Work Preparedness: Transportation.
Welcome back as we continue to discuss Employability Skills and the Local Industry standards. We will continue to look at ways you can support your individual NOW for competitive employment. This can seem daunting with the number of standards, 27 in all, but they were found to be the most important by industry leaders. I suggest that you and your family pick one place to start and add on from there. If you need assistance, you can always schedule an exploration call or make an appointment for services. Visit: https://tinyurl.com/GracefulTransitionsLLC
Work Preparedness: Able to access needed transportation.
Being able to reliably get to work, and to get to work on time is a large barrier that can often change what an Individual with a Disability’s work choices and locations can look like. Many times parents and guardians are willing to twist themselves into pretzels to be the main transportation, and while the heart is there, that’s not viable long term. Freak accidents will happen, illnesses will happen, and those are just two examples of things that can change a person’s work transportation, for a short period of time or permanently. It is important to have several plans and options that your individual is comfortable with.
Family Practice Ideas:
Use the Integrated Supports Star Form to brainstorm available transportation options. It would be best practice to review this annually before the school year begins. Link to form: https://www.lifecoursetools.com/lifecourse-library/integrated-supports-star/
Assist your child to be able to recognize safe rides. For example, have them match the bus or route number of their bus to ensure it is the one they should get on. Even if the bus is stopping at the end of your driveway, this practice is a good habit to create for getting in the correct vehicle.
When plans change or there are conflicts, assist your child to become independent contacting back up rides. For example if Grandma is a back up ride, have them call or text Grandma asking if she can help out.
Talk about safety things to look at when in various forms of transportation. It’s not uncommon for public ride services to succumb to wear, if your child gets on a van with no working seatbelts, let them know they do not have to remain on the ride.
Have your child practice notifying you when their back up rides arrive, and when they get to their destination, similar to the way they will in the future with a ride service.
Review your local funding sources and available ride services so you are familiar with what is available when your child will need them. This will also help you to know when and if you will need to apply for available funding so it can be ready when you are.
When age appropriate, allow your child to partake in or complete request for Uber or Lyft rides.
School Practice Ideas:
Have the school staff assist your child in identifying safe rides, they can also assist them to practice matching bus and route numbers before they leave. Just because something is common and always there, doesn’t mean it’s safe.
Annually review safety in the curriculum. Here is a curriculum link that is geared toward pre-school, but it is a good guide for teachers to start from and adapt as needed for their level and situation. City of Philidelphia Transportation Safety https://www.phila.gov/media/20220113140331/SRP-Transportation-safety-education-curriculum-2003.pdf
Have students practice making calls to cab companies, while phone calls are not necessarily the norm anymore, but can be completed on apps, practicing actually talking to someone can be helpful. This can be done on tablets using voice calling, and can just be a call across the classroom, to a staff member. This way there is more comfort, but also an opportunity to practice.
Assist students to know their Personal Information and how to find it. Think about creating a wallet safety card offered for FREE from the Disability Independence Group in Florida. https://www.justdigit.org/wallet-cards/
Deanna Heuring, Ed. S. owns Graceful Transition, LLC. Helping others navigate through areas of employment, college, and elder transition. Deanna has been an educator for over 15 years, focusing on individuals with disabilities. She currently teaches in a job skills training program based in the St. Louis community. With a long focus on the "transition" period of education, she set out to provide assistance to families at all stages of life. Transition Education in Missouri, and most states is considered the time period between the ages of 16-21. It refers to planning for life after graduation from K-12 education. Deanna believes families can prepare for "transition" long before age 16, which is the basis of the creation of Life Transition Services for Individuals with Disabilities.
https://sites.google.com/view/graceful-transitions-llc/home?authuser=0
