| ASA's 36th National Conference on Autism Spectrum Disorders (July 13-16, 2005) |
ASA Homepage |
| Friday, July 15, 2005: 10:30 AM-12:00 PM | |||
| 210 | |||
| #1502- No Adults Left Behind: Strategy Plans for winning the Unemployment/Underemployment War. | |||
| Using the Principles of Sun Tzu’s classic “Art of War” this workshop presents a “How To” manual enabling “Transitioning” individuals with ASD and families to prepare for suitable employment, enter the workforce, and remain employed. Employer motivation, Assistive Technology, Effective Communication and the art of “Social Warfare” will be discussed | |||
| Presenter: | - Dr. Herman Fishbein has presented and written nationally and internationally on adult issues in ASD, including Electronic Self-Monitoring of Behavior, Asperger Disorder Treatment, Developing Transitional School to Work Models, Residential Living Options, and Social Pragmatics. Dr. Fishbein is also CEO of the Autism/Asperger Strategy Center in Florida. | ||
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| In the Neuro-typical world, reaching the age of 21 implies freedom, opportunity and independence. For many individuals on the autism spectrum, the opposite is true. All the entitlements of IDEA disappear. All the supports vanish and the opportunities fade away. Welcome to the world of ASD Adulthood! This presentation details the Battle Plan for success in winning the Unemployment/Underemployment War. A greater battle never existed, with over 75% of Individuals with ASD being unemployed or underemployed and more than 50% of those employed losing their jobs soon after beginning employment. The very nature of the definition of the words, Autism Spectrum Disorder demonstrates the combative nature of the situation: Autism: condition disturbing perceptions and relationships Spectrum: A range, band, field, gamut, variety, scale, continuum Disorder: chaos, disarray, confusion, mess, muddle, turmoil, anarchy, mayhem, bedlam, unrest. Sun Tzu's “The Art of War” has been deemed a classic strategy guide for teaching how to win military battles and ultimately win a war. It explores leadership principles that enable the mastery of objectives, and ultimately teaches ways to secure the final victory. These principles have been modified and adapted to allow the individual with autism to develop a master plan, explore objectives and learn life's lessons on how to secure a job and most importantly, how to keep the job. Like a game of chess, the individual with autism follows a logical organized path towards career independence and social understanding. Simple though they may be, these principles provide a basic and concrete way to plot a successful path to a good career and to a life filled with social and community opportunities, by presenting simple "tools" such as scripting and sequencing job related activities. These basic “principles” have been updated to allow for the use of technology, development of social and occupational pragmatics, and the influences of the “Sacred Three Needs For Success", namely: Environment Strategies Office Politics Awareness Social Skills Coping Strategies Each of these areas will be explored in depth as part of the creation of a “Battle Plan for Career Success”, as the indiviual on the spectrum learns the path to becomimg a wise, savvy "road warrior". While many Individuals on the autism spectrum are concerned with getting a job, the harsh reality is that it's easier to get a job than to keep a job. Often a lack of environmental knows how, office politics naivety and social skill misunderstandings cause many, otherwise hardworking, knowledgeable, skilled workers to be terminated. Each of these anticipated obstacles can be prepared for in advance. Transitional programs in most schools are geared to exploration of various professions. Job requirements, education, skill sets and prerequisites are presented without an understanding of the particularly unique learning styles and needs of Individuals on the autism spectrum. Schools and Trade schools assume that these skills can be taught in a protected secured school environment and then generalized to the broader community. Clearly this becomes a plan for disaster. The difficulty of individuals with autism to generalize often makes success impossible. Supportive employment programs often do not allow for “real time” experiences for the workers. Often they are allowed only a few hours during the school day. This tends to be a problem for a number of reasons. During the day, business is usually at a slower pace, with fewer customers, less questions and less pressure. This presentation (PowerPoint) will review the history of the Vocational/Career Education Movement, Changes in Special Education and Career Education Law and ways to organize the employer community to be more receptive to hiring individuals on the spectrum. Job Coaching models, Supportive employment trends, Community Coalitions, new uses of applied technology and parent involvement strategies will also be discussed. All participants will receive a " Taste of Victory: Warrior's Cookbook". | |||
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