April 26, 2024 • 17 mins
Embark on a heartfelt journey with JR Stevens, a devoted advocate for the special needs community and a tech industry powerhouse, whose life's work has been shaped by his commitment to inclusion and empowerment. As someone who has witnessed the transformative effect of support on people with disabilities, I can't wait to share JR's inspiring tales from his days as a peer tutor to his influential position at Ooma a technology company. His personal anecdotes seamlessly weave into professional acumen, painting a vivid picture of the triumphs and trials faced by those with disabilities, while inviting us to reflect on the power of individualized care and advocacy.
Our conversation takes an uplifting turn as we celebrate the community-centric initiatives that spark meaningful change for individuals with developmental disabilities. The joy found in a simple game of bowling or the satisfaction derived from supported competitive employment is more than just anecdotal; it's a testament to the societal and familial benefits of such programs. Moreover, the Functional Academics Program by Specially Designed Education Services emerges as a beacon of hope, exemplifying how targeted education can unlock a world of potential for students with unique learning needs. Join us for an episode brimming with stories of empowerment and the resounding impact of nurturing inclusive environments.
Barbara Beck is the host of the FAST 15 Podcast. She is a highly dedicated Disability Advocate and Special Education Consultant specializing in IEP Transition Services. Barbara has an extensive background as a special education teacher spanning nearly 30 years. She has dedicated her career to empowering transition-age youth and fostering positive post-school outcomes.
Barbara's expertise lies in providing comprehensive support and guidance to students with disabilities, ensuring their successful transition from school to adult life. She possesses a deep understanding of secondary services and possesses the skills to develop tailored strategies that maximize individual potential.
For more information and resources on special education school-to-adulthood transition planning and independent living, visit www.mykeyplans.com. Join us on social media for updates, behind-the-scenes content, and discussions about special education, inclusion, and disability advocacy. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and use #IEPLaunchpadPodcast to join the conversation. Thank you for tuning in to the IEP Launchpad Podcast! 🎧🎙️#IDD #teaching #specialed #specialneeds #InclusionMatters #DisabilityAdvocacy #EmpowerVoices #edtech, #education #edtech, #teachers
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey listeners, our guest today on the Fast 15 is a
senior strategic partnersmanager at UMA Technology
Company, where they leadbusiness development, account
management and strategy forreselling partners and telecom
carriers.
With over 15 years ofexperience at T-Mobile,
including roles in sales teamleadership and account
management, our guest brings awealth of expertise in the
(00:24):
technology and consumer goodsindustries.
They hold a bachelor's degreeof arts from Whitman College and
have dedicated significantperiods of time in special
education, volunteering in highschool and college and
conducting a senior dissertationon supported employment
programs for special needsindividuals.
Continuing their commitment,they remain an advocate for
(00:47):
people in the disabilitycommunity, maintaining
connections and mentoring forover 30 years.
Please welcome our esteemedguest to the show.
Today.
We have JR Stevens with us onthe Fast 15.
Welcome, j.
It's so good to have you withus today.
How are you doing?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
I'm doing great, barb .
Thank you so much, very much.
Look forward to the opportunityto chat with you today.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yeah, me too, and I noticed from some of the
information that you did sharewith us we have a lot of
similarities, a lot ofbackground and history in
similar contexts, just withbeing really interested in
supported employment withstudents who have disabilities.
And I know I would love to getyour perspective as far as how
(01:33):
your interaction with the fieldof special education, where all
that came about, your story.
We love to hear from ourcommunity members anybody who
can share their experiences andperspectives for our listeners.
Can we start out just a littlebit about yourself, where you
live, and a little bit aboutyour background, including how
(01:54):
you have been involved inspecial education.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Absolutely so.
Currently I reside in NorthBend Washington in the East
Cascades outside Seattle andbeen here well in the valley for
well over 20 years and reallylove nature and the outdoors.
I really like fly fishing andall that's easy to do out here
and I like being close enough tothe city and we'll have the
space and the quiet and thesolitude out in the woods.
