Seeing a Brighter Future Employment for Youth with Disabilities Webinar

Stella: Well, good morning, everyone, and welcome to our presentation today. I am Stella Beard the Assistant Director for Kentucky SPIN. And today we are going to be hosting a webinar called Employment for Youth with Disabilities, seeing a Brighter Future.

[00:00:18] And I am so excited that we have Stephanie Meredith, who will be co-presenting with me. She is the Medical Outreach Director for the Human Development Institute. And also, Stephanie was very instrumental in providing and getting this PowerPoint and presentation together for the Human Development Institute with KentuckyWorks. And we’ll let her talk about that in just a few minutes, but I want to tell you just a little bit of housekeeping things, and then we’ll get started.

[00:00:49] First of all, you will notice on the right hand side, kind of your dashboard, and there is a button there called handouts. You can click on that and it has the PowerPoint from today. And it also has a few additional handouts. But following the presentation, tomorrow, you will also receive a follow-up email that will also have all of the handouts from today, but also some additional handouts that we’ll provide you with. It will also have a certificate of attendance for attending today’s one hour webinar. So all of that will come in a follow-up email.

[00:01:27] During the presentation today, if you have a question, you can type that in the question box. And I will try to monitor those as we go along. If we don’t get to all of your questions during the presentation, we will follow-up with you on an email, following today’s presentation.

[00:01:48] So just so I can kind of know who our audience is today. If you can take just a few minutes and type in the chat box, if you’re a parent, if you’re a professional, if you’re worked with an agency, just kind of let us know who you are, where you’re from. And, just a little bit of information. That’ll help us kind of know who our audience is. And so keep us kind of connected a little bit. So if we just take a few minutes and type that in there, I would really, really appreciate it. As I tell you a little bit about, Kentucky SPIN.

[00:02:25] First of all, Kentucky SPIN, we are the parent training and information center for the state of Kentucky. We’re funded by the US Department of Education. We are a nonprofit 501-C3, and we work and support families who have children and youth with all types of disabilities from birth through age 26. We provide resources and lots of wonderful resources for families.

[00:02:52] During this pandemic that we’ve been going through we have been providing webinars since March. So we have been very, very proactive in that. And, you can find all of those options, our website, and we will give you that link as we go on. But I’m very excited for the presentation today. One thing too, you’ll notice it might be a little lag in the slides coming up on your screen. So just be patient with us in that sometimes, you know, we’re all working from home right now, and you might even hear my dog bark. I hope not, but it might happen. My children are here. And so it’s a little hard for me to keep everyone silent during the presentation, but we’re going to do our best.

[00:03:42] But first of all, we do not act as attorneys, but what we do is we empower families to effectively advocate for their children. And we provide peer support to help families access the much needed information and resources. Also on our webpage, you will find a wonderful resource page of educational resources regarding COVID-19 that I think will be very informative for you.

[00:04:09] So without further ado, we’re going to get started now and I’m going to ask Stephanie if she can unmute herself so we can hear her. Stephanie, can you hear us?

[00:04:20] Stephanie: I sure can. Thanks so much Stella.

[00:04:22] Stella: Great. We are so happy to have you today. As we talk about employment for youth with disabilities and seeing a brighter future. We’re going to get started and Stephanie and I are going to kind of tag team. So we may, you know, interact with each other, my hope that that is okay for you all.

[00:04:42] But today people with disabilities are working in their communities, they’re attending college programs, they’re starting families and owning homes. I know that is a golfer, my son Clayton. And I know it’s a goal for Andy who is Stephanie son, that she’ll be talking about too. Speaking up for themselves, developing meaningful friendships and relationships and living independent lives based on their own goals and dreams. And that is so very important. You know, they’re living in their community, in a variety of professions, you know, teaching assistants, artists, musicians, my son’s a public speaker. So he’s loving that, medical assistance. I know Stephanie said, Andy is an entrepreneur and has his own photography business. And so much more they’re attending programs for people with intellectual developmental disabilities, and also they are attending colleges nationwide.

[00:05:40] They’re getting married, they’re owning their own homes and they’re being included in schools and communities. So we have seen lots of wonderful things happen with our young adults with disabilities, which makes me extremely happy. But, you know as we talk about this, we all have hopes and dreams for our children for their future. I know I do. I know Stephanie does. And I think that has been something that has been very valuable and we have seen grow in our nation over the last few years, which makes me very happy.

