Submitted by osamabindrinkin on
in
Forums
Hi, I work in employment services, specifically for people with a disability, and I have a young man who will be finishing high school next year who is in a wheelchair and has very limited use of one hand. He can perform some tasks, like text messaging, and his home computer has voice recognition software enabled.
He is a very intelligent kid, with a great sense of humour and great attitude, and I'm trying to look fairly creatively at career options for him. I was wondering if anyone here had any people with similar disabilities employed in their workplaces, and if so could you please tell em am little about what they do. Also any resources or web sites that might help me look outside the box would be very much valued.
Although I'm not " the manager " I find this site to be an interesting resource as I read a posting about some issues a manager had with an employee they had with ADHD.
I would like to some day be manager of a service like the one where I am currently employed, and technically I " manage " career paths and study options for up to 30 people at a time, all with unique challenges, from physical, to psychiatric and intellectual.
I hope this site can be another useful tool for direction and inspiration for me, because some times it can be lacking!
Thanks from Australia!
You left out one important
You left out one important thing--what is the kid interested in?
That is going to be key at his being successful at whatever he chooses.
Otherwise, you are letting his disability define his career.
Align needed skills with abilities
(I'm broadening the scope of some of my comments beyond your specific question)
Most everyone likes to be a contributing member of society. And most everyone tends to like doing what they're good at.
Shifting one's focus from the disability to the abilities allows identification of what they're good at, and could be successful at.
Poor cognitive skills but strong sense of responsibility? Cleaning and janitorial skills can be a good fit. Social deficits but organized and logical? Perhaps sorting mail, programming computers, shipping and receiving... You get the idea.
If you think about everyone in terms of their skills and how to match that skill with a job's requirements, you can find opportunities.
We don't know if your "kid" is good with math or can proofread/edit work, or fact check for writers, or do data entry, or even train to be psychologist. While all these jobs require a minimum of physical exertion, the right position will vary according to what s/he is capable of. You can help them figure this out.
John
Yeah, what John said :)
Yeah, what John said :)