JobTIPS Included In OCALI Employment Guide

Do2Learn recently heard the fantastic news that our JobTIPS program has been adopted for use in the OCALI Employment Guide!

OCALI or the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence serves families, educators, and professionals working with students with autism and low-incidence disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairments, other health impairments, and traumatic brain injuries. Please visit the OCALI website to learn more about their mission.

The Customized Employment Guide in which JobTIPS is featured in the Sensory section, recommends evaluating and preparing for the sensory environment of the employment setting. To do this they advise using the following:

• Environmental Demands Rating Worksheet
  
  
  
• Dealing with Environmental Demands Worksheet
  

We are thrilled to know that the Do2Learn JobTIPS program is being used to assist so many individuals as they are exploring career interests, seeking and obtaining employment, and successfully maintaining employment.

ASNC and Do2Learn Partner—JobTIPS

In the Winter 2012 Edition of the Autism Society of North Carolina's (ASNC) magazine, The Spectrum, there is a wonderful article about a collaboration between the Training Department at ASNC and Do2Learn with the JobTIPS program. The initial group consisted of five individuals and two facilitators. Please read the entire article for more information about the vocational training group on page 17 of The Spectrum.

JobTIPS is designed to help individuals with disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder explore career interests, seek and obtain employment, and successfully maintain employment. It also addresses the social and behavioral differences that might make identifying and keeping a job more difficult. Do2Learn offers JobTips FREE and the program is designed for direct use by the individual. Often it is more suitable to have someone else go through the program with the individual such as a job coach, parent, teacher, etc. Having this guidance may add structure to the program and having someone there to answer any questions right away is always helpful.

To assist those helping someone going through the JobTIPS program, Do2Learn has a comprehensive tutorial page complete with a step-by-step guide to assist in navigating the website.

For example the explanation of the toolbar:

The main toolbar on the left shows you all the major topics discussed on the website. You can use your mouse to scroll down to the topic you are interested in. If the title becomes highlighted when the cursor is over it, click on it. Most topics have a sidebar that appears the the right, showing the subtopics within that section. Use your mouse to scroll over the subtopic you are interested in and click on the highlighted title to go to that webpage.

The JobTIPS tutorial page further explains in detail videos, tip boxes, printables, key points, why boxes, and navigation arrows. This page is a good place to start when beginning the JobTIPS program for a successful navigation experience.

Do2Learn is committed to assisting those with Autism Spectrum Disorder in finding appropriate employment opportunities. Look for Transition Toolbox coming soon!

What's Your Scene? - JobTIPS

As parents, we have had as many scenes as our children have had developmental stages. The play date at the park scene, the trading off sitter scene, the IEP scene, the doctor's office scene, etc. I think you get the picture. So now we have arrived at our children beginning to look for employment themselves. WHAT? When did that happen? It was not magic and yes it did happen too fast. So now you are in that scene and so is your teen/adult and you need help. We published a great blog in May of 2011 highlighting our JobTips section and I would recommend going back and reviewing that blog.

In the meantime there are 3 scenes that teens/adults will typically find themselves most comfortable in when looking for employment situations.

• “In the Scene” This is basically a customer service position. Some examples of jobs are teacher, waitress, bank teller and retail sales.

• “Behind the Scene” In this type of position you would only occasionally work with customers or others. Some examples of jobs are grocery bagger, cook, auto mechanic, and mailman.

• “Out of the Scene” In a position like this you would likely not work with customers and may work in a area by yourself. Some examples of jobs are office clerk, web developer, book/cartoon illustrator, and mail room worker.

Do2Learn's “What's Your Scene” section has a step-by-step process for teens/adults to go through with a parent, teacher, job coach, other professional, or even on their own to help them determine what employment “scene” is best for them. You will notice there are printables, videos and quizzes included in this section. These resources will help you and your teen/adult in determining where they would feel most comfortable and find the most success in employment.

So what's your scene these days? Share your scene with a teen/adult who is trying to figure out their own employment scene. It just may help them with discovering their own.