April 2011
From Inside
State of the Spectrum, Page 7
Software helps at school, home, work Variety of jobs for
those with disabilities at CW Resources
FROM PEOPLE, Page 10 interaction with others. Parents have come to favor such technology, she said, because it is portable and less stigmatizing – their child doesn’t look any different from any other child who routinely uses a portable device. iPads loaded with applications designed for people on the autism spectrum are popping up in both public and private classrooms across Connecticut. Public schools in New Britain, Cheshire, Fairfield and Bridgeport have purchased HandHold Adaptive software and have made iPads a staple in special education classes, said Rob Tedesco, co-founder of the company. But not all students with autism need the most advanced technology to learn and can perform well with traditional picture binders, said Margie Stahl, education consultant for autism at the state Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education. In Connecticut, each school district’s special education program makes its own decision about what assistive technology to buy, she said. iPads are not a required in public special education classrooms, Stahl added, but it is becoming more common for parents to purchase iPads for their children than for public schools to buy them. Financial Help Available For those who cannot afford IPads and other hightech assistive devices, the Connecticut Tech Act Project, operated by the state
FROM MATCHING, Page 4 impressed with the attention her daughter gets. Kim barely speaks so it’s hard to know how she feels about CW, her mother said, but she seems happy.
Photos courtesy of HandHold Adaptive Evan Tedesco and his mother, Carey Tedesco, of Shelton benefit from using the portable visual aids on iPrompts because they provide clarity and structure.
Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, will provide technology assistance to people of all ages and disabilities, as well as family members, educators and employers. The program makes lowinterest loans available to buy assistive technology and services for individuals with a disability that affects a major life activity. Also, any Connecticut school or educator is eligible to borrow computers through the agency’s loan program for special education students with an array of learning disabilities. iPads, laptops, Macs, or PC tablets with various adaptive software installed are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Computers can be borrowed for up to four months. Information is available at www.cttechact. com or at (860) 424-4881. The use of iPads for peo-
ple with autism does not stop at the classroom and can help adults experience the same benefits. Tedesco says iPad apps designed for the autism community can assist teenagers transitioning into adulthood by helping them organize their responsibilities and provide reminders for duties at work and elsewhere. Helping Adults at Work For instance, Tedesco said one young woman uses iPrompts on her iPod Touch at her dry cleaning job to help her understand and manage workplace tasks with clarity and structure. “It’s so motivating (for them) to use iPads because we’re able to find out what they’re interested in that we otherwise may not have known,” Klebanoff said. “It provides them with independence.”
Klebanoff says iPad applications are the most dominate type of assistive technology available today because apps are considerably less expensive than other specialized computer software. Dr. Letitia Naigles, head of the developmental psychology department at the University of Connecticut, said iPads allow communication to flow more smoothly. People with autism often have fine motor skill difficulties, Naigles notes, and tapping and sliding on an iPad is often easier than clicking a computer mouse. “Ultimately, iPads will bridge those diagnosed with autism with the rest of the world,” said Naigles, “where using popular technological devices such as this one has become commonplace in our everyday lives.” Lindsey.Cunningham@UConn.edu
Employees receive unique training at Walgreens FROM WALGREENS’, Page 5 finding a date, though that may be because, as Wendover put it, “he’s looking for a girl who looks like Pamela Anderson.” “He’s super successful,” Wendover said. “It’s the social problem that’s really, really hard for him.” Bryan Handy works in receiving but on this day he is helping in detrash. He lives at home with his mother and does not drive himself to work. “If I compare Paul or Tim and then compare them with Bryan, they’re very different,” Wendover said. “Socially, (Bryan) will not sit down and have a conversation with you unless you ask him a question.” Walgreens is Handy’s first job, but he has been as successful as any other employee there, Wendover said. Unique Training People with disabilities who appear to be good candidates to work at Walgreens are usually recommended through schools or state agencies like the Bureau for Rehabilitative Services (BRS) or the Department of Developmental Services (DDS). Some fill out an application, get interviewed and go out on the floor right away. Others, typically individuals who have never had a job before, go through an 18-week training program, which Walgreens contracts Community Enterprises to run. The program is broken down into two nine-week phases. The first phase is unpaid and lasts five hours a day. In this phase, social skills, teamwork and eye contact are emphasized,
and Walgreens’ policies and OSHA techniques for lifting heavy objects are taught. Trainees also simulate working on various jobs, from opening cases and removing products to sorting products for shipping to retail stores. Applicants who successfully complete phase one move on to the “transitional work group” phase. Trainees are paid $10 an hour to work on the floor alongside full-time employees, where they gain experience and work to get their production and accuracy rates up to Walgreens’ standards. Program director Carla Gaouette estimates that nearly 99 percent of applicants who successfully complete both phases of training are offered jobs at the distribution center. The cost of training one person is $37 a day during the course of the 18week program, according to Gaouette. Community Enterprises receives half of the training program funding from the Walgreens Training Program Grant, provided by the Connecticut Bond Commission. The other half comes from several state agencies. The training grant will run out in December, at which point the distribution center is expected to be operating near full capacity. At that point the program will be training significantly fewer people and state agencies will pay the entire bill, she said. Since the program’s inception toward the end of 2008, 118 people have successfully completed the 18week training and received
jobs. All but five are still at Walgreens, she said. Workers on the autism spectrum make up a small percentage of the distribution center’s workforce. Gaouette says this is because the state agencies Walgreens relies on for referrals have requirements that disqualify many people with autism. “Depending on how you fall, you might not fit the need for supports,” she said. “They may not think you fit the need of getting DDS supports or getting supports from BRS or something like that, so its been a difficult thing for that particular population to be served.”