(02:17):
So that's why I'm here, kind ofthe best of both worlds.
It's right up the hill from theskier and I like to do that
from time to time.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Nice?
Yeah, it is.
You live in a really beautifularea.
I get to go out there.
Sometimes we have some peoplethat we know in common, which
you know.
You were invited onto the Fast15 by somebody that I'm really
getting to know and really enjoyworking with Heather.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
That's right.
No, heather's great andwouldn't be here if she'd not
bridged together.
But kind of just to give you alittle overview of my journey
and how I got here.
So I've spent the last almost20 years of my career in
telecommunications in variouscapacities many years with
T-Mobile, generally leading anddirecting sales organizations,
(03:10):
and then about two years ago Ideparted to work for one of
their vendors, a company calledUMA, which sells collaborative
communication platforms for notonly consumers but industries,
and they also have a number oftechnological solutions that we
sell in various industrialsettings.
But nonetheless, prior to that,I spent many years in consumer
package good companies for a lotof brand leaders like Starbucks
and Red Bull and some others.
I guess I've been a sales guy ora sales leader at heart for my
entire life, but I've also kindof had great interest and also,
(03:33):
you know, great empathy forfolks that are with special
needs and that kind of startedback, I guess, in probably grade
school or junior high, okay,growing up in Issaquah,
washington, and at that time itwas basically just interaction
with a number of special needsfolks on the school campus, out
on the playground et cetera, andclearly, even when I was
(03:54):
younger I could tell.
Obviously, due to their specialneeds they had some different
challenges and some differencescompared to myself and others
and that was very apparent.
But I was also very curious butalso felt, I don't know, an
instinctive drive to be a voicefor these folks Even early on.
I don't know why, other than Ijust felt like I think these
(04:14):
folks need more support acrossthe board.
So anyway, thankfully in about1986, I think it was while in
high school here in EastsideCatholic High School and back
here to Seattle as well I wasgiven an opportunity to work as
a peer tutor in high school in aspecial needs curriculum at our
school and it was an incredibleopportunity, felt very much
(04:39):
great fulfillment helping thesefolks, learning about them.
But I was also noticing thatcertain things were wrong in my
perspective as far as how thecurriculum around these folks to
me I looked at as kind of earlyon with all due respect, I
think we've evolved as a system.
But back then my read was itwas a one-size-fits-all approach
(04:59):
where, despite what the specialneeds were, where they were on
the spectrum, they were kind ofall thrown into one curriculum
and the approach to dealing withthem was one-size-fits-all when
each of them had differentlevels of different needs and
challenges, but it was a single,consistent approach and I could
see kids that were embracing itand I could see kids that
(05:20):
weren't.
And I could also see that somemaladaptive behaviors except
there would be kind of peerswould feed upon each other if it
was not dealt with correctlyand I felt as if it was somewhat
disrupted to the group and alsotriggering behaviors that may
not have been apparent.
More of an individualizedapproach and I get it with
public school systems I mean, Iwas at a private school but at
(05:42):
that time we have very toughbudgets to more similar to
public.
I guess, and I think a lot ofit was a budget limitation, not
only for staffing but also forcurriculum, and I also think
there were opportunities formore innovative, progressive
curriculums to be developed.
But nonetheless, I had a greatexperience working for four
years in high school with kids.
Daily.
I thought about getting intothe field quite honestly and
(06:05):
doing it professionally Okay,and I made some other choices
and had some other opportunitiesand didn't end up embracing
that as a career.
But I said I'm always going toat least in my personal life, I
want to remain an advocate andremain a voice for people, and
so a number of these young folksthat I got to know not young
now because they were my age aswell at the time, but I guess a
(06:27):
number of folks that I had atone time been a peer tutor to
I've remained friends with andtracked their progress and their
experiences A handful of them,and one of them in particular
that I see regularly and I don'tknow.
I consider them an extension ofmy family and me.
And so when I went on touniversity, I said I need to
continue to be involved here.