[00:06:16] But one thing we have to realize is that work is possible for everyone. And just some questions that you can talk about, you know, what do you want to be when you grow up? And every child deserves to develop their talents and follow their dreams, but employment should be a goal at a very early age. And I think that is so very important to do when. When my son was younger, we we’ve never made it an option, we’ve always said, you know, Clayton, you will go to work. So at 16 he started, he’s 25 now he’s, I’m sorry, he’s 24. Oh my goodness, I was rushing his age there. 24, but he has worked since he was 16 at the same job. And of course, things have expanded though, he’s worked at a couple of different things and now he’s doing some public speaking and being an entrepreneur. So I think that that is very, very important that we start early on with our kids making work, something that is just an expectation, a high expectation for them.

[00:07:19] And speaking of that, we need to raise that expectation bar and working in the community for a competitive wage, you know, and having competitive employment is so important. And what that means is, is working full or part time or self-employed with, or without supports, in the labor workforce, on the payroll of a competitive industry, not a provider, but a competitive industry. And at least working for minimum wage and possibly benefits, which I think is so very, very important.

[00:07:58] And it’s, you know, competitive employment, it’s just like work for most, the way most people envision it. It’s where an employee works at a job in the community for an employer instead of in a sheltered workshop or a day program that we’ve seen a lot in our society.

[00:08:16] But I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this, but I want you to know that legislation and supports employment as the priority for all people. Kentucky is known as an employment first state. And also I DEA, which is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act supports inclusion and a required role of school and transition. And so I think that is very, very important. And WIOA provides pre-employment training services for in school youth with disabilities. And as I said, Kentucky is now an employment first state. Where paid, competitive employment in the community should and has, and is now the first goal in transition, so I think that that is very, very important for us to know and be aware of for our young adults that are transitioning out of high school.

[00:09:15] But raising those expectations at school. So transition services. We need to make sure that transition services, that that transition conversation starts at age 14. And then by age 16, we need to make sure that there’s an employment goal in your son or daughter’s IEP for after high school. And I think that that is so very critical and so very important for our transition age students. That employment is something that is very critical and included in their IEP.

[00:09:49] We’re not going to spend a lot of time talking about that, but we want to make sure that you know that and make sure that annual goals are related to your son or daughter’s post-school employment goal in the IEP. And also know seek help  if you have questions, don’t ever, you know, just think well, I’m not going to ask that question. That might be a silly question because it’s not. But Kentucky regulations require that the transition conversation starts at age 14 or in the eighth grade, whichever comes first. And that your son or daughter must be included in that conversation.

[00:10:26] I know my son started attending those IEP meetings when he turned 14 and that was so valuable and so very critical for his voice to be heard at that time. So that is so, so very important. And I think that that is something that we, as parents need to be aware of.

[00:10:47] My son Clayton has, like I said, has been working since he was, 16 and that’s him on the right there. And he has been very involved in public speaking and, you know, attending things where his voice can be heard and being that self-advocate. And I think that is so important. He has an employment video, I’m not going to show it right now for time because Stephanie and I have a lot of stuff that we do want to get involved in, but when you do receive the PowerPoint in your handouts, you will have a link to that video. And I would encourage you to take a few minutes and watch that. It just shows the importance of employment in someone with more of an intellectual disability and how that is so valuable.

[00:11:32] He works at a cafe that he’s worked at since he was 16, but he also has a job in a daycare center. Which I think is so important. And also he does work as a, excuse me, I’m going to go ahead and skip that, he also works as a public speaker, which I think is really, really important. So Stephanie, I’m going to let you talk here for a few minutes and take us into the role of employment and why it’s so important.

[00:12:06] Stephanie: Awesome. Thank you so much, Stella. And so, you know, what we really want to set as the precedent here is that employment is that ultimate goal. So throughout those school years, throughout childhood, there are lots of steps you can take and put in place to prepare for employment and for the valuable role it can have in your child’s life.

[00:12:29] And so I’ll kind of start off with the story of my own son. And, do the next side Stella. So, just to kind of give you some background on this, so Andy, my son is 20 years old with down syndrome. And when he was about 16, we were in the car driving home from school and he said, mom, you know, I want to go work at Publix, which is our local grocery store right outside of our subdivision. And he said that because a lot of his friends from school that he or his peers were starting to work there. And so he just had that natural expectation that he would do what everyone else was doing.

