Jacque applied for services in July 2004 due to chronic back problems. She was running a small flower shop in Afton at the time and said that the pain in her back was so severe that she had considered closing down her business because she was unable to keep up. Jacque had difficulty sitting, standing, lifting, bending, carrying and twisting. Jacque enjoyed doing floral design and wanted to continue to work.
Jacque did not want to give up her business and she and Counselor Lowenberg discussed the possibility of expanding her business so that she could afford to hire employees to do the most physical part of the job and she would also be able to take time to rest when needed. Counselor Lowenberg explained the EWD program to Jacque and gave her an application. A plan was written with the goal of expanding her floral business.
Counselor Lowenberg and Counselor Grose visited Jacque in her shop in order to identify adaptations that could be made to her work environment. In watching Jacque work the following adaptations and assistive technology were identified:
1. The file cabinets were too low and Jacque had to bend to get files out and
to put them back. This could be replaced by a lateral filing system at arm level.
2. The table that she was working on was not high enough for some tasks and
was not low enough for other tasks. A table with adjustable heights would be
useful.
3. The floor was concrete and rubber mats would reduce some of the stress on
her back.
4. Jacque needed to transfer flowers from the freezer to her work bench and
an adjustable height cart could be used.
5. The counter had 2 surfaces on it. The top surface was high enough that she
could stand and write on it but she had to lean over the bottom surface in order
to do this. A podium could be placed on the lower counter in order to allow
Jacque to stand and write tickets for customers.
6. Taking out the trash could be made easier by getting a trash container with
wheels.
7. Items such as ribbons were stored under a work bench and could be stored
in bins mounted on the walls.
Assistive technology was purchased for Jacque and her husband performed the installation.
In order to expand her business, Jacque purchased a flower shop in Creston. She completed the EWD application and was referred to the EWD program. Jacque received technical assistance in writing the business plan and the plan was approved. Jacque and her husband remodeled the building in Creston and Jacque purchased a variety of gift items to add to her inventory. The shop was so busy in the spring that Jacque had 4 full-time employees working for her. In April 2006 The Creston Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony at Kelly’s Flowers, Gifts and Garden Center. Along with floral arrangements and gift items a green house was erected.
Kelly’s Flowers, Gifts and Garden Center is the only flower shop in Creston and is usually busy. Jacque says that because of the services that she got from IVRS she has learned to look at what she is doing and if it hurts she takes another look to see how the job can be done differently. She and her husband have built and purchased additional assistive technology as needed. Jacque’s health has been good and her flower shop is bigger and better than ever.
This year’s “Region VII Issues in Deafness and Deaf Blindness”
conference in Kansas City brought a number of regionally and nationally known
presenters together to speak on topics related to deafness and employment. One
speaker was Doug Watson, Founder and Director of the University of Arkansas
Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Persons who are Deaf or Hard
of Hearing, Little Rock, Arkansas, where he has served for nearly 25 years.
Dr. Watson spoke on “Improving Rehabilitation Outcomes with Low Functioning
At-Risk Deaf Consumers,” the challenge of placing persons who are Deaf
with additional disabilities.
Statistics estimate approximately 29.6 million Americans have a hearing loss, of whom 552,000 are Deaf. Of these, as many as 165,000 are Deaf with additional disabilities, increasing their risk of poor employment outcomes. This is not only due to limitations imposed by the secondary disability itself, but to various environmental factors such as low socioeconomic status, lack of access to services, lack of family support, substance abuse, minority status, or residence in rural or low income, urban settings. Functional limitations include those of communication, vocational experience, independent living skills, and behavioral, emotional and social adjustment.
High risk has generally translated to poor availability of resources for the Low Functioning Deaf (LFD). Interpreters are not reliable communicators for them. VR’s “fee for service” and short term placement is often insufficient for the training needed. And though services needed include those typically offered by Independent Living Centers (ILC) and Community Rehabilitation Programs (CRP)—i.e., work evaluations, job coaching, OJT and support, ILS training, survival literacy training, transportation training, ongoing worksite supports, and other supports such as “life coaching”—these programs do not typically employ the skilled staff necessary to address their special needs.
Dr. Watson suggested that services for the LFD population should be: of a wide variety, an acceptable level of quality, continually available, efficiently provided with a consortium of agencies, and meet the needs of similar populations in other geographical areas. He went on to briefly review components of successful programs offering person-centered planning, in Kentucky and the New York area, and concluded his session with a service model for serving Low-Functioning Deaf Youth and Adults.
The Model for a National Collaborative Service Delivery System for LFD is comprised of a national center, regional centers and an affiliate network that will result in an outcome of opportunities for at risk, low functioning deaf individuals to work and live independently in the community of their choice. The national center would establish national priorities and service delivery standards, promote research, and coordinate a nationwide system of direct services and supports. The regional centers would be based on geography and population and establish regional priorities, coordinating state and local level efforts to ensure access to services and supports, and establish regionally-based affiliate networks of public and private service providers. These affiliate networks would include a wide variety of service providers, establish access to these services locally, and deliver these services to LFD youth and adults.
Further information on Serving Individuals who are Low-Functioning Deaf can be obtained through the University of Arkansas website www.uark.edu/deafrtc. A digital copy of Dr. Watson’s position paper on a Model for a National Collaborative Service Delivery System, can be obtained by writing DWatson@uark.edu. If anyone is interested in discussing issues related to employment and services for persons who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, there is also an online forum where members exchange information on intervention techniques, marketing, assessment, training and general supports: DeafSTAR-subscribe@yahoogrojps.com.
Currently I serve Iowa School for the Deaf (ISD) in Council Bluffs and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing residing in Pottawattamie County. I am extremely grateful to participate in the conference, as I just assumed these responsibilities in May due to the retirement of our counselor. Overall, it gave a good overview of several issues that the deaf and hard of hearing community face with regards to independent living and employment. It also pointed out how we lack adequate services and qualified personnel as vendors (ie. CRP, therapists, evaluators) to support our clients. Everything from assistive technology to job coaching was addressed by other states and needs to be answered by our agency, as well as the individual communities across Iowa.
After I was approved for the conference, I contacted the transition team at ISD for a meeting. It was scheduled for the morning after the conference ended and I expected it to last at the most one hour. The participants were the career teacher, high school guidance counselor, IEP coordinator, transition coordinator (new 4PLUS program) and her tutor assistant. It was a time of assessing where we are now and where we want to go in this academic year. The team agreed to provide more direct contact with the business world, have alumni talk with the students about the transition after graduation and its struggles, and they agreed to purchase a software program offered through the University of Arkansas on work site accommodations. It was readily approved and will be installed in the careers classroom and 4PLUS area. It is specifically targeted to the deaf and hard of hearing with visual and captioned information. In addition, it can be readily adapted into their curriculum. The high school principal was very supportive of all discussion and activities planned. The meeting lasted over two hours and the teacher committed to meeting with VR on a quarterly basis to continue this proactive planning process.
At the office, I also set aside some time to meet personally with a Nebraska VR employment specialist, who is culturally deaf and serves this specific population in Omaha. These meetings will begin this week. She is an alum of ISD so it will be a valuable relationship; in that it will help the current ISD students with transition issues, employment strategies with the adults, mental health and vocational assessment providers qualified to work with the deaf and help me learn more about the culture and language. My intent is that I be able to share our Iowa resources as well. Since communication is vital for this community, I have practiced more intensely on my own and have regular scheduled hours at ISD to develop my communication and hopefully build repore with the students and faculty