing them down soy communication skills at work are really important and definitely things that students with autism need to practice. So I have some examples of requesting help or a break. Using their cell phones, when it's good to use their cell phones or iPods and when it's not. Like I just mentioned using common strategies, also I mentioned before, you know, etiquette. So maybe actually doing a lesson on what you would and what you want to say in email. Smalltalk at work, so the different topics, which you really go back to questions of the day and just go into the different things that you would talk about if you were to make smalltalk at work, and then one that has come up often, where I work is work party etiquette. Because some of the departments are students working, have work party's and so learning things like fair share or when to use a napkin versus your hands and things like that come up. So definitely use things that have come up in actual work situation. And then put them in there and practice them as much as possible.Roleplay with them and then making sure that it's not just with one staff that they're always practicing it with but a variety of staff and then possibly environments for the generalization. And then make sure when you're going over the topics that you're talking about the inappropriate ways to do it and the consequences of those things, so that you're not just talking about the right way to do it, but also the wrong way, want might happen because of that.So I'm going to go over the requesting help and requesting break example that I've done before. And I've just made a TChart and asked them for examples, and usually staff will start off and say, you know, I can think of some reasons why I would ask for help. You know, I'm not sure where a place is within the business. Or if I'm in a break, you know, when would I ask for a break, because I need to go to lunch or, you know, I'm upset right now. I need to take a break and calm down.So just asking them, and then if? once usually we start to tell them some of our reasons then they get the idea, and they start suggesting other reasons. I'm always surprised by what they come up with. They're always interesting. But I? I like when they tell me different things that I haven't thought of. Another thing is, using common strategies and I talked about this a little bit before, I've used this visual, and, of course, it can be a little bit more individualized. And if you know the student, then you could list 2 or 3 ideas, 1 or 2 that you know that they would want to use, but maybe they don't know about different choices. So, having them identify what they could use and then also practicing it a few times is really good.Showing them the different options that they have so they don't have to always use the same one, but it's really important to practice them.So if your student really likes to breathe and take deep breaths and count to ten, then you could put that on there, but maybe they didn't know that, you know, stretching might help them. So actually doing it with them and walking through the steps is a great way for them to practice them and actually apply them when they're in the situations. I actually have them break down the different steps, so in this example I said that I might want to take a fiveminute break.So I show them, you know, it's not just taking a break, but what do you have to do? So you have to ask if you can take a break. And then find that quiet spot. And then just sit and rest, making sure that you've set a timer or a clock that you're not going over five minutes, because more than that, you know you need to get back to work.So? and then returning to work is the final step. So, having them practice these over and over, and not just in the instructional area, but in different environments, so that they get used to doing it. So when that day comes that they are having a really hard day they can actually apply it to the common strategy.I also go over things that are inappropriate to do.So if they were to take a break, and they were just supposed to be resting, because that's what they chose to do, that that doesn't mean that they play loud music or they get on their phone and play games, but they're actually taking arresting break and relaxing. If they chose drawing or something, then, you know, drawing's okay, but just knowing that when the five minutes is up they have to go back to work.Finally, on Friday, we do independent living and community skills. I try to keep it related to their interests so if I know that something's going on in the community, then I try to show them, there's lots of websites out there that have local things out there that are going on, on the weekends or that they could look forward to going to, and it gives you another instructional opportunity to do things like what would you wear? How much would this cost? How are you going to get to that event?But it gives them an outlet for things outside of school or work that I think we all need. So, showing them a couple of those local websites that have events up there is really great.And also things like budget related skills. So some of our guys have never seen a paycheck or know what to expect. How much is taken out of a paycheck. So breaking down and doing a lesson on that is really good. Something really fun, and that they can do on their own is? I have a picture of there? I think of doing trail mix, and so they can work individually to make a thing of trail mix or they could work together in small groups, and, you know, one person put peanuts in and one person put raisins in and one person put M&Ms in and then the last person would sort them and put them in bags, so that's been a really fun activity each time I've done it. And then, yeah, they get to eat a bag, they get to take a bag home to mom and dad or whatnot. And it's teaching them, you know, a fun, functional skill for independent living. I also have done other things in the community, like I said before, we had the heart walk a couple weeks ago, and so having them meet in a certain spot and having the parents meet us and make it where they drop them off and it's more independent and mom and dad aren't right there. And then we met and they can do things out in the community. It's really fun.So, this is another just example of a idea that I've done for instruction. You could use an actual local ad and have them find things there and add it up and see how much it would cost to get the things that they want. And it's a good practice for things like wants and needs, you know.I really need deodorant and a tooth brush but maybe I don't need that monster drink or a Candy, but I want it. So how much is it going to cost me? And talking about how much they're really going to make when they get that paycheck.And what they're going to be able to buy, and just budgeting different? for different things. Actually going to the store and doing some shopping is another great activity.And then switch it up and say: How much can you get with $100 versus $50? And really having them think about what they're going to be able to buy when they get that job and what they are going to spend their money on.Also, things like their public transportation. How much is that going to cost them, and the planning behind that.Like I mentioned before it were the phone calls, being able to use their address, the work address, to be able to use their money to pay for public transportation, and knowing all the information. So lots of independent living skills that you can practice.So, finally, have just with preparing for employment, you want to think about what's going to make your student successful.I've just shared some lessons that I've done. But if you think about your own students you'll think of lots of ideas.I've switched up my lessons monthtomonth and yeartoyear just depending on who I have and their needs and what they come with.So just keep adding and modifying the lessons until they're what works for your classroom.And the more fun and interesting you make it, then the better chance you have of them being engaged and getting the skills. So, I wish everybody luck with their lessons, and thank you.(Session was concluded) ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download