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Employment Options
One of the biggest problems for young adult is securing and maintaining a job. Statistics say that only one third of people with disabilities are working in our society. Many say that the reason for this high unemployment rate has to do with several different factors. Factors such as lack of appropriate education, the nature and severity of the individual's disability, lack of social skills, and lack of assistive devises to aid in job performance. Many of these problems are being addressed in training programs, and by supervisors. Study's show that people with disabilities that work have a more enlightened outlook on life and how they see themselves.
With the above information in mind what employment options are available to people with disabilities who are making the transition form school to the real world? There are basically three options, competitive employment, supported employment, and sheltered employment. The employment option that will be most suitable for your child will depend on the nature and severity of his or her disability and the amount of support needed to maintain employment.
One option, competitive employment, is basically full-time or part-time jobs that have competitive wages and responsibilities. With competitive employment, the individual would not receive any more outside support than a person without a disability. The student may still use transition services to prepare for or find a competitive job, but once the student has the job the support from the services are terminated. Some examples of jobs that would fall under this category are clerks, factory workers, computer programmers, and service station attendants just to name a few.
The second option is supported employment, which is specifically for individuals with severe disabilities.With this a person with severe mental or physical disabilities are able to work in their community alongside their non-disabled coworkers. This support is also provided so that the individual with a disability can learn and maintain a job. This service continues to be provided as long as the job is kept. Some examples of jobs that would fall under this category are janitorial services and groundskeeper.
The third option, sheltered employment is where the person with a disability works in a self contained area alongside others who are disabled. This employment is usually part of a series of guided training, such as going from day programs that teach social skills and prevocational skills, to work activity centers that offer training in a vocational skill, to the sheltered employment where jobs consist of packaging, sewing, or machine assembly. One major company that offers sheltered employment is Goodwill Industries. This company's web site can guide its' users through the steps to employment through there company.