What Does the Law Require?
Autistic students have the opportunity to continue their education through age 21. This is guaranteed by federal law. Schools and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) staff should provide job experiences for students and later should have concrete data to help secure a job with pay for the autistic individual. Teachers and parents should work together to get the VR agency involved as soon as transition planning for a student’s IEP is discussed. The earlier the VR agency is involved the easier it will be for the school and the VR agency to have supports in place for the student as they exit high school.
Under the Rehabilitation Act, a student with a disability should choose an employment goal that can be either competitive integrated employment (CIE) or supported employment. The employment goal could even be customized employment where a new job is created or the individual is self-employed.
Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE)
Competitive integrated employment (CIE) entails giving the same advantages to individuals with disabilities and individuals without disabilities in the workplace. This may include working in an environment with other individuals with and without disabilities, opportunities to advance within the company, and making a competitive wage.
School staff and the VR program should collaborate in providing a variety of opportunities for students to feel comfortable in their transition from their education careers to their working careers. Working internships and other transition-related experiences should be offered to students through their senior year of high school or reaching age 21.
VR staff and school staff need to provide documentation of a student’s experience and performance before they can refer them to an employer who holds a 14(c) certificate under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This certificate allows the employer to pay individuals with a disability a subminimum wage. School staff and administration are required to give the transition-related documents to the VR staff under the guidelines of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) wherein students with disabilities are given specialized education and related services. Next, the VR agency will complete documentation regarding the pre-employment services offered. Students are required to have this documentation before starting a subminimum wage job with an employer with a 14(c) certificate.
Supported Employment
Supported employment requires the use of a job coach to help the student with a disability perform the required job tasks. The job coach will work as a guide and train the individual and eventually will work towards check-ins as needed.
The job coach will provide direct and ongoing support toward the skills needed, appropriate behaviors, and social interactions the student will encounter while working. The job coach may provide aides such as pictures to show the steps of a job to complete or tools such as a grabber reacher for someone with limited mobility. The job coach may be needed for ongoing help with new skills needed for a job or for routine support and reinforcement within a position. A job coach, or an autistic student, may find a coworker who can provide them with the same types of support as those provided by the job coach. This coworker can help remind, reinforce, and offer guidance if the student needs assistance.
If an autistic student requires ongoing support at their job, this would be referred to as extended services and the VR staff can sometimes offer services for up to four years or until the student turns 25. Autistic students will have an Individualized Education Plan that will follow them through their academic career until their exit. The VR agency will create a student’s Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) which should list the agency that will provide and pay for that support.
Customized Employment
Customized employment consists of a job that is tailored to the needs of the student. The customization could be related to the student’s interests and comfort level with a set of skills and routines. Customized employment may require the company to rewrite a job description or add a new job description.
Self-Employment
Self-employment consists of a student working for themselves either by creating or running their own business. VR agencies would help the students figure out what support they might need to start up and continue to be self-employed. If a student is able to, they should figure out the costs that would be needed to be self-employed. If the individual is unable to develop a plan, the VR agency can assist in seeking someone who could help the student figure out the costs needed.
Self-employment may be appropriate for a student who has family-related concerns or specific needs that can only be accommodated in their home. Students should be encouraged to think about if there is 1) something they are passionate about, 2) a need for a specific product or service that lends itself to self-employment, and 3) a support network that can help the individual succeed.
Transition Planning
Transition planning for a student should start no later than age 16 and in some states at the age of 14 in regards to post-secondary education or job training. It may be beneficial to talk to the students and parents about what their high school academic and job training experience would look like as students move from middle school to high school.
Depending on where the student is receiving their instruction, a school district or local service provider may offer the transition services. These transition services may consist of independent living experiences, community-based internships, or paid work experiences. These experiences will be supported by a job coach who can help identify areas of need and areas of strength.
In some situations, opportunities for job experiences can be provided through the district and through the local intermediate unit (IU). For example, one high school provided opportunities by running a once-a-week breakfast bar, filling the stadium’s snack bar, and carrying out office tasks. These experiences required that students place orders in staff and administrators’ mailboxes, keep count of items ordered, add up the total order, push a cart full of menu items and navigate, greet, and deliver items ordered, and count and give back correct change. The snack bar experience required students to check inventory including dates of snacks or drinks that could be expired, replenish snacks and drinks, and note any items that might need to be reordered. The office tasks consisted of shredding documents, removing staples, and copying and creating booklets or pamphlets.
The experiences that were provided through the local intermediate unit could be working in the community or directly at the IU. Some of the experiences consisted of working at a local grocery store, at a local college, a retirement community, a rehab center, a hospital, or through programs at the IU. The jobs all offered a wide array of experiences, including gardening at the rehab center or working in laundry at the retirement community. When students are offered the chance to work in different places they tend to know what areas of work they might gravitate toward. For example, one student who does not like having to deal with mulch and dirt while gardening might prefer stocking shelves at the grocery store and having more interactions with customers and other workers.
At STAGES® Learning a group of transition-age students aged 18 to 21 from a local high school come to the warehouse weekly to help with various projects. They are learning life skills such as how to take a bus to work, how to take direction from the warehouse manager, and how to complete tasks. Stages Learning directly benefits by receiving help in our busy warehouse and we have also been able to offer one of these students part-time employment.
When an autistic student exits high school during their senior year or up until their 22nd birthday, the VR agency has the responsibility to make sure the student is getting the appropriate placement and support for work or postsecondary training. Transition planning as early as possible will not hinder the student but could best support the student for their future plans after exiting high school. Students will ultimately become more comfortable working in a different environment and become as independent as possible in advocating for themselves in their new workplace as they transition from school to adult life.
We hope you enjoyed the information in this article. Stages Learning also offers free downloadable resources to support teaching and learning with autistic individuals. Start with our free Picture Noun Cards and see our collection of other downloadable resources here!
