9/5/2019 Unit 9-Developing Natural Supports - IHDD - WorkWorks Employment Services IHDD - WorkWorks Employment Services SL Unit 9-Developing Natural Supports UNIT 9: Support Needs Developing Natural Supports During the job development stage, it is important that you look for supports for the job seeker. If an employer has no time or person power to support the employee, employment there may not be appropriate. Paying attention to how the individual will handle the environment as well as the job is very important. No two people need the same supports; the job coach must look for supports that are present and supports that are needed for the individual's success. How do you help the individual and co-workers meet and get to know each other? Will relationships be formed by working together? Here are a few ideas for helping these natural relationships occur: Avoid taking breaks or eating lunch with the individual. Help him/her make connections by suggesting that he or she join others and by practicing ways to make introductions. Your presence in the space will continue to reinforce the concept that the new employee needs your presence to "make it" in their new setting. You will become the "expert" and impede the process. Avoid giving the individual an orientation to the workplace. All new employees, participate in an orientation tour and session. The same person who gives the tour to all workers should conduct it for the individual. Support the new employee in asking someone else for assistance if he/she cannot find or remember where the breakroom, restrooms or central office is located. This will provide an opportunity for interaction with a coworker. If possible, you should not do the training of the new employee. The best person to train the consumer is the same person who trains other new employees. He or she knows the job better than you do and has been doing it longer. You can be present when the training is being provided so that you can assist if necessary. You should not ask questions for the individual or get answers from him or her in the new setting. You can help the new employee find the right person to question, but you should not be the runner between the new employee and his or her workplace. You can facilitate direct communication. https://uga.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/550925/viewContent/9470507/View 1/2 9/5/2019 Unit 9-Developing Natural Supports - IHDD - WorkWorks Employment Services You should not create new adaptations or modifications on your own without the help and support of co-workers or supervisors. If the co-worker, supervisor or new employee figures out what may be necessary for him/her to be successful, then you can provide support and resources to carry out any modifications. You may need to take the initiative to request input and support from others. You should always adhere to the rules of the company. When you are on the job with the new employee, you should adhere to dress code regulations and any behavioral expectations. If you are working in a place where uniforms are required, it would be appropriate for you to wear similar clothes or ask the supervisor to lend you a uniform. When you are with the individual, be careful of what you say. Do not validate others' misconceptions about people with disabilities. Be aware of your verbal and nonverbal behavior because you are reflecting qualities that others will mimic. Do not make recommendations about a person in his/her presence and always speak to workers with disabilities in the same manner you speak to other employees. Your timing and tactfulness can reflect a positive or negative image about people with disabilities. Be aware of yourself and your cues. You are there to provide insight and to support any initiatives taken by the employer or the Download Print Activity Details Task: View this topic https://uga.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/550925/viewContent/9470507/View 2/2 9/5/2019 Unit 9-Natural Support Defined - IHDD - WorkWorks Employment Services IHDD - WorkWorks Employment Services SL Unit 9-Natural Support Defined UNIT 9: Support Needs Natural Support Defined According to Rogan, Hagner, and Murphy (1993) natural support is any assistance, relationships or interactions that allow a person to secure and maintain a community job in ways that correspond to the typical work routines and social interactions of other employees. People, with and without disabilities, need natural supports in their environments. Natural support refers to using things that are available in the environment. Using natural supports also means relying on the same things that other people rely on – each other. Rather than bringing in “foreign props or teaching materials”, you may be able to find support in the work environment! Distinctions of Natural Support: Available to everyone Individualized – – based on each person’s need Ongoing Increases independence Comes from the environment Was already in the environment and will remain Natural support can be categorized into: relationships with people in the individual’s environment and adaptations to the individual’s environment. Examples include: People Environmental Co-worker Poster on the wall Supervisor Break bell/fire alarm Mailman Co-workers leaving to go home Neighbor Stripe on floor for danger areas Family Member Calendar Maintenance person Checklist/Written reminder https://uga.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/550925/viewContent/9470506/View 1/2 9/5/2019 Unit 9-Natural Support Defined - IHDD - WorkWorks Employment Services Maintenance person Checklist/Written reminder Cafeteria Worker Wrist watch that beeps The examples given above are examples of people or cues that all people use to support themselves at work and at home. In the same way, we want a supported employee to find people or things that will provide support in the work place, home, school, stores and community. Things to consider when looking for jobs that will enhance natural supports for the individual: 1. Target shared or similar positions: An employee who shares the same or similar job responsibilities with other employees may experience more complete integration than one who is the only employee with certain responsibilities. A social bond forms when a “coworker” is not simply a person who shares a location, but is someone who has similar job experiences, frustrations and responsibilities. The “we are in this together” mentality will help develop connections and provide for shared support among workers. 2. Arrange overlapping or intersecting tasks: Overlapping jobs contain tasks that two or more workers perform together. Jobs intersect when one employee begins where another leaves off, with some point of connection. These tasks cause informal interactions that provide workers a chance to talk convey information and perhaps even assist each other in Download Print Activity Details Task: View this topic https://uga.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/550925/viewContent/9470506/View 2/2 9/5/2019 Unit 9-Natural Supports - IHDD - WorkWorks Employment Services IHDD - WorkWorks Employment Services SL Unit 9-Natural Supports UNIT 9: Support Needs "Supported employment includes the word "support" because that is exactly what people need in order to work. Supported employment was initiated to provide opportunities for people with severe disabilities to work in the community. Many of these people were considered unemployable. We seem to focus on support for people with disabilities, but the fact is that we all need support in most areas of our lives. Some of us are just a little more skilled at putting those supports into place. Let's get back to the basics of what supported employment actually is and who it was designed to serve." --- Kim Warlow, The University of Arkansas Natural Supports Natural Supports may come from personal associations and relationships. These are usually developed in the community and enhance the quality and security of life for people; they include family relationships; friendships; association with fellow students or employees in classrooms and work places; and associations developed though participation in clubs, organizations, and other activities. Natural supports may also come from the environment. Think about all the people in your life—friends, family, co-workers. Relationships with these people are your natural supports! You can count on them for help but what did you do to establish these relationships? We take them for granted rather than thinking about how they are developed. Here are some things to think about: Socialization: Job coaches and employment specialists can impede the natural social process when they become on-site teachers and more experienced employees do not get the chance to teach new employees “the ropes” and help them become part of the work setting. Your arrival onsite sends a message that some special expertise is needed for the employee to be successful. This tends to put social distance between them and their co-workers. Dependency: You spend lots of time with people getting to know and understand them. You build strong relationships that are necessary for work success. You are comfortable with each other and https://uga.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/550925/viewContent/9470505/View 1/2 9/5/2019 Unit 9-Natural Supports - IHDD - WorkWorks Employment Services strong relationships that are necessary for work success. You are comfortable with each other and it is easy to understand why a person would depend on you. If you are a trainer in the workplace, you become even more important to the worker and sometimes you may be seen as the “boss.” The worker may depend on you for support and not utilize others within the work environment. Co-workers may see the job coach or employment specialist as the only one who communicates with or helps the new employee. Co-workers may have the following thoughts: That person must need special assistance. The job coach wants me to stay out of the way. The job coach would not want me to talk and confuse the new employee This is really serious business to have a person helping the new employee That person must be hard to train. Supporting people is not rocket science. It takes effort, knowledge and a little experience. Helping others get experience is the first step to the development of natural supports By allowing others Download Print Activity Details Task: View this topic https://uga.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/550925/viewContent/9470505/View 2/2 
Purchase answer to see full attachment