[00:13:09] And, you know, my first thought was, oh my gosh, how am I going to prepare for that? I need to figure out how to contact VocRehab and get a job coach. And in Andy’s head, he was thinking he was telling me what he was going to do that day. I didn’t quite catch onto that. So while I was cooking dinner, he took off on his bike and headed over to the grocery store. I didn’t realize until I told my daughter to call him down for dinner, that his bike was gone and that he’d taken off.

[00:13:38] And I two missed calls from him where he left me messages saying, mom,  I go to Publix. I go get a job, you come get me. And so, you know, first of all, I was terrified because he’d taken off without telling me on his bike, it was starting to get dark. I didn’t want him to ride back by himself. But my husband, you know, kind of gave me some perspective and he’s like, Stephanie, would you have ever imagined that at 16, our biggest concern would be that he took off to go get a job on his own?

[00:14:04] And you know, that was humbling to think, wow, you know, this is really the challenge we want in life is for our kids to have that ambition. And they were so impressed with his initiative that they said get him scheduled for, you know, submit the application, get him scheduled for an interview, and we’re pretty sure we can come up with five to 10 hours a week for him to work, cause he was still in school. Well, you know, he’s now been, he had been working there over three years until COVID hit. And we’ll talk a little bit about that too, but really for the past three years he’s been working on that and also developing a career as a photographer. So those different capacities in which he’s been working have really played an important role in his life, in developing social connections, you know, making friends from work. He’s got one buddy from work. who takes them out for his birthday and they go out for movies and then other friends that he just sees in the community.

[00:15:04] A sense of worth, you know, our kids with disabilities want to know that they’re contributing to the world too and sharing their talent. It also helps them to manage money, that picture down there, Andy, with his first and actually only paycheck because it went to direct deposit after that, but that was a real sense of pride for him. And he loves to be able to allocate what he’s going to spend his own money for, which gives him some independence, you know, he can do things that he wants to do and behave just like any other adult would. Another one of our favorite stories is probably about a year or year and a half after he started working, my husband went to go pick him up and he wasn’t waiting outside where my husband would have expected him to. And he ended up calling Andy and he answered and he says I’m by the restaurant. And he took a picture of the menu to show my husband where he was at, cause he couldn’t quite, he didn’t remember the name of the place he was at, it was at a strip mall where his job is located. And when Justin walked in there, Andy was sitting in a back corner booth, that’s like two or three in the afternoon. He had his debit card, he placed an order for the food he wanted and motioned for his dad to come over. My husband said he looked like a mafia boss in the back there just kind of sitting and had his whole spread. And he told my husband, he’s like, dad, I bought you a drink. And he had that sense of independence of a good job. Alright, next side.

[00:16:39] So really, as you’re moving forward, you have to ask, what does your son or daughter like to do? Are they a social person? Do they want more of a social job? Are they more into computers? You know, I’ve got some interns who work for me who have other kinds of disabilities and they are better at computer work or organization skills. Are they into cooking? You know, there was this woman with down syndrome that I recently read a story about where she made these cookies, chocolate chip cookies with cinnamon, that it were amazing. And so her mom ended up trying to help her build a business doing that and working at a bakery. So really look at what are they good at? What are their talents and skills? Do they enjoy animals? Do you want to have them work, you know, in some capacity with stables? I mean, there are just so many options, but it takes a real exploration of their skills and talents and interests. Right. Next slide.

[00:17:40] Okay. So one thing, something that can kind of be challenging as we’re thinking about for our children, their talents and skills, and as they’re starting to think about that themselves, it’s how do we convey that to the professionals in their lives and other people? And so that’s where we’ve developed some of these vision statements that can be helpful in conveying that information to the support network that we really need to be helping with our kids.

[00:18:09] This is a vision statement for younger students that was developed by Tiffany Stafford, and I have a link there that you can go to, to access a template for this. But this is for younger children where you start. Even from the very beginning saying, we envision our child living a life of choice and envision her doing work that she enjoys, and that makes her feel productive. That’s an important vision to share from the very beginning. And so what they, you know, outlined in this particular statement is her strengths. What she’s working on, what works, what doesn’t work and what her interests are. So you’re portraying your child as the totality of a person, with their interests, skills, strengths, challenges all put together so that you can work together toward that bigger vision of work in the future. And it really does have to start as early as possible. If you’re not there, if you pass that point, it’s never too late to start. But if you’ve got a younger child, you can go ahead and get started. So let’s move on to the vision statement for older students. We’ve got next.

