Discovery: Finding the Direction to Facilitate Successful Employment

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Discovery Finding the Direction to Facilitate
Successful Employment

• The touchstone of customization
• Who is this person?

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We need to discover

• Discovery to gain insight or knowledge of
  something previously unseen or unknown to notice
  or realize to make known, reveal, disclose

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The Iceberg Analogy of Discovery
What we usually know about the people we try to
assist
We need to know it all
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The role of discovery

• Discovery provides, in a non-traditional,
  common-sense form, the information needed to
  determine the strengths, needs, and interests of
  any person with complex life issues.
• This is accomplished by simply addressing the
  question, Who is this person?

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Discovery and Customization

• These are compatible concepts that are used
  sequentially to facilitate employment for
  students who might otherwise not achieve
  employment.
• Discovery provides the foundation information for
  individuals that is then used to customize a
  position with an employer.

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To Test or Not to Test

• In the 1970s Marc Gold admonished the disability
  field to Train, Dont Test.
• Today, Customized Employment extends that
  admonition to Discover, Dont Test.

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Discovery and Traditional Assessment

• Discovery seeks to identify already-existing
  information rather than developing information
  solely for the purposes of evaluation.
• Identifying a direction for employment is based
  on information obtained from the person's entire
  life and not from an instance of performance.

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Discovery and Traditional Assessment

• The discovery process focuses more on ecological
  validity than predictive validity.  It is more
  important that the direction to employment makes
  sense in relation to a person's life than to
  attempt to predict success based on test
  performance. 
• The information of discovery is used only as a
  guide for matching and customization and may not
  used to systematically exclude a person from
  employment.

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Discovery and Traditional Assessment

• The use of discovery frees the individual from
  the necessity of taking standardized or
  norm-referenced tests to prove their readiness.
  Readiness to begin work is assumed for all
  applicants.
• The profile strategy seeks to empower and involve
  applicants, their families and friends rather
  than to exclude them. Natural, common sense
  approaches to employment are given priority over
  strategies which rely solely on professional
  judgment and service.

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Need for Discovery

• Discovery is often assumed, we think what we see
  is what theyve got.
• Information on an individual is often disjointed,
  different people have different parts of the
  puzzle.

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Need for Discovery

• Complexity is like a fog, obscuring the best of
  who people are.
• Discovery shows us the impact of life complexity
  on work.
• When we discover rather than test, a useful
  description of a person starts to emerge.
• It shows possibilities and leads to things a
  person is motivated to do rather than to fears,
  negativity and deficits.

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Discovery is

• A process that involves getting to know people,
  or helping them get to know themselves, before we
  help them plan
• Spending time with applicants, instead of testing
  or evaluating them, as a means of finding out who
  they are
• The best way to find out the best that people
  have to offer
• A common-sense strategy to determine complexities
  and preferences

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Discovery is

• A way to identify the unique contributions
  offered by those who might not compete as well as
  others
• Enhanced when we get to know people in settings
  where they are most who they are
• Not a plan, but the foundation of employment
  planning, that seeks to customize outcomes
• Compatible with self-determination and customer
  choice

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Beyond Asking

• Asking works for some of the people some of the
  time.
• What about for others?
• Different people ask and get different answers.
• The same person can ask at different times and
  get different answers.
• Too often, people simply do not have an accurate,
  thoughtful sound bite with which to answer such a
  question as important as What do you want to
  do?.

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Rule of Thumb for Asking

• Its more important to look at what people do
  than it is to simply follow what they say.
• Of course, we always listen, but its necessary
  to get well beyond listening to verbal answers,
  into peoples lives.

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Discovery allows us to determine who the
applicant is, their complexities, and potential
contributions to employers.
Responsibilities
Hobbies
Discovery Process
Interest Areas
Complexities
Transportation
Challenges
Skills
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Approaches to Discovery

• Discovery can either be
• 1. Facilitated by someone else, typically an
  employment professional

Who is he?
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Approaches to Discovery

• 2. Part of a group experience

These guys will help me discover myself
Its a two way street
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Approaches to Discovery

• 3. Accomplished through self-discovery

Who am I?
Individuals can paint their own picture of who
they are.
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The tools of Facilitated Discovery

• The tools of facilitated discovery can be
  intuitive and informal, but they are also the
  time-honored tools of qualitative researchers
  interview and conversation, observation and time
  together, review of existing information and
  organization of newly discovered information.

