Breadcrumb Trail
Session A: Job Coaching Individuals Diagnosed with Autism: Strategies for Employment Skill Development in a Community-Based Environment
- Date and Time
- Wednesday, April 23, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
- Presenters
-
- Jaina Blackford (Coordinating Teacher, Secondary Education Program II; Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism)
- Rebecca Embacher (Coordinating Teacher, Secondary Education Classroom, Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism)
- Description
This presentation will outline the processes involved with establishing and assessing a vocational training program for individuals with autism spectrum disorder within center-based school programs.
The Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism has developed a Multi-Tiered Secondary Education program to find appropriate, gainful employment for its vocationally aged students in the Community Employment sector. Within the CCCA tier system, approximately 22 students between the ages of 14 - 22 years of age receive daily instruction from 2 coordinating teachers and 10 job coaches. The tier system program includes:
- Teaching and developing vocational skills to prepare individuals for job interviews, job skill safety, socialization within the workplace, and job related responsibilities through the use of role play and video modeling, appropriate hygiene instruction, domestics skill development, activities of daily living training, as well as appropriate use of break time and leisure skills development;
- Contracted Employment Center with a job coach to student ratio of four to one within the school setting;
- Job training experience with a job coach within a protected environment consisting of Environmental Services, Materials Management, Food and Beverage Services, Hospitality and Administration Departments;
- Enclave supported employment orientation training within the community setting;
- Community Based Career Exploration with a job coach to student ratio of three to one with students who rotate through a variety of departments, working along side co-workers and supervisor(s) within a single worksite environment;
- Competitive Employment, which allows the students the opportunity to earn competitive wages in a community-based environment with only minimal support of a job coach.