[00:19:24] And so this is the vision statement, you know, when our kids are younger, we start off kind of sharing that vision based on what we observe about our child and what they’re saying at that point. But as they get older, it’s really important to start handing the reins over to them to share that vision as they are, you know, able to express more and do more. And so Andy really was more instrumental in creating this vision statement where he says, you know, I get my own studio. I get a small house and I love this part, I want to go to college and live in a new house by myself. And just so everyone knows that was most definitely a dig at me. He didn’t say, mom, not you, I want to be out on my own. And I love that he has that vision for his own future.

[00:20:15] And they should, at that point, they should be getting volunteer experience, extracurricular experience, and you can say things like what kind of accomplishment they’ve earned. You know, if they’ve earned any kind of award through civic work, if they worked on, you know, Andy’s worked on the yearbook staff, he did photography for some things.

[00:20:34] And I think you want to make sure that our kids with disabilities just like any other students are getting those extracurricular experiences as well as volunteering and service. And again, you can focus on strengths, areas where they need help, what works for me and what doesn’t work for me. And we actually have on the KentuckyWorks website, a template for a word template and a PDF template that you can use to create the vision statement for older students. And we also have a video showing how a parent, professional or educator can work with the student to develop that vision statement for themselves. And I think that’s a really worthwhile exercise to watch because you can see where you really can work with the student to make sure that their voice is exemplified in that document. All right. Next slide.

[00:21:35] So, I mean this kind of goes to what I was just saying, you know, you’ll start each IEP meeting or planning meeting with that vision of the future so that the professionals in their lives who are supporting them, understand that bigger goal of what you’re working towards. So you don’t get lost in the weeds and sometimes that happens, right. But if we keep that bigger picture in mind, it’s a lot easier to stay on target and to make sure, you know, gosh, if my child’s dream is to become a chef well, then I don’t necessarily want them, actually I would say I would want them to take home-ec right. So that helps to craft what you’re going to be doing in schools so that you can work toward that goal.

[00:22:20] And you’ll start off with that being a parent led discussion, but ideally then it moves to be more student led. And you can use these one page vision statements. I know when Andy was growing up, we also use some PowerPoint presentations. There are lots of ways to share that vision. Next slide please.

[00:22:42] Well, there we go. Okay. So this is kind of a simple slide, but I actually really appreciate understanding this continuum of work and how a person can work up to their goals. So this is actually a friend of ours, Isaiah, who was working at that point, in a restaurant. And he’d gotten that job himself and wanted to talk about how you can build up through the years to get to that point where you’ve got a job.

[00:23:11] So, you know, it really starts when kids are young and at home. You start with chores. So if you ultimately know your child’s interested in cooking and wants to become a chef or wants to work in the restaurant business, well then chores at home you want to make sure that they’re learning how to do dishes, that they’re learning to pick up their own plate and put it in the sink. That they’re learning to maybe cook simple meals., starting with just stuff like eggs and grilled cheese and whatever they’re capable of doing at that time, making sure that we’re stretching them and pushing them to accept those chores around the house that would help develop those skills.

[00:23:52] Then you want to look for some school and community activities. So again, if they’re interested in cooking, what are some things you could think of? Well, they could be in Scouts and possibly getting merit badges in cooking. That’s a way to do it. You could have them take a home-ec class and get that cooking experience.

[00:24:11] And then you move to that next layer, which is leadership and volunteer work. So now they’ve got some experience under their belt with community activities and chores,. So let’s look at some volunteer work. Well, if they’re interested in cooking again, have them work maybe in a food pantry, one that helps prepare meals.

[00:24:30] We’ve got one around us that my son worked at. Great opportunity to learn how to serve others and to prepare food and be safe and use good hygiene, and all of that stuff. And then you want to start looking for community work experiences. So once I’ve gotten some leadership and volunteer  work done. Activities I can put that on a resume I want to approach people I know. So if I’ve got a friend who runs a catering business, say, hey, can my son work for a night helping to serve at this event? Can they volunteer? You know, you might want to need to start off with some volunteer experiences first, but definitely think about when is the next layer when I can start adding paid work experiences, because sometimes our kids plateau at the service and volunteer stage. And it’s important to look for those opportunities to move it to the next level. And a lot of times that takes networking and asking people we know.

