Project SEARCH and UNC TEACCH Autism Program: Transition from

Secondary School to Employment for Young Adults with ASD.

6/5

/20

14

PS

co

pyrig

ht

1

Program Philosophy

People with disabilities have the right to choose a path toward education and employment. However, while freedom of choice is given, the right to work is earned. Earning the right to work is dependent upon the student's preparation.

Stephen Simon, ADA Quarterly, Fall 1998

6/5

/20

14

PS

co

pyrig

ht

Funding for Employment

• Serial Funding

Education VR DD

• Project SEARCH Funding

Education

VR

DD

P

S

Collaboration and Shared Resources

6/5

/20

14

Education

Long-term

Support

Supported

Employment

Agency

Business

Government

programs

PS

co

pyrig

ht

Program Description

• One school year or 9 months

• 10-12 young adults with a variety of intellectual and developmental disabilities

• Instructor and job coaches

• Immersed in host business culture

• Rotations through unpaid internships with continual feedback

• Outcome of employment in the community

6/5

/20

14

PS

co

pyrig

ht

Program Description-Eligibility Criteria

• 18 – 21 years old

• Last year of school eligibility or DD eligible adult

• Eligible for services

• Appropriate hygiene, social, and communication skills

• Ability to take direction and change behavior

• Access public transportation

• Pass drug screen, background check

• Desire to Work!

PS

co

pyrig

ht

6/5

/20

14

Annual Project SEARCH Schedule

AUG JUNE

1st Internship

Graduate &

Begin Work

at Site or in

Community

2nd Internship 3rd Internship

3 week

Orientation

Transition

WeekTransition

Week

Begin PS

Program

Employment Planning Meetings 2 each internship

Job Search intensifies during 2nd Internship

Family Involvement and BAC

PS

co

pyrig

ht

6/5

/20

14

A Day in the life of a Project SEARCH Student

• 8:00 Employability Skills

• 9:00 Internship site

• 11:30 Lunch

• 12:15 Internship site

• 2:00 Review, Plan, Journaling

• 2:30 Depart

6/5

/20

14

PS

co

pyrig

ht

Interns

Individual

Internship

sites

Instructor

Job Coach

Instructor

Job Coach

Business Liaison

Internships

• Marketable Skills

• 4 – 5 hours of day, 910 per year

• Work/ Social Skills

• Integrated

• Cascading skills

• For the benefit of the student, not the benefit of the host employer

6/5

/20

14

PS

co

pyrig

ht

Nontraditional Jobs

Not the “Easiest Jobs”

But

“Complex and Systematic”

6/5

/20

14

© CCHMC 1/3/06

PS

co

pyrig

ht

Changing expectations

Gretchen in Materials Management

6/5

/20

14

PS

co

pyrig

ht

Accommodations and Adaptations

6/5

/20

14

PS

co

pyrig

ht

Pictures Instead of Words

Specialty Equipment (Isolettes)

A Work Aid Book On The Wall

“This paper presented the results of a randomized clinical trial of Project SEARCH

vs standard high school transition on the employment outcomes for youth with

Autism Spectrum Disorder between the ages of 18-21 years of age. This model

provides very promising results in that the employment outcomes for youth in the

treatment group were much higher in non-traditional jobs with higher than minimum

wage incomes than for youth in the control group. Specifically, 21 out of

24 (87.5%) treatment group participants acquired

employment while 1 of 16 (6.25%) of control group

participants acquired employment.”

Wehman, Schall, McDonough, Kregel, Brooke, Molinelli, Ham, Graham, Riehle, Collins and Thiss. Competitive Employment for Youth with Autism

Spectrum Disorders: Early Results from a Randomized Clinical Trial. J Autism Dev Disord. DOI 10.1007/s10803-013-1892-x

21

Results with Young Adults with ASD

NYCA-funded ‘Autism Augmentation Project’

6/5

/20

14

PS

co

pyrig

ht

22

• Cornell University and NYCA

• Virginia Commonwealth University

• TEACCH

• Project SEARCH

• University of Cincinnati UCEDD

High Expectations Lead to Big Changes

6/5

/20

14

PS

co

pyrig

ht

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

TEACCHAUTISM PROGRAM

www.TEACCH.com

PROJECT SEARCH HIGH SCHOOL

TRANSITION PROGRAMAt High Point Regional, High Point, NC

A Collaboration Between High Point Regional, Guilford County Schools,

Sandhills Center and the TEACCH Autism Program

(including funding from Lincoln Financial Foundation)