So, not knowing that ultimatelyI was going to do an extensive
(06:50):
project as part of therequirements to graduate with
the particular institution I wasat, I'm like, regardless of
where I go with this, ultimatelyI want to be involved.
So I was going to WhitmanCollege for university and I
went to the nearest high schooland I just started asking around
.
I said look, I got experiencein peer tutoring and special
education Do you have anyopportunities?
Do you need any help?
(07:10):
And ironically, they're likeabsolutely.
And special education Do youhave any opportunities?
Do you need any help?
And ironically, they're likeabsolutely.
And then, once they saw whatI'd done and talked to me,
they're like you've got to comeand work with us and we'd love
to have you do that.
So I did and I started doingthat my freshman year in college
and stayed the coursethroughout my time in university
and as a result of that, I gotto network and meet other folks
in the field, and I was morecurious about what next?
(07:30):
What are we going to do with allthese individuals, what are the
opportunities for them whenthey leave high school?
And I've heard some of thestories of good or bad, and I'm
like so many of these kids, andagain I was still seeing a whole
spectrum, not, you know, moreof a one size fits all, similar
to what I saw when I was in highschool Some improvement, but
(07:51):
generally speaking, I did notsee a real individualized
approach to it, and so I wantedto learn more about everything
around that and directionallywhat might be available to these
folks.
So, anyway, I got in touch withan entity called the Lilly Rice
Center in Law, and at that timethey're still around and they
basically provide employmentopportunities for special needs
(08:12):
folks that are in the WallaWalla Valley.
They help, they network andthey have job training, coaching
, so forth.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
So, along with volunteering in high school in
the special needs program, Isaid I would like to look at
your system and can I volunteerhere as well?
And there again?
Absolutely as well and thereagain, absolutely.
They were a little curious asto why.
It was kind of caught them offguard that this young college
student was coming in sopassionate and wanting to be
involved, and I think I had toearn some credibility and so I
(08:40):
ended up, when I had time offfrom my coursework I would be
involved, taking variousindividuals into the community
for social activities andrecreational stuff, and it was
very fulfilling and great.
But at the end of the day theyall went somewhere and I was
curious and I wanted to learnmore about what happens next.
What do these people do whenthey're not out bowling with me?
(09:01):
A lot of them, I found, were atthat time basically living in
group homes and when theyweren't out with us, they were
in many cases put in front of aTV or in front of a board game
and left to just be there.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
And me that was real disturbing because I'm like I
could see these people perk upwhen they were interacting in
the community, not only withtheir peers but with us and
other folks involved, whereverwe were out having fun or
recreating.
And I would also see times whenif they were not neglected but
(09:36):
let's just say, if it wasn'ttheir, not their turn to be
involved in the activity.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Not given any opportunities to be included in
things that your typical agepeers are doing and experiencing
.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
That's exactly right.
And I could see them like whenwe would pull up to their home
or residence wherever they wereliving at the time they would
immediately perk up.
They knew exactly where we wereheaded and what was in store
for them, and that definitelymade their day and week, and
mine too.
And at the end of a particulardaily activity or adventure, I
could see them almost as we weregetting back to home to drop
(10:11):
them off, slipping back into theroutine, like, wow, well, that
was the great part of my day.
Now I have to go back towhatever.
And I also could clearly tell,despite varying levels of
developmental disabilities, theyall had a lot of great
capability that I don't thinkwas being discovered, and I'm
like a lot of these people couldbe trained and supported and
(10:32):
find a career Right.
And so then I started askingthe Lilly Rice Center I'd like
to do more here.
At that time I think it wasabout my junior year and I was
starting to formulate in my mindwhat I was going to do for my
dissertation, okay, and I said Iwant to study this.
I want to figure out how do wetake these people that in the
past have just kind of beenhoused somewhere and not
(10:53):
maximizing their capabilitiesand there's got to be more.
And what are the differentpathways and what are the
impacts that they do or don't dothat?
So I went to the Lilly RiceCenter.
I said, look, I'd like to builda project around your programs.