[00:25:34] And so then that last step is paid work. So now you’ve got all of these things that have built experience and that you can also put on a resume, and say, okay yeah, I worked for four times for this catering business of my friends that as a server at a wedding. So now I want to apply for paid work, working at a restaurant and actually move to that next step. So those are the ways you can kind of move through that continuum of work and prepare over the years. Next slide.

[00:26:08] So we’re going to look at some different ideas for what you can do to prepare. So again, this can start off really young, compliment and cultivate skills and talents. So if you start to notice, hey, my kid’s really good with animals. You know, start to talk to them about, hey, there are jobs where you can be a vet, you can work for dog groomer. Those are the different kinds of jobs available. You can talk about, you know, we noticed probably when Andy was eight years old that we had gone to a photo shoot that my husband was doing and put the camera in Andy’s hands and we saw, wow, his photography is really good. He just kind of naturally had an eye.

[00:26:51] And so what his uncle who’s a photographer recommended doing was to print out those pictures and hang them in his room so that he got positive reinforcement for doing that. And also started to recognize what was a good picture and what was not so good of a picture. So he started to be able to discern when he was taking a quality mixture.

[00:27:14] You can read books to kids about different jobs, make sure you’re assigning them household chores so that they’re learning responsibility. I know one of the frustrations I had when Andy first started high school was they were having him clean the teacher’s lounge for work experience, even though his job goal was to work as a photographer. And I said, you know, really that doesn’t align with his job goal. And we’ve been working since he was four years old on him developing the ability to do chores around the house. So he really doesn’t need to do that at school. So we ended up using that as leverage to say, let’s actually take that time that you were allocating for him to clean the teacher’s lounge to take yearbook instead, because that’s actually going to give him experience in taking photos.

[00:27:59] And so they were on board with that.

[00:28:00] Stella: Stephanie I love that that. I love that what you just said. Because I think a lot of parents sometimes, you know, might not know, or even professionals, you know, might not know that  how important their voice is and because you were speaking up and just, you know, saying, hey, this isn’t, this isn’t really what Andy wants to do, changed the whole focus of what he was doing on a daily basis at school. So I think that’s a wonderful example of how important it is to use your voice.

[00:28:32] Stephanie: Oh, absolutely. Well, and you know, it made such a difference too when Andy ended up getting that job, because we were able to say, look, he has developed those skills that you were trying to work on. So now let’s move on to some of these other parts of his transition plan. So yeah, making sure that it’s an ongoing conversation, and you can also when they’re little use social stories and charts. You know, if they’re having a hard time understanding how to do a chore, break it into small steps, use social stories. You use those little reward charts, those are all great ideas. And some of that stuff even continues to when they’re older, right. Like you get computer time, if you get this job done. Next slide, please.

[00:29:23] The other thing you want to do is make sure that you’re getting your child involved in the community. You know, part of that is that you want them to develop their skills, to learn that in any area that they’re interested in, but the other part of it is you want other people in the community to get to know them because ultimately those are people who are going to be employers in the future.

[00:29:44] So there are lots of different things you can do. You can do local integrated school and community classes, dance, sports, martial arts, unified sports. I mean, I know kids with disabilities to participate in any range of activities you want to pick. You might want to do school teams and activities. You can put that, sometimes it’s part of their IEP or their transition goals to say, oh, they’re going to do one extracurricular activity revolving around art, if they want to become an art artist, you know, so there are different ways you can do that.

[00:30:19] You can also do recreation programs specifically for students with disabilities, if you want to make sure that they’re getting extra support, there’s friends club, best buddies. Andy did, you know, both of those. Grow with Boy Scouts and other clubs and faith based groups. Church has been another great source of support for us in making sure Andy was developing those skills. And also Boys Scouts, next slide.

[00:30:45] One of the things that I like to say too is don’t, of course we need to make accommodations for our kids sometimes, but I think sometimes as parents of kids with disabilities, we feel like we have to ask permission to do some of these activities. And it’s like, you know, really, I think it’s better just to assume that our kids belong and then to make accommodations as needed. Because sometimes if we ask it makes people pause and say, oh, well maybe not, maybe I’m not going to do this, but if we just assume that they belong, then the onus of responsibility is more on the other person to say why they don’t, you know, and usually they end up being supportive when we kind of just assume that they will.

[00:31:35] So the other piece of it is to encourage volunteer work and leadership opportunities. You know, our kids with disabilities are not just the recipients of service, they can also provide it. Here’s Andy actually working on his Eagle Scout project, where they installed bike racks and benches at the local mountain bike park.

