19 year old is 2008 Mayor’s Committee Employee of the Year – Autism Job Story
“Nathan is nonverbal and needs to be supervised at all times. He attended school with the assistance of a 1:1 aid until middle school and then was homeschooled due to the inadeqaucies of the schools. He also has been involved in our home Lovaas/ABA program since he was 6.
When he was 16 we started considering what employment he may enjoy and be successful in. We looked at his strengths and then looked at jobs where he could use his strengths. He always likes going to hotels and pushing the luggage carts so we thought a hotel bell boy would be a good job for him. We worked on lifting heavier items and pulling carts, etc.
When he was 17 we decided to approach hotels about employment. We made a resume just like anyone else would have. We had references, experience, education, etc. We feel it is important to present Nathan just as any employee would present themselves. We did not go to employers asking for favors. We just asked for an interview and wanted them to see Nathan as someone who could be productive.
The first hotel I called I spoke with the HR director and explained we would like Nathan to be considered for employment as a bell boy at the hotel. An interview was arranged and Nathan, his current teacher/job coach to be, and us, his parents, met with the hotel staff. We presented his resume and they presented the various job possibilities. We met with the HR director, general manager and the supervisors of various depts. You may call it luck, but they were very accepting of Nathan and wanted to “make it work”.
Nathan went to the hotel once a week for an hour or so for about a month just walking through the work areas of various jobs. He was accompanied by the HR director and job coach and myself. The employer was very aware of his strengths and the job expectations so she knew where the best match would be. After a month it was decided that the position as a Steward in the kitchen would be Nathan’s best fit.
The job coach was one of Nathan’s current teachers/ABA therapists and he went to the hotel without Nathan and was trained and oriented so he could better assist Nathan on the job. Nathan began working as a Steward very gradual. At first he went only one day a week for an hour and then increased the time to about 3 hours and then added a day and now, 2 1/2 years later, is working 4-5 days a week for about 4-6 hours a day. There are about 3 major parts of the stewarding job so he learned them one at a time. He is now learning to be more independent in all areas of his job. The job coach is needed to keep Nathan on task and to keep him safe. He may run off or leave the work area. He also may sit, lie on the floor if he is wanting to avoid work, or for attention, etc. We have a very specific behavior plan we use at the hotel and at home. Nathan will most likely always need a job coach to keep him safe.
We approached DARS when Nathan first got his job to ask about job coaching. He did qualify for services but they said they could not get him a job coach that would be trained to work with him. So we kept our current teacher/job coach who already was trained. Also, DARS services are very short term and Nathan will need life long services. This is something I have discussed with DARS in relation to those with autism and how the State agencies will need to modify services to work for those who need them long term.
In October 2008 Nathan was awarded the Employee of the Year Award from the Austin Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities and the hotel he works for was given the Employer of the Year Award. His success has come from strictly following a behavior program and ABA program as well as presenting him as a capable person who can be productive. Also we have found an employer that sees him as a true valuable member of their team.
The advice I would give is no matter how involved your child is, they can find a place to work that they will enjoy. And do not wait around and rely on government agencies to get our children jobs and job coaches but to do it yourself. And for sure always show how they can be productive and valuable to the employer.
A favorite quote of mine came from the hotel HR director when I was thanking her for employing Nathan.
She said, “We have 21 languages spoken here and his is just another.” What an accepting way to look at the behaviors of those who are “different.” “
Thank you for sharing your wonderful story. I work with low income high school students with autism. I have not had much luck with DARS either. I’m curious about why they couldn’t get a job coach trained to work with Nathan. How did you find your current job coach?
DARS not only would not have found him a job coach, they admitted they would not have found him a job either. So basically it is good we went on our own and sought employment, with no help of any agency. Nathan’s job coach was someone who was already his homeschool/ABA therapist who had been trained by us to work with Nathan. The typical job coaches would not know how to work with someone as involved as Nathan. They do no know how to work with those with behaviors either. So we feel we will always need to hire and train the job coaches. This is the time consuming and demanding part of this that I feel DARS need to be able to do. But the way they are set up now, they do not do this for those with autism. We are working on educating them to undersrtand the need for long term/life long job coaching needs of those with significant needs. Presently they try to limit their services to only a few months. Let me know if I can be of more help.