Step Two- Understanding Work and Leisure Options

Have you explored the variety of employment possibilities that are now available for a person with a developmental disability?

Depending upon your loved one's disability and the local service system, his/her vocational future may be a traditional one, like a workshop or work-training program. Or, your family member may be looking for a job in the community. Many professionals believe that almost everyone can work at a job in the community with the right job, training, and ongoing supports. Because of this thinking, you may see terms like "supported employment", "job coach", or a "competitive job" in the community being discussed as a possibility for your loved one. To help you understand what these terms mean let's look at each one.

Supported employment is a full or part time job in the community. It is made possible by specialized training, continuing job assistance and support services. The person who makes sure all of those things are provided to the individual with disabilities is known as a job coach. The term competitive job simply means the kind of job in the community for which any person, regardless of disability, may apply. If your loved one participates in supported employment, then he/she may also have assistance from a Vocation Rehabilitation (VR) counselor.

Historically, day programs, activity centers, volunteer activities, non-paid work activities, or adult basic education classes were used to teach individuals with disabilities the skills needed to "graduate" to jobs or become involved in the community. But we've learned that these options often segregated people, keeping them non-socialized and strangers in their own communities.

In the past, because professionals and families had few job hopes, they developed alternative programs. The programs were housed in buildings where people with disabilities could learn various life and work skills. They were called sheltered workshops and work activity services. These were designed primarily to provide a safe and structured place outside of the community for persons with disabilities to be trained and employed. Some people still participate in these programs.

Individuals who are now 50 years or older had only one option 30 years ago- the sheltered workshop. It determined a lifelong work pattern, one that was rarely interrupted or changed. It is not unusual to find people who have spent 20, 30, 40 years or more at the same workshop. With little deviation, they have essentially been sitting at the same bench, doing the same job for all these years! The explanation that the person "is happy there" or "enjoys the same routine" may simply mean he/she has never been shown any other possibilities.

Until recently, many professionals and families could not picture people with severe disabilities being hired for real jobs. They felt they required too much skill training and support to function, or that they would be too slow or make too many mistakes. Workers with disabilities are proving these assumptions wrong. Some are now earning competitive wages working in community jobs and learning productive work skills.

A meaningful job is one very important aspect of a quality life. Work is a way of achieving status, self-esteem, and a sense of accomplishment. Yet for many individuals with disabilities, work has not been an option. Unemployment rates for persons with disabilities are four to five times higher than for individuals without disabilities. Not having a job impacts self-esteem, limits leisure and recreational opportunities, restricts a person's lifestyle, and confines relationships to a small circle of family and friends. Supported employment enables people with disabilities, especially those with the most severe disabilities, to get and keep real jobs in their communities.

There are several work choices now for people with disabilities. Knowing about them will help you and your family member make the right choices now and in planning for the future.

Have you considered the leisure activities and opportunities that are now available for people with a developmental disability?

For most people who do not have a disability, the majority of their free time is spent in recreational activities or in performing some sort of voluntary activity. The same options should also be open to people with disabilities. Take the time to reacquaint yourself with the many public and private organizations, cultural activities, and recreational resources that abound in so many Florida communities.

Check out the obvious places such as theme parks and public parks, theaters, museums, zoos, beaches and the many year-round sporting events, both professional and amateur. (Hint: In addition to regularly scheduled professional games, look for football training camps and exhibition games, as well as baseball spring training. These events are often less crowded and more relaxed.) Don't forget concerts (symphonies, choral groups, operas, rock bands and pop stars), the circus, carnivals and county fairs.

Be sure you don't overlook the less obvious places for activities: city and county parks & recreation departments; churches and synagogues; shopping malls and libraries. To get a good overview of what goes on in your community, read the community events section of your local newspaper or your public service cable channel. There you'll find listings of regular meetings of clubs and groups whose members share common interests or hobbies (artists, coin/stamp collectors, bird watchers, hikers, orchid growers, stargazers, etc.).

Once you have an idea of what's out there, bring/arrange for your family member to visit a number of those places or events over time, to see what he/she might be interested in exploring further. Don't be surprised if the interest turns out to be something you never would have guessed. Remember, many people with developmental disabilities have not been exposed to the community or had opportunities to experience various recreational or leisure activities in the same way as people without disabilities do. This could be the first chance to buy tickets, attend meetings or join a group in the community.

For many of us the enjoyment of leisure time is a lifelong option. It enriches our lives and allows us to express personal interests and dreams. It meets our human needs and enhances well-being, as well as provides balance for our work, family, and community responsibilities. For a person with a developmental disability, however, this option is usually minimal, at best. When individuals do take part in leisure activities, their choices are often determined by others. Participation may occur under program goals, or be a group outing for the home or center. Your attention to making choices available in this life area now will help you plan for a better quality of life for your loved one in the future. It may also open new doors to community participation and friendships.

Why should anyone with a disability be interested in volunteering, when he/she should be concentrating on getting a paid job?