[00:31:56] And, you know, we can give our kids opportunities to do those things. They can work at food drives, church events, go to nursing homes and give volunteer service. They can also be leaders in school activities, church, Scouts and more. I remember when Andy was probably 12 or 13, he was given the possibility of making announcements in the boys’ quorum at church and, you know, it was hard because he struggles with speech, but he was excited to be given that opportunity. And to be honest, his, announcements were so much more fun than a lot of the others who had been kind of more serious and they ended up keeping him in that position a lot longer than they normally leave a person in there just because he was more, you know, he was more lively about it.

[00:32:56] So our kids can learn really great skills when we give them the opportunity to be leaders and other people learn a lot from them too. There are also school service learning clubs, and those are other great ways to participate. All right, so next slide.

[00:33:17] So now we’re going to talk about, you know, what some of, what are some concerns that people deal with when approaching employment. And I know, especially in this world right now, it can be even more complicated. So we’re gonna talk a little bit about that. If you want to go ahead and I will share my screen.

[00:33:43] I will do that.

[00:33:51] Okay. So I think one big concern for parents going into employment is how will that affect my child’s benefits, SSI, healthcare, all of those things. And we are really fortunate in Kentucky to have the amazing Carolyn Wheeler who knows just about everything about SSI and she created this SSI 101 video for us. And if you go to the KentuckyWorks website, you can access that video. And it talks about all of the different facets of SSI and working. And gives a ton of links that you can work through to get resources and better understand all of the concepts that she talks about. And we’ve got, you know, just this whole list of resources you can check into to better understand.

[00:34:40] There’s also a disability benefits 101 module, that’s been developed through KentuckyWorks. And I went through that module, I’ve been really fortunate to have been put to work on this project. Let’s see, I started when Andy was 16, so it was right at that transition time for us. So I was going through all of this stuff in real time, just like everybody else. And it was such a comfort to go through that module and realize exactly how the math works for, if you got a job, you know, how much he would earn, how much that would end up, you know, counting toward SSI and, you know, in his case, because of the number of hours he was working, he actually got, he ended up getting much more, even though some of his SSI was reduced, it was only reduced 50 cents for every dollar that he earned. So he was making about a thousand dollars a month between SSI and his job. So, you know, it really does help to understand the math. So that’s one resource that can help alleviate some concerns.

[00:35:45] Also know that one of the concerns sometimes is dealing with the professionals and making sure everybody’s on the same page and that the family is sharing that vision and the student themselves. So that’s where we also came up with here’s the, if you go to the KentuckyWorks website, you can see there’s the template for the different vision statements. And then there’s the video which shows how professionals can work with the youth to make sure that their visions and dreams are being captured in that vision statement and subsequently the goals and transition plan that are being developed alongside that student. So that’s something to be aware of as well.

[00:36:28] Another big concern for families is transportation. You know, how do I get my loved one to work, if they ended up getting a job? And Maria Kemplin at HDI has created this, I mean alongside with her team, the team there, this website on transportation and how you can access transportation. There are modules about different, all of these different modules are about different options available to you for transportation. So this is a great resource that you can access if that’s a concern that you are dealing with, with employment.

[00:37:08] And so we’ll kinda end on. Our little touch stone right now. You know, I think a lot of us are dealing with concerns about COVID and how that impacts employment. A lot of our youth with disabilities are in the essential workers field. I know that was a challenge for us, with my son because he was bagging groceries, you know, and that’s a lot of exposure to people. And just so you know, we actually live in Georgia, even though I work for University of Kentucky and there weren’t really any rules at the grocery store for wearing masks and hygiene measures at that point. And so we ended up having to pull him just because of the level of risk in his store.

[00:37:49] And so we have to start rethinking some of the goals and working with his employer and his employers put his job on hold. So we’re not so concerned about that, but it was making sure that he still had that meaningful direction in his life. And so on the KentuckyWorks blog you can also come here, we talk about different employment issues on the blog from the first person point of view. And we talk about working through some of the different concerns that come up. And we did address COVID in the past couple of blog posts. And one was from Emily, at Down Syndrome Association of Central Kentucky, where she shared her first person experience of moving more toward digital services, because she is an admin assistant at DSACK and her job had been, you know, in the office and working that way, but she talks about in the blog post, how she moved to zoom, and learning how to use that technology and how she’s been able to still get work hours by doing that.