I'd like to take a fewindividuals that you're
sponsoring and supporting andI'd like to follow their journey
and I'd like to see the goodand the bad, and I'd also like
to demonstrate it in a controlgroup or comparatively against
(11:16):
folks that are in the committeethat aren't benefiting from this
for whatever reason.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Gotcha yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
They were fully on board, and that's where I began
my dissertation.
Basically, individualssupported competitive employment
Kind of verbose, but that'swhat it was at the time.
Individuals supportedcompetitive employment kind of
verbose, but that's what it wasat the time.
And so I picked a host ofcharacters that were involved in
the program and got permissionfrom their families and their
(11:42):
employers and I said I just Iwant to be.
I want to be a fly on the wallor overshadow these folks.
I want to follow their journey,and then I want to capture
those thoughts and I want to putit somewhere and then,
hopefully, we can build uponthis and make the good things a
lot more readily accessible forthese folks.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
That's amazing.
That's amazing how long was thestudy and then, and what were
some of the key takeaways thatyou discovered with your control
group and with the studentsthat benefited from that?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yeah, I think my gut in the end was validated that
clearly across the board, anyindividuals that can benefit
from this program not only arethey going to develop mentally
and physically and emotionallyand really be able to maximize
hidden skills and capabilities,but it was going to greatly
benefit their families and theirpeers.
(12:26):
I mean, let's face it, it's adifficult task to raise and be a
family member with someone witha disability or even moderate
developmental disabilities.
It's a lot of work and it'shard and it's oftentimes a
lifetime commitment for parents.
Whereas functional young personthey might go out on their own
in their early twenties.
But in many cases theseindividuals are there for life
(12:50):
because they need help andsupport and this was a great way
for people to be on their own,maybe pay their own way, be able
to live on their own ultimatelyand give their families a break
because they deserved it andbasically make people functional
, contributing members ofsociety in as many ways possible
.
So that clearly was the case.
(13:11):
And to your question, I studiedindividuals over about, I want
to say, 90 to 120 days all inand it was not only just
shadowing them in the workplacebut interviewing them,
interviewing their families,interviewing their coworkers and
their employers and evendocumenting how folks would
interact with them.
I'll give you an example.
We've probably all seen folkswithin grocery stores, often at
(13:35):
the checkout counter helpingpackage up and bag groceries and
assisting customers wheel itout.
That was a very common.
That was an early one.
I saw that was adopted acrossthe board and I spent a lot of
time in grocery believe it ornot, with the candidates who
were in that program EverybodyI'd mentioned that were
observing them.
There was a tremendousimprovement and change and
(13:57):
opportunity from that.
And when I even had a chance tojust randomly grab some folks
that have recently been helpedby some of these individuals
that were working in thissupport employment and I said
how was your experience withthis person?
Did they provide you greatservice today and across the
board, absolutely.
And I and some were like I'mjust amazed that they're here
and I I I didn't know theseprograms were available and I
(14:19):
think we should make thisprogram more readily available
everywhere.
So anyway, that was a big one.
And then I also one of mycontrols I looked at were folks
that were basically living.
That were you know, I guess Iwould call it.
They were at the tail end oflegacy programs that did not
involve individual competitivesupport, employment and
basically, when they becameadults, they were basically
(14:40):
being housed in a group homewith people from all spectrums.
They were not being challengedto do anything, they were
basically just being housed andit was like a lot of maladaptive
behavior, a lot of issues withoutbursts, sometimes aggression,
and some of the folks I guesswere in between both worlds.
They were kind of part of alegacy group home situation with
(15:01):
unemployment, but then I wasable to introduce them or get
them access to begin doing someand again kind of similar to
what I'd seen when we would getdone with field trips or events.
When we returned home I'dimmediately see them go back
into their shell and it was likevery deprivating for them to
leave normally functionalsociety and go back into a small
(15:22):
, controlled world that theywere restricted to the same
thing was not really apparentwith employment.
So I guess, in summary, what Iclearly confirmed were any
individuals that were involvedin this program were far less
burden on their families.