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

OUR PATH TO PROJECT SEARCH

TTAP (TEACCH Transition Assessment Profile) by Gary Mesibov, John B. Thomas, S. Michael Chapman and Eric Schopler

“Assessment is the heart of learning”

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

TTAP

(TEACCH TRANSITION ASSESSMENT PROFILE)

…Identifies variables across assessment areas

Functional Communication

Interpersonal Behaviors

Independent Functioning

Leisure Skills

Vocational Behaviors

Vocational Skills

Strengths

Challenges

Environmental Accommodations

Emerging Skills

Goals

Preferences

Learning Style

Motivators

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

STUMBLING BLOCKS PRE-PS

School staff time

Requirements other than student employment

Student/teacher ratio

Assistants needed training

Difficult to individualize

Student/teacher ratio

Established sites – group work

Limited Internship time during school day/school year

Travel requirements

Student stamina

Inconsistent volunteer time

School activity interruptions

Business interruptions

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

PROJECT SEARCH

Dedicated classroom and teacher (who also provides job coaching)

School day and year focused on employment

Goals/curriculum for other areas of adult life included

Trained job coaches

Business-led model

Business liaison

“Inside track” with internship sites

Committed supervisors and mentors

Family preparation for employment/adult life

Gradual transition from school as structure/scaffolding to job as structure/scaffolding

Attach adult goals/skills/environments and activities

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

ACCOMMODATIONS/ADAPTATIONS/SUPPORTS

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

HARD SKILLS

Task analysis of the job(s)

Academic-type tasks involving:

counting,

alphabetizing,

sorting,

matching,

reading, etc.

“How to….”, “Steps for…”

Examples:

Steps for taking inventory,

How to make a cart run,

How to put the packets together,

Steps for cleaning the phlebotomy carts, etc.

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

SOFT SKILLS

Everything else:

Interpersonal Behaviors

Greeting coworkers

Vocational Behaviors

Response to corrections

Functional Communication

Communicates needs

Independent Functioning

Time management/follows schedule

Leisure Skills

Break time

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

Allows for tools to be adapted

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

Move from concrete to more abstract supports

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

Practicing skills in the classroom

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

Chairann's Average Employee Average Chairann's Tray TimesDay 1 45 20

Day 2 49 20

Day 3 38 20

Day 4 34 20

Day 5 32 20

Day 6 28 20

Day 7 34 20

Day 8 26 20

Day 9 25 20

Day 10 21 20

Day 11 21 20

Day 12 22 20

Day 13 19 20

Day 14 21 20

Day 15 20

Day 16 20

Day 17 20

Day 18 20

Day 19 20

Day 20 20

Day 21 20

Chairann's MistakesDay 1 7

Day 2 4

Day 3 5

Day 4 3

Day 5 3

Day 6 2

Day 7 3

Day8 2

Day 9 2

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Goal 0

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Day1

Day3

Day5

Day7

Day9

Day11

Day13

Day15

Day17

Day19

Day21

Chairann's Average

Employee Average

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Da

y 1

Da

y 2

Da

y 3

Da

y 4

Da

y 5

Da

y 6

Da

y 7

Da

y8

Da

y 9

Da

y 10

Da

y 11

Da

y 12

Da

y 13

Da

y 14

Da

y 15

Da

y 16

Go

al

Chairann's Mistakes

Chairann's MistakesProductivity AccountabilityAccuracy

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

Teaching coworkers/supervisors how to use structure

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

1 2 3

Setting upyour own structure

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

ACCOMMODATIONS/ADAPTATIONS/SUPPORTS

Soft SkillsTeach across sites and internships

Frequently not addressed by support staff until a problem occurs

More challenging to learn and maintain for ASD

Conceptual

More variables to cause differences

More job losses occur because of soft skill challenges compared to hard skill challenges

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

Greetings

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

How to get help

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

Jane’

Conversational skills “Conversation Books” for

break times For students and coworkers

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

Coping skills

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

Learn a routinePractice before you start work each dayPractice at lunch/breakLearn to do when you are upset

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

Differences between work/adult life and school/student life

Leisure skills goals

TEACCH

www.TEACCH.com

HIGH EXPECTATIONS LEAD TO BIG CHANGES

6/5 /2014PS COPYRIGHT

High School Transition that Works: Lessons Learned from Project SEARCHBy Maryellen Daston, Erin Riehle, and Susie Rutkowski

Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc.

11

/2011

PS

co

pyrig

ht

For more information go to:http://projectsearch.us/