[00:38:55] And then we have another blog post where we talk about, you know, how Andy, since he was an essential worker, ended up having to take a break from that job. But has spent more time instead cultivating his photography and starting to sell apparel, in addition to photography. He ended up setting up his photography website and also his social media presence.

[00:39:21] And, you know, so I think sometimes, especially with all that’s going on, it’s been hard for our students because a lot of them are in, you know, there are sometimes certain streamlined ways that they get placed into job settings. You know, we’ve got a certain, you know, great relationship with a company that is open to providing employment opportunities. And so we go there, but, at this time, some of those placements aren’t working as well because this population can tend to be more immunocompromised than others. So I think instead of looking at it as a, I mean, we have to acknowledge the challenge that it is, but I think it’s also an opportunity for growth and learning. And find the, and being more creative, you know, because maybe this is the time where we explore some of those different and unique talents that we hadn’t looked at before and say, hey, you know, well, the student might not be able to be placed in a grocery store, but I’ve noticed that they’re really amazing at art. What if we take the time to teach them how to set up an Etsy store and try to sell some photography online? Or what if we talk, what if we see about teaching them how to use zoom and how to give presentations online or to interact and provide support. You know, we’ve got that a great friend, who’s a tutor who has down syndrome and you know, this would be an opportunity to teach how to do tutoring online. So it’s complicated, no doubt about it, but I think there are some ways to be creative and to have maybe some more innovative outcomes than we’ve had in the past. And so I’ll show you a little bit of just a first person, what we’ve done with that.

[00:41:16] So [inaudible] portfolio online, which was pretty cool. And then we also did, started selling some apparel, including face masks, because that was, that’s an open market right now. And it’s also one that helps contribute to safety, right. So, not that I’m trying to, you know, promote any particular direction of going, but I think that those are just some examples of ways that we can be more innovative during a difficult time.

[00:41:54] So I will go ahead and turn the time back over to Stella. And she can, if you want to go ahead and take back control of the screen.

[00:42:06] Stella: Alright, let me see how, let me see how to do that real quick. Given it back here. All right. And just to piggy back on what you were saying, Stephanie, I think it is so important, especially during this time with COVID-19 that we do, you know, begin to look at other options.

[00:42:33] As I said earlier, you know, Clayton does a lot of speaking engagements. And during this time we were going how is that going to happen when no one is doing any in person, you know, presentations right now? And so we were able to go to that online platform and he ended up still doing some transition fairs, with some groups and we did it all on zoom.

[00:43:00] And so there are so many things that we can [inaudible] do, that, you know, during this time that will still allow folks to be involved  and do things. It just might look a little different right now. So I think that’s really important.

[00:43:22] And we’re just going to talk just a few minutes about some additional resources and, you know, I think what, one of the things I wanted to share too is you’ll be getting all of this in a follow-up email, so don’t feel like you have to write everything down. I think that that’s, you know, important to know that way you can just kinda, you know, just listen and stuff. And we’ll have KentuckyWorks link and all of that when we send out the resources to everyone.

[00:43:50] Of course we at Kentucky SPIN, we also have wonderful resources on our website. There are so many parent advocacy advocacy groups available too, as Stephanie has mentioned, she was talking about the Down Syndrome Association, there’s Autism Society, the Bluegrass, Kentucky Autism Training Center, the ARC of Kentucky. I believe we are full of resources in Kentucky. Sometimes I think it’s just kind of, you know, hard for professionals and parents to even know where to go. So we want to provide you with those links of those resources. So it will make it hopefully a whole lot of, a whole lot easier, for you to find, those agencies and are able to access them a lot quicker.

[00:44:38] And also Stephanie has talked to about the KentuckyWorks.org website, and you will see, just from this slide right here, there are so many employment resources on the KentuckyWorks.org website. We at Kentucky SPIN, we use KentuckyWorks.org. We send out the information to that anytime someone is talking about employment, because I feel like it’s the best place to go for those employment questions. And as she was mentioning also the modules that are available are wonderful.

[00:45:15] And you know, you can go on there, they’re free, you can take them. And it’s so user friendly and I just think that it’s real important just to check it out. And even use it in classes, if you need to, if you’re a professional educator, you know, I think that would be a really good way to get that information out to students, but also to family members. So KentuckyWorks.org is wonderful to go to.