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Strategies for Facilitated Discovery

• Participation with the applicant in activities
  both familiar and novel
• Finally, Review of records

• Conversation
• Interview
• Time together
• Observation

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Additional Strategies for Facilitated Discovery

• When above strategies are not sufficient
• Structured situational assessments or discrepancy
  analyses
• Targeted evaluations to answer specific questions

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The Who of Discovery

• The person of concern
• Their family and loved ones
• Close and trusted friends

• Neighbors with good relationships
• Professionals who care
• Counselors
• Teachers
• Doctors
• Service providers

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The Where of Discovery

• Home Discovery starts where relationships start
  at home
• Neighborhood
• Local Community

• Places where the person is most who they are
• School
• One-stop center
• Outdoors/Recreation

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Lets Experience Discovery Ask your partner

• What is something about you that most people
  dont know?
• Where/when are you at your best?
• Where/when are you at your worst?
• Other than spouse/parents/partner/ kids, who
  knows you best?
• What makes it worth other than your work
  getting out of bed in the morning?

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Meet Andrew in High School
Andy was a typical young person with a disability
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The Schools view of Andy
At eighteen years old, he was still viewed as a
young child who was not ready to enter into a
life as an employed adult
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Testing results

• able to remain focused for approx. 30 minutes
• he would say too hard and cease work
• Reading Comp 1.6 grade level
• SRA non-verbal reasoning test 4th percentile

• Minn. Clerical test 1st percentile, timed
  un-timed
• WREST very poor range in all areas
• Productivity rate 6
• On work samples accuracy improved very slowly
  with practice and constant one-one supervision

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The negative impression of testing

• Relative to all work samples administered, it
  appeared that Mr. Cosels performance was best
  when tasks involved no more than one or two
  steps.
• Due to Mr. Cosels very low level of
  productivity and his need for constant
  supervision, traditional employment is not
  feasible at this time. Training and education
  which enables him to practice simple manual
  skills such as packaging and sorting should be
  explored in the future.

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Beyond the Evaluation

• In order to find an optimistic path towards
  employment, in light of poor test performance and
  low expectations, it was necessary to get to know
  Andy much more deeply than who he seemed to be
  those who knew him professionally.

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New dimensions of his personality, skills and
interests
His pastime activities gave us insight into
skills that the tests did not identify
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Andys hobbies and interests gave perspective to
his overall character
From Computers
To musical interests
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Getting personal
From bathing
To toileting accommodations
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Family and friends
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Support from his service dog
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Employment experiences
Delivering cash receipts
Assisting warehouse personnel
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Importance of Discovery

• Facilitated Discovery provided a clear,
  alternative picture of Andy. It provided
  sufficient information and direction to develop a
  plan for customized job development.
• Andy started work at teaching hospital at SUNY
  Stoney Brook on Long Island after job development
  by his family.

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Andy was responsible for delivery of data
processing information to 82 departs. within the
hospital
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Still working
Although Andy is still working today, ten years
later, if he loses his job or wants another he
will still need customized strategies and
supports to become re-employed. Here is what a
customized representation strategy might look
like
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Discovery strategies

• The individuals home
• Set a time to visit the individuals home with
  parents and family available.
• Before or after the meeting, drive throughout the
  immediate neighborhood for a radius of about 1/4
  to ½ mile noting relevant dimensions.
• Meet with the individual and his/her parents or
  representatives at their home. The meeting
  should last approximately 1½ hours. Permission
  should be obtained.
• Return to the individuals home for additional
  information, unstructured conversation,
  observation and interviews.

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Discovery strategies

• Interviews with family, staff and others
• Interview selected staff who have provided the
  person of concern with instruction and support.
• Contact advocates, neighbors and close friends of
  the student to gain information concerning the
  students social life, skills, preferences and
  connections.
• Have both structured and informal conversations
  with the student, as appropriate, to determine
  their perspectives.

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Discovery strategies
Discovery in school

• Focus on the student of concern for observation
  as he/she participants in routine aspects of
  classroom activities.
• Hold a group sharing experience with student
  peers that generates positive comments
• Implement a unit approach for Phase 1 students
  in the classroom
• Enlist the assistance of fellow teachers, school
  staff and administrators to offer perspective on
  student.

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Discovery strategies

• Observations and participation in the
  neighborhood and community
• Observe the person in a sample of the activities
  school, home community -- that comprise the
  majority of his/her day.
• Accompany the person on planned community
  activities, both familiar and novel.