They were providing a valuableservice in filling a void where
employment was needed, and theirpersonal self-worth and their
(15:48):
overall attitude and confidenceconsiderably developed as they
went through this, and I thinkit was mainly because they were
challenged to operate andfunction like any other
individual out there Right.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Hey friends, I hope you noted what JR just commented
on about the importance ofstaying centered on supporting
individuals with disabilitiesand building confidence and
self-worth, while never placinglimits on potential.
I'm confident that as we dothis as a community, we will see
young adults with disabilitiesthrive.
We will revisit ourconversation in the next episode
(16:22):
, but for now, have a fantasticweek and until next time, keep
being the champions that youalready are.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
A heartfelt thank you to our generous sponsors.
Specially Designed EducationServices.
Publishers of the FunctionalAcademics Program.
Please take a moment to learnmore about the only true
comprehensive functionalacademics program that enables
students with moderate to severedisabilities to improve their
ability to live independentlyand show meaningful growth, both
both academically andpersonally, while creating
(16:51):
accountability with data-driven,evidence-based results.
Visit wwwsdesworkscom to learnmore.
Hey listeners, our guest today on the Fast 15 is a
senior strategic partnersmanager at UMA Technology
Company, where they leadbusiness development, account
management and strategy forreselling partners and telecom
carriers.
With over 15 years ofexperience at T-Mobile,
including roles in sales teamleadership and account
management, our guest brings awealth of expertise in the
(00:24):
technology and consumer goodsindustries.
They hold a bachelor's degreeof arts from Whitman College and
have dedicated significantperiods of time in special
education, volunteering in highschool and college and
conducting a senior dissertationon supported employment
programs for special needsindividuals.
Continuing their commitment,they remain an advocate for
(00:47):
people in the disabilitycommunity, maintaining
connections and mentoring forover 30 years.
Please welcome our esteemedguest to the show.
Today.
We have JR Stevens with us onthe Fast 15.
Welcome, j.
It's so good to have you withus today.
How are you doing?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
I'm doing great, barb .
Thank you so much, very much.
Look forward to the opportunityto chat with you today.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yeah, me too, and I noticed from some of the
information that you did sharewith us we have a lot of
similarities, a lot ofbackground and history in
similar contexts, just withbeing really interested in
supported employment withstudents who have disabilities.
And I know I would love to getyour perspective as far as how
(01:33):
your interaction with the fieldof special education, where all
that came about, your story.
We love to hear from ourcommunity members anybody who
can share their experiences andperspectives for our listeners.
Can we start out just a littlebit about yourself, where you
live, and a little bit aboutyour background, including how
(01:54):
you have been involved inspecial education.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Absolutely so.
Currently I reside in NorthBend Washington in the East
Cascades outside Seattle andbeen here well in the valley for
well over 20 years and reallylove nature and the outdoors.
I really like fly fishing andall that's easy to do out here
and I like being close enough tothe city and we'll have the
space and the quiet and thesolitude out in the woods.
(02:17):
So that's why I'm here, kind ofthe best of both worlds.
It's right up the hill from theskier and I like to do that
from time to time.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Nice?
Yeah, it is.
You live in a really beautifularea.
I get to go out there.
Sometimes we have some peoplethat we know in common, which
you know.
You were invited onto the Fast15 by somebody that I'm really
getting to know and really enjoyworking with Heather.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
That's right.
No, heather's great andwouldn't be here if she'd not
bridged together.
But kind of just to give you alittle overview of my journey
and how I got here.
So I've spent the last almost20 years of my career in
telecommunications in variouscapacities many years with
T-Mobile, generally leading anddirecting sales organizations,
(03:10):
and then about two years ago Ideparted to work for one of
their vendors, a company calledUMA, which sells collaborative
communication platforms for notonly consumers but industries,
and they also have a number oftechnological solutions that we
sell in various industrialsettings.
But nonetheless, prior to that,I spent many years in consumer
package good companies for a lotof brand leaders like Starbucks
and Red Bull and some others.