For people with disabilities who are in good general health, volunteering at a nursing home, at a child day care center, or another community setting may be a good option. This opportunity will afford your loved one the satisfaction of being able to give to someone else. This privilege is one that many people with disabilities are never allowed, though it can be a great source of satisfaction and self-esteem. Volunteer service by persons with disabilities can be individually meaningful as well as valuable for the community. It can benefit a person in a number of different ways.

Volunteering aids social inclusion, community membership and friendship.
Given the social isolation of many people with developmental disabilities, volunteering is an important and useful avenue for getting to know others. People with disabilities are often not really community members; they go to visit "the community" like tourists. Volunteering alongside a variety of community members is one of the best means there is to meet others, appreciate and befriend them and experience true belonging. Opportunities for friendship increase when community members get to know one person with a disability at a time, rather than have a group thrust upon them. People with who volunteer do so as individuals.

Volunteering is an opportunity to contribute and experience the satisfaction that comes from helping others. How many people with disabilities have the opportunity to believe and say, "They really need me". People with developmental disabilities often are on the receiving end. Many volunteers report a great deal of satisfaction from helping them. When people with disabilities have an opportunity to volunteer, they will experience the same benefits. The more opportunities to contribute to others, the more personal satisfaction is possible.

Volunteering can help in developing marketable skills and job possibilities ... It can provide many opportunities to develop and practice skills that will be useful in paid employment. Also a volunteer job can sometimes evolve into a paid situation. However, a person with a disability should not be volunteering in a situation for which someone else would otherwise be paid. (For more information on this subject see the FAQ's section.)

About 70% of all jobs are obtained through personal contacts. Volunteering in elected officials' offices, chambers of commerce, and city, county and federal public administration offices can provide fruitful networking opportunities. Volunteering can enhance status. The involvement of people with developmental disabilities in community groups and neighborhood efforts can stimulate more highly valued social roles, connecting them with more highly esteemed people, and conferring greater status.

Most of us see retirement time as a period in our lives when we get to do those things which we enjoy most, which fit within our financial means. Whether you have worked outside of the home or not, when you reach a certain age you expect to be able to enjoy some leisure time. Of course, some people choose to semi-retire. For economic or other reasons, a person may work part-time, and still enjoy some leisure activities. (For some people, work is so important that they never expect to retire.) Whatever we choose, we don't expect that other people will make those choices for us.

After many years at the same job people usually want to retire. In the last few years disabilities professionals have recognized that people with disabilities also ought to be able to retire when their working years are over. Some service providers around the country have developed separate retirement programs for their clients. An individual may continue to attend programs daily but participate now in leisure-time activities. Some are reluctant to give up work entirely and continue working one or two days a week. This alternative of semi-retirement allows the older person to continue making some money, and still have time for leisure.

There is another option. The same school of thought that encourages people with disabilities to fully participate in their communities by living and working there also says that retirement should take place in the community. From this viewpoint, a person with a disability should be able to take part in the same kinds of leisure opportunities that are available to the general population.

Just as for anyone else, planning for retirement begins before the individual is ready to retire. First, using the tools in Steps 1 and 4, gauge the individual's interests, preferences, and health status. Then review the types of opportunities available in the community. Match the individual to the appropriate setting(s). Make arrangements for any needed supports, such as transportation or skills-teaching. Some older individuals with disabilities are not familiar with the concept of retirement and they have no preparation for retire.

For this reason, first step is to acquaint older individuals with their retirement options. Persons who are not accustomed to making choices about anything in their lives may need some training on choice-making. Not everyone has acquired the ability to choose; patience is the key.

Beyond the leisure and volunteer activities described earlier, some of the options an older person preparing for retirement should consider are senior centers and nutrition sites in the community. Rather than merely telling a person about opportunities to socialize and to engage in leisure activities, arrange for the individual to visit a senior center, meet the staff and actually participate in activities with the people there.

For those who wish to continue to work part-time, a "trial" retirement schedule can be arranged. This may include attending a center full-time or part-time, or working part-time, while participating in some senior center activities or in other community clubs or leagues. The variety and possibility of choices for retirement activity are many. The chance to sample some of these community experiences first hand will give the individual a good way of understanding these choices.

Once the actual retirement activity schedule is determined, a plan should be made to help the person transition to the new activities. This may include making transportation arrangements, becoming a member of the center or club, being introduced to other participants, learning new routines and schedules, acquiring a particular craft skill, or obtaining needed materials, etc.

Whatever his/her final choices are for work and leisure, the person should find the new routine fulfilling and enjoyable. With careful planning he/she can participate in activities which are highly valued in the community, make new friends, and enjoy a new found sense of self-esteem.

Do you know what supported employment really means? Or what the various options for volunteering that are open to a person with a developmental disability? Do you understand about Social Security benefits and working? Do you understand how/why a person with a disability can retire? If you answered NO to any of these questions, please see the Work & Leisure "Definitions" section by Clicking Here.