Because They Want to Have a Job
- suejeantheau
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
By Sue Jeantheau
Communications Team, The Arc of Hanover
Ame Branam, Education Director for the Virginia Down Syndrome Association (VDSA), wasn't working for the organization in 2017 when it launched its Summer Employment Academy. But the reason for starting it is as clear now as the response of the organization was back then.
“Self-advocates with Down Syndrome wanted to have jobs and skills, and we wanted to provide skills,” she says.
This year, eight students ranging in age from 16 to 25, participated in the four-week-long, grant-funded internship program. Nine Central Virginia businesses – including the Science Museum of Virginia, River City Inclusive Gym, Capital Ale House and The Arc of Hanover Thrift Store, among others – hosted the students, who spent one week at a time in a different location for their month of training opportunities.
Interns also studied at the Richmond headquarters of the VDSA in a classroom to learn business soft skills. They role-played work-appropriate greetings between employee and staff, and learned about how to accept criticism and how and when to ask questions. They also had workstations available to practice job tasks, including filling up salt and pepper shakers, pouring liquids and correctly sorting items.
The interns worked with job coaches who were hired by the VDSA to be on location with the students at a particular site. Niha Patel, who is the Treasurer for the VDSA, stepped in to be the job coach at The Arc of Hanover Thrift Store. Five students came to us for our inaugural internship run.
“I wanted to get more involved, and Ame explained the program. I said, ‘Sign me up where you need help,’" said Niha, who officially signed on after a tour of the Store and a conversation with Director of Program for The Arc of Hanover, Diane Gallegos.
Niha and the other job coaches met with students for class at the VDSA homebase on Mondays and Wednesdays, then they traveled to meet their student- or students-of-the-week at the job site on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She provided support for the intern while serving as an intermediary between the intern and staff -- or, at the Thrift Store, between the volunteers or Program Training Coordinator, Angela Wright.
"The students were engaged, eager to learn and willing to try new things," said Angela. "They worked on job skills in the Thrift Store, including pricing, stocking and checking merchandise. It was great to see them build confidence and become more comfortable with each task."
The tasks at the Thrift Store were pre-set for the interns based on current Store needs and intern interests, capabilities and accommodations.
Says Niha, “They always had stuff in mind and were able to cater tasks to self-advocates who were more vocal about what they wanted to do."
Landon, who is one of the repeat interns in the Academy, has an accommodation to ask whether he would like to perform job tasks sitting or standing. He prefers sitting. But he sits and works! (See top left image, in Books.)
Sometimes, the tasks are not to the intern’s liking, but that is part of learning about work. Lauren, an intern who loved working in Clothing, was challenged by the need to shift to the task of flattening out bags for volunteers at the register.
"She was getting bored and said, ’Do you know when we're going back to clothes?’” recalled Niha. "Once I explained the importance of the task to her, she said, 'Oh, okay!’, and she finished the bags.
At the end of each day, Niha had the responsibility to review each self-advocate’s performance in addition to describing all the tasks that they performed. All of this information was kept in a large student portfolio.
“We put together a visual resume for each intern – basically, a PowerPoint document with tasks that the interns performed as well as information about their performance at each location where they worked,” says Ame.
Also included are notes on accommodations, working preferences, and class worksheets, including the “I'm Determined” one-pager, which describes the intern’s strengths, interests, preferences and needs. [The I'm Determined Center is funded by the Virginia Department of Education and designed to help teach students self-determination skills.] Ame sends the finished visual resume to parents and caregivers, schools, case managers, DARS (Department of Aging and Rehabilitation Services) – whomever is connected with the intern.
For self-advocates with Down syndrome who are interested in the Summer Employment Academy, Ame says that interest forms are disseminated in early March through the VDSA newsletter. She reviews a student's current skill level and any past participation with the Academy or other internship experience. Then she sends out a more detailed form and keeps a wait list of applicants. All the paperwork is completed before the launch of the Academy in July.
“It's one of our most popular programs and most thorough," says Ame. “It brings me so much joy. And, I'm really looking forward to working with Diane more.”
For Niha, going from an accountant/CPA background to job coach had its challenges.
“I'm a doer,” she says. “I started doing something to help Kyle, and then Angela came over and said, ‘Excuse me, ma'am. Would you please just let the gentleman work?’”
“I didn't want the self-advocate to feel like they couldn't do something. But Kyle was a great independent worker."
It was all part of Niha's learning process as she grew into the job coaching position. But, by the end of the Academy, the other job coaches said, "I never would have known this wasn't part of your job. You were so good with the self-advocates.”
Niha and Ame both said the interns liked being at the Thrift Store, with two of the five saying it was their favorite worksite! [Although one intern spoke of the fans being loud. We get it!] Ame said Kyle loved working in the Media section because “he's a movie nut, and Angela gave him a confidence boost when he was able to fix someone else's error."
"I needed someone to restock some video games that a previous volunteer group had incorrectly stocked," said Angela. "Kyle's mom arrived to shop at the Thrift Store before taking him home for the day, and I asked him if he could stay after to help because he was such a great worker. He finished the box I gave him so fast that I ended up giving him another box!"
For Landon, who was mostly quiet during his week, being able to eat lunch with volunteers Brenna Fennelly and John Morel was a highlight.
"It was such a joy to host the Summer Employment Academy," said Diane Gallegos. "We loved seeing these students practicing the work skills they learned in the program. What a great time with this group! We look forward to hosting them again next year."
Diane and Ame have plans to get together to talk about a Summer Employment Academy 2 – what a return to a job site for more training might look like – as well as planning for next Summer. The goal is still the same: To offer job skills and training as a lead-up for these self-advocates getting jobs in the places they really want to work.
How do you know it’s working?
Says Ame: “I've had people in this program say when they walk into a business establishment that they like, they walk up to the manager and say, "I want to get a job here. How do I do that?”
Photo cred: Virginia Down Syndrome Association
RESOURCES:
If you want to help people in Hanover County with intellectual or developmental disabilities via The Arc of Hanover, donate here.
If you are a disability self-advocate, parent, caregiver or concerned citizen interested in writing a blog post for The Arc of Hanover -- on family relationships or any subject -- please contact Sue Jeantheau, Communications Committee, at sue.jeantheau@thearcofhanover.org.
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