[00:45:45] There’s also a great module on transition. it’s called Transition 101. What We All Need to Know About Transition for Students with Significant Disabilities. I think that’s real important to because I think, you know, a lot of times we immediately think when typical kids exit high school, they’re just going to go on to college and, you know, a lot of times our students with more significant disabilities, that may not be an option for them. So we want to be sure that we have, you know, lots of transition resources available for them also, and let them know that they can be employed.

[00:46:24] I can’t tell you how many families I’ve talked to that immediately will say to me, oh, well, my child, you know, can’t work and I believe, and I know Stephanie believes the same that, I believe everyone has an opportunity for work, if that’s something that they choose and want to do. And so we want to make sure that that is an option and this module is really, really good just so that folks know that there are things that they can do out of high school in order to, you know, be employed. And, you know, there’s also some great resources to learn work skills. One is called Skills to Pay the Bills. And I think that’s really, really good. And I believe Stephanie are these links. They’re not links. I don’t think, I don’t think they are.

[00:47:21] Stephanie: There’s links on the handouts.

[00:47:23] Stella: So we have… ok.

[00:47:25] Stephanie: Yeah, we have all of those in the handouts and their links. And if by any chance, one slipped through, that’s not a link, if you just copy and paste the title and Google it, it’ll pop right up.

[00:47:37] Stella: Awesome. Awesome. Great. Well, that’s what we have, and we have a few minutes if anyone has a question for Stephanie or myself, we would love to take just a few minutes and answer those questions. I can monitor those real quick, but while y’all are thinking about a question, if you have one, as soon as the webinar ends today, you will be prompted to complete an evaluation. And we would really appreciate if you would complete that evaluation for us, it really helps us know things were doing great and maybe some suggestions. And then also it helps us, you know, prepare for future webinars.

[00:48:22] We do have webinars scheduled throughout August. And when you do receive your follow-up email tomorrow, we will have that flyer available for you, if you want to register for any of our upcoming webinars, that will be great. We have some really good ones coming up, so I would encourage you to check that out and share that information.

[00:48:41] But if any of y’all have a question we would love to answer them. I know with Stephanie and I, of course we both have adults with intellectual disabilities so this is very near and dear to our hearts, and I know it is to others out there. And, so you know, we’re here, if you have questions, this is our website, our email address. And, you know, Stephanie’s we can make sure that’s available for you all also. So I’m looking to see, I don’t see any questions popping up right now, Stephanie, but we did have some professionals on, we have some parents on, so I love the well-rounded group that we have, on our call today.

[00:49:25] So thank you all so much for joining us. Stephanie, is there anything else you want to add?

[00:49:32] Stephanie: I guess, I mean, I’d love for any of you to type questions that you have for us in there, because, you know, it’s so hard when we’re using these formats, to really have the kind of dialogue that I think is so helpful. But I guess just one point I want to make is that we just really need to make sure that we’re giving voice to these students and recognizing the different talents that they have to contribute to the world. Because, you know, sometimes like, like there was the picture earlier when Stella was going through, Joe Steffy. Joe Steffy has down syndrome, dual diagnosis of down syndrome and autism. And when he went into his transition meeting, they said, there’s just nothing he can do. I mean nobody could envision that there was anything that this man with intellectual disabilities and speech delays could accomplish as a job and he’s ended up building alongside his family, this, you know, this kettle corn business. That nets, you know, $90,000 a year. And he travels all over the country selling his kettle corn, or I guess all over the Southeast and you know, and part of it is they realized, wow, you know, he really has this talent of being able to do repetitive tasks and staying focused, and he enjoys the preparation of the popping corn and interaction with people. And it’s ended up being this, you know, wonderful enterprise. But in the beginning, no one could, no one had that vision to say, you know, this, this man, regardless of some of the challenges he has, is also an individual with significant gifts to offer the world. And so I guess just keeping in mind that no matter what a label says, no matter what challenges a person faces, just to be able to dig deep and to look at, what the possibilities are. And then to, to take the next step to paid employment after working on building those skills. So that’s kinda my parting thought.

[00:51:50] Stella: I love that. I love that. And I totally agree. So thank you Stephanie, for being with us today. Again, please reach out to us if you have any additional questions or anything that you know, you just need help with please visit KentuckyWorks website, also Kentucky SPIN’s website for a lot of great, wonderful resources. Thank you so much for joining us today and please fill out the quick evaluation form, at the end of the webinar.

[00:52:17] But we hope you all have a wonderful day and everyone stay safe.

[00:52:24] Stephanie: Thank you.

[00:52:26] Stella: Thank you, Stephanie.