Employment First Florida went to the Florida SANDs conference in Orlando and asked 10 people with disabilities about their experiences, feelings, and ideas about work. They shared that finding a job can be hard work, but all agreed in the end it is worth it. A group joined us on March 28 to hear what else they had to say.
Watch the presentation recording.
Asking Florida House of Representatives for Support
On February 20, 2019, the Florida House of Representatives Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee welcomed a representative from APD, David Darm, to talk about the importance of employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Mr. Darm is responsible for identifying policy and collaborating with stakeholders to support competitive employment and community inclusion for people with IDD. We encourage you to watch the recording at www.myfloridahouse.gov.
RESPECT of Florida: Supporting Self-Employment through Grants
The Florida Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (Florida ARF) is a statewide professional association that serves as a voice for rehabilitation service providers. Florida ARF represents community rehabilitation providers (CRPs) throughout Florida with different levels of engagement with community employment. The association has been a consistent partner in efforts to change public policy and expand community employment.
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Self-Advocate: Amanda
Amanda shared her employment story at the 2019 Florida Self-Advocates Network’D conference in Orlando.
Amanda is originally from Pennsylvania, and moved to Florida about six years ago to pursue a job at Disney. Today, she works as a guest services coordinator at Universal Orlando. Amanda says, “Guest service coordinators try to make their guests’ day just a little bit better trying to figure out what to do in situations where they’re going to be, you know, upset and just try to make life a little easier for them.” Listen to the interview to learn more about her, especially her very cool first job as a Macy’s parade balloon handler!
How do you request an accommodation from your employer?
It is important to know how to ask for an accommodation. Watch our videos and check out these tips:
- Be polite and give examples. “These are some accommodations that help me in school, and I think that they can help me on this job. Could we talk about them?”
- Have a conversation. Be open to feedback and suggestions. “I looked at the requirements for the job and these are the accommodations I may need. What are some of your ideas?”
Self-Advocate: Bob
Bob talked with Employment First Florida at the 2019 Florida Self-Advocates Network’D conference in Orlando and shared how he got his dream job.
Bob’s advice: “Don’t wait for someone to tell you what job you want or should get. Go for it. You never know what may happen.”
AOA: Supporting a local-level network of service organizations and state agencies
The Association of Agencies (AOA) of South Florida began in 2000. The AOA provides a venue for sharing information across local organizations that directly or indirectly support people with disabilities. AOA creates links between its member organizations and identifies ways that they can work together to better serve their clients. Over 80 agencies from Dade, Monroe, and Broward counties engage in the AOA of South Florida.
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On-demand job development training from the Collaborative on Discovery and Innovation in Employment (CODIE)
The Florida Center for Inclusive Communities (FCIC) was established at the University of South Florida in 2005 as one of the national network of university centers for excellence in developmental disability across the country. Over the last decade, as Florida has moved toward its recent adoption of an Employment First policy, FCIC has come to play a prominent role as a provider of training and technical assistance in employment. To standardize training on innovative employment models, it offers a resource library and training opportunities designed in collaboration with the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council (FDDC), the Department of Education’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Social Security Administration.
Continue reading “On-demand job development training from the Collaborative on Discovery and Innovation in Employment (CODIE)”Nassau County: Integrating employment training and communication skills development
The Nassau County public school system offers several opportunities for transition age youth to develop their work skills. Two of these are the Hornet’s Nest Café at Yulee High School and the Transition to Adult Program (TAP). Both the Café and TAP provide an opportunity to deliver functional speech and language instruction to students to support them to meet their communication goals while they are developing on-the-job work experiences. Speech and language practitioners work directly with students on the job to help them learn and practice customer service skills and employment-related vocabulary, and to develop problem-solving language, financial skills, and team work skills.
Continue reading “Nassau County: Integrating employment training and communication skills development”Let’s Get Everyone to Work: Shane, imaging technician
Shane has a career in data processing at a company in St. Petersburg. Watch his story to learn more about what he does and how he learned to do it.