“Everybody’s different, everybody brings their own idiosyncrasies to everything.” Joe Wendover, Outreach Manager Gaouette believes those requirements will change in the wake of a DDS pilot program designed to help adults with autism be more independent. A Model for Others Walgreens’ unique hiring initiative is beginning to catch on in Connecticut. Other businesses including T.J.X., Lowe’s and J.C. Penney have contacted Wendover expressing interest in starting similar hiring
programs, and Walgreens is about to launch pilot programs in its retail stores in Windsor Locks, Enfield and elsewhere. Lois Rosenwald, executive director of the Connecticut Autism Spectrum Resource Center, says the Walgreens model has been beneficial to the autism community in Connecticut, but much more work needs to be done to solve the unemployment problem facing adults with autism. “Certainly it has given not only jobs to some, but great hope to the community,” she said. “But this is a huge spectrum disorder and we need a number of different models of employment.” Likewise, Shannon Knall, advocacy chair of the Connecticut chapter of Autism Speaks, is thrilled with the opportunity Walgreens has given adults with autism in Connecticut and hopes other businesses will follow the Walgreens model. “I hope it catches on because not everyone can work at the Walgreens distribution center,” she said. Wendover admits employing individuals with autism has its challenges, but says they are not all that different from the typical challenges of running a huge distribution center. “I think the challenge is that everybody’s different,” he said. “One strategy with one person isn’t going to work with another person. But then I think that’s also a challenge with people without autism. Everybody’s different, everybody brings their own idiosyncrasies to everything.”
Educating Employers Some employers are more knowledgeable than others about employing people with disabilities, especially autism, Lavoy said. Employers such as Walgreens embrace hiring employees with disabilities as part of their diversity initiatives and have allocated resources to train workers. Yet, the process of explaining the diversity of the spectrum to most employers is challenging, she said. “Many folks with autism are very bright individuals, very capable of doing many things, (but) have a difficult time with the communication or the social aspect,” she said. Some people with autism, like Kim, won’t or can’t talk. Others can hold entire conversations, like Greg Green, 22, who’s been in the supported work program since 2007. Green was diagnosed with autism in the fourth grade. Before his diagnosis, neither he nor his mother suspected he had autism. “As I got older I asked what was wrong with me. She told me I had a disability,” said Green. “Finding out, I got mad because she didn’t tell me. I didn’t know.” Green works with job coach Wanda Scott, who heads the CW’s school-towork program in Naugatuck that aids young adults transitioning from high school to a job. Scott said Green wouldn’t speak to her his whole first year in the program. Gradually, he began to open up. “He gained a lot of social skills. Finally one day he just started talking, asking for things and asking questions,” said Scott. “It took a while but I watched him grow… little by little he started talking to other staff. He has a relationship with everyone now,” said Scott. Variety of Jobs Clients are cycled through different jobs to determine their interests and abilities, said Lavoy. At different CW
worksites, Green delivered meals to the elderly, worked in animal shelters and returned deposit bottles. “I want people to know I have trouble understanding things sometimes,” said Green. “I can’t multi-task but I do one thing at a time and try not to stress about it. I want people to understand that living with a disability is not easy.” The goal of the community rehabilitation program is to provide vocational training and support to people with disabilities and to invite businesses outside of CW to take a serious look at hiring its clients, said Lavoy. “It is not an easy task. CW has been in business for 47 years and we have a lot of connections right here in New Britain and throughout the state but we continue to introduce ourselves by phone-calling, door-knocking to explain who we are,” said Lavoy. CW has service contracts in seven states, and employees in its product division package Maxwell House and Sandra Lee coffee. Among its newest contracts is lawn care and snow removal services for elderly and disabled residents in New Britain, a custodial contract at the Federal Records Building in Waltham, Mass., and a contract to manage the commissary in Fort Lee, Va. CW tracks its success with annual surveys in which job developers visit employers to ask about client performance and job openings, said Lavoy. “The highest form of praise is when they contact us, uninitiated, and say ‘We’ve got this opening. Do you have anybody for us?’” Lavoy said she wants to make sure employers understand that people with disabilities such as autism are often able to offer just as much as other workers. “They are willing to work really hard for that employer. They are going to come in day in, day out and be committed,” she said. “They just need the opportunity to shine and employers that will let that happen.” Valeria.Lacourciere@UConn.edu
FAP hopes to raise $2 M for farm FROM FRIENDS, Page 6
a little over 10 percent, or $250,000, Darany said. Fundraising can be a challenge, she said, because of a tight economy and competition from other organizations seeking donations. Although the state won’t help purchase the farm, Darany said, it has expressed interest in running programs there for young adults. Today, Vanessa lives in a different group home, one that the family trusts, Though it’s hard to predict when the farm idea might be realized, it hasn’t stopped Darany from trying to educate people about the needs of young adults with autism. “What are they going to do?” she asks. “They need to have a life.”
which is comprised of three campuses, each offering a different program and service. As part of the residents’ training, the farm provides educational and consulting services with the goal of increasing self-reliance, maximizing dignity and encouraging interaction. That’s the idea Darany presented to parents at the first fundraiser in her backyard, which was followed by a benefit dinner in Bell Haven, which raised $25,000 and attracted then-Attorney General Blumenthal and many Greenwich parents. Another dinner later that year raised another $35,000. FAP continues to hold a fundraiser each year. With $2 million as its goal, the organization has raised Christopher.Perez@UConn.edu Stephen.Hamel@UConn.edu