I guess I've been a sales guy ora sales leader at heart for my
entire life, but I've also kindof had great interest and also,
(03:33):
you know, great empathy forfolks that are with special
needs and that kind of startedback, I guess, in probably grade
school or junior high, okay,growing up in Issaquah,
washington, and at that time itwas basically just interaction
with a number of special needsfolks on the school campus, out
on the playground et cetera, andclearly, even when I was
(03:54):
younger I could tell.
Obviously, due to their specialneeds they had some different
challenges and some differencescompared to myself and others
and that was very apparent.
But I was also very curious butalso felt, I don't know, an
instinctive drive to be a voicefor these folks Even early on.
I don't know why, other than Ijust felt like I think these
(04:14):
folks need more support acrossthe board.
So anyway, thankfully in about1986, I think it was while in
high school here in EastsideCatholic High School and back
here to Seattle as well I wasgiven an opportunity to work as
a peer tutor in high school in aspecial needs curriculum at our
school and it was an incredibleopportunity, felt very much
(04:39):
great fulfillment helping thesefolks, learning about them.
But I was also noticing thatcertain things were wrong in my
perspective as far as how thecurriculum around these folks to
me I looked at as kind of earlyon with all due respect, I
think we've evolved as a system.
But back then my read was itwas a one-size-fits-all approach
(04:59):
where, despite what the specialneeds were, where they were on
the spectrum, they were kind ofall thrown into one curriculum
and the approach to dealing withthem was one-size-fits-all when
each of them had differentlevels of different needs and
challenges, but it was a single,consistent approach and I could
see kids that were embracing itand I could see kids that
(05:20):
weren't.
And I could also see that somemaladaptive behaviors except
there would be kind of peerswould feed upon each other if it
was not dealt with correctlyand I felt as if it was somewhat
disrupted to the group and alsotriggering behaviors that may
not have been apparent.
More of an individualizedapproach and I get it with
public school systems I mean, Iwas at a private school but at
(05:42):
that time we have very toughbudgets to more similar to
public.
I guess, and I think a lot ofit was a budget limitation, not
only for staffing but also forcurriculum, and I also think
there were opportunities formore innovative, progressive
curriculums to be developed.
But nonetheless, I had a greatexperience working for four
years in high school with kids.
Daily.
I thought about getting intothe field quite honestly and
(06:05):
doing it professionally Okay,and I made some other choices
and had some other opportunitiesand didn't end up embracing
that as a career.
But I said I'm always going toat least in my personal life, I
want to remain an advocate andremain a voice for people, and
so a number of these young folksthat I got to know not young
now because they were my age aswell at the time, but I guess a
(06:27):
number of folks that I had atone time been a peer tutor to
I've remained friends with andtracked their progress and their
experiences A handful of them,and one of them in particular
that I see regularly and I don'tknow.
I consider them an extension ofmy family and me.
And so when I went on touniversity, I said I need to
continue to be involved here.
So, not knowing that ultimatelyI was going to do an extensive
(06:50):
project as part of therequirements to graduate with
the particular institution I wasat, I'm like, regardless of
where I go with this, ultimatelyI want to be involved.
So I was going to WhitmanCollege for university and I
went to the nearest high schooland I just started asking around
.
I said look, I got experiencein peer tutoring and special
education Do you have anyopportunities?
Do you need any help?
(07:10):
And ironically, they're likeabsolutely.
And special education Do youhave any opportunities?
Do you need any help?
And ironically, they're likeabsolutely.
And then, once they saw whatI'd done and talked to me,
they're like you've got to comeand work with us and we'd love
to have you do that.
So I did and I started doingthat my freshman year in college
and stayed the coursethroughout my time in university
and as a result of that, I gotto network and meet other folks
in the field, and I was morecurious about what next?
(07:30):
What are we going to do with allthese individuals, what are the
opportunities for them whenthey leave high school?
And I've heard some of thestories of good or bad, and I'm
like so many of these kids, andagain I was still seeing a whole
spectrum, not, you know, moreof a one size fits all, similar
to what I saw when I was in highschool Some improvement, but
(07:51):
generally speaking, I did notsee a real individualized
approach to it, and so I wantedto learn more about everything
around that and directionallywhat might be available to these
folks.
So, anyway, I got in touch withan entity called the Lilly Rice
Center in Law, and at that timethey're still around and they
basically provide employmentopportunities for special needs
(08:12):
folks that are in the WallaWalla Valley.
They help, they network andthey have job training, coaching
, so forth.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
So, along with volunteering in high school in
the special needs program, Isaid I would like to look at
your system and can I volunteerhere as well?
And there again?
Absolutely as well and thereagain, absolutely.
They were a little curious asto why.
It was kind of caught them offguard that this young college
student was coming in sopassionate and wanting to be
involved, and I think I had toearn some credibility and so I
(08:40):
ended up, when I had time offfrom my coursework I would be
involved, taking variousindividuals into the community
for social activities andrecreational stuff, and it was
very fulfilling and great.
But at the end of the day theyall went somewhere and I was
curious and I wanted to learnmore about what happens next.
What do these people do whenthey're not out bowling with me?
(09:01):
A lot of them, I found, were atthat time basically living in
group homes and when theyweren't out with us, they were
in many cases put in front of aTV or in front of a board game
and left to just be there.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
And me that was real disturbing because I'm like I
could see these people perk upwhen they were interacting in
the community, not only withtheir peers but with us and
other folks involved, whereverwe were out having fun or
recreating.
And I would also see times whenif they were not neglected but
(09:36):
let's just say, if it wasn'ttheir, not their turn to be
involved in the activity.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Not given any opportunities to be included in
things that your typical agepeers are doing and experiencing
.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
That's exactly right.
And I could see them like whenwe would pull up to their home
or residence wherever they wereliving at the time they would
immediately perk up.
They knew exactly where we wereheaded and what was in store
for them, and that definitelymade their day and week, and
mine too.
And at the end of a particulardaily activity or adventure, I
could see them almost as we weregetting back to home to drop
(10:11):
them off, slipping back into theroutine, like, wow, well, that
was the great part of my day.
Now I have to go back towhatever.
And I also could clearly tell,despite varying levels of
developmental disabilities, theyall had a lot of great
capability that I don't thinkwas being discovered, and I'm
like a lot of these people couldbe trained and supported and
(10:32):
find a career Right.
And so then I started askingthe Lilly Rice Center I'd like
to do more here.
At that time I think it wasabout my junior year and I was
starting to formulate in my mindwhat I was going to do for my
dissertation, okay, and I said Iwant to study this.
I want to figure out how do wetake these people that in the
past have just kind of beenhoused somewhere and not
(10:53):
maximizing their capabilitiesand there's got to be more.
And what are the differentpathways and what are the
impacts that they do or don't dothat?
So I went to the Lilly RiceCenter.
I said, look, I'd like to builda project around your programs.
I'd like to take a fewindividuals that you're
sponsoring and supporting andI'd like to follow their journey
and I'd like to see the goodand the bad, and I'd also like
to demonstrate it in a controlgroup or comparatively against
(11:16):
folks that are in the committeethat aren't benefiting from this
for whatever reason.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Gotcha yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
They were fully on board, and that's where I began
my dissertation.
Basically, individualssupported competitive employment
Kind of verbose, but that'swhat it was at the time.
Individuals supportedcompetitive employment kind of
verbose, but that's what it wasat the time.
And so I picked a host ofcharacters that were involved in
the program and got permissionfrom their families and their
(11:42):
employers and I said I just Iwant to be.
I want to be a fly on the wallor overshadow these folks.
I want to follow their journey,and then I want to capture
those thoughts and I want to putit somewhere and then,
hopefully, we can build uponthis and make the good things a
lot more readily accessible forthese folks.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
That's amazing.
That's amazing how long was thestudy and then, and what were
some of the key takeaways thatyou discovered with your control
group and with the studentsthat benefited from that?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yeah, I think my gut in the end was validated that
clearly across the board, anyindividuals that can benefit
from this program not only arethey going to develop mentally
and physically and emotionallyand really be able to maximize
hidden skills and capabilities,but it was going to greatly
benefit their families and theirpeers.
(12:26):
I mean, let's face it, it's adifficult task to raise and be a
family member with someone witha disability or even moderate
developmental disabilities.
It's a lot of work and it'shard and it's oftentimes a
lifetime commitment for parents.
Whereas functional young personthey might go out on their own
in their early twenties.
But in many cases theseindividuals are there for life
(12:50):
because they need help andsupport and this was a great way
for people to be on their own,maybe pay their own way, be able
to live on their own ultimatelyand give their families a break
because they deserved it andbasically make people functional
, contributing members ofsociety in as many ways possible
.
So that clearly was the case.
(13:11):
And to your question, I studiedindividuals over about, I want
to say, 90 to 120 days all inand it was not only just
shadowing them in the workplacebut interviewing them,
interviewing their families,interviewing their coworkers and
their employers and evendocumenting how folks would
interact with them.
I'll give you an example.
We've probably all seen folkswithin grocery stores, often at
(13:35):
the checkout counter helpingpackage up and bag groceries and
assisting customers wheel itout.
That was a very common.
That was an early one.
I saw that was adopted acrossthe board and I spent a lot of
time in grocery believe it ornot, with the candidates who
were in that program EverybodyI'd mentioned that were
observing them.
There was a tremendousimprovement and change and
(13:57):
opportunity from that.
And when I even had a chance tojust randomly grab some folks
that have recently been helpedby some of these individuals
that were working in thissupport employment and I said
how was your experience withthis person?
Did they provide you greatservice today and across the
board, absolutely.
And I and some were like I'mjust amazed that they're here
and I I I didn't know theseprograms were available and I
(14:19):
think we should make thisprogram more readily available
everywhere.
So anyway, that was a big one.
And then I also one of mycontrols I looked at were folks
that were basically living.
That were you know, I guess Iwould call it.
They were at the tail end oflegacy programs that did not
involve individual competitivesupport, employment and
basically, when they becameadults, they were basically
(14:40):
being housed in a group homewith people from all spectrums.
They were not being challengedto do anything, they were
basically just being housed andit was like a lot of maladaptive
behavior, a lot of issues withoutbursts, sometimes aggression,
and some of the folks I guesswere in between both worlds.
They were kind of part of alegacy group home situation with
(15:01):
unemployment, but then I wasable to introduce them or get
them access to begin doing someand again kind of similar to
what I'd seen when we would getdone with field trips or events.
When we returned home I'dimmediately see them go back
into their shell and it was likevery deprivating for them to
leave normally functionalsociety and go back into a small
(15:22):
, controlled world that theywere restricted to the same
thing was not really apparentwith employment.
So I guess, in summary, what Iclearly confirmed were any
individuals that were involvedin this program were far less
burden on their families.
They were providing a valuableservice in filling a void where
employment was needed, and theirpersonal self-worth and their
(15:48):
overall attitude and confidenceconsiderably developed as they
went through this, and I thinkit was mainly because they were
challenged to operate andfunction like any other
individual out there Right.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Hey friends, I hope you noted what JR just commented
on about the importance ofstaying centered on supporting
individuals with disabilitiesand building confidence and
self-worth, while never placinglimits on potential.
I'm confident that as we dothis as a community, we will see
young adults with disabilitiesthrive.
We will revisit ourconversation in the next episode
(16:22):
, but for now, have a fantasticweek and until next time, keep
being the champions that youalready are.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
A heartfelt thank you to our generous sponsors.
Specially Designed EducationServices.
Publishers of the FunctionalAcademics Program.
Please take a moment to learnmore about the only true
comprehensive functionalacademics program that enables
students with moderate to severedisabilities to improve their
ability to live independentlyand show meaningful growth, both
both academically andpersonally, while creating
(16:51):
accountability with data-driven,evidence-based results.
Visit wwwsdesworkscom to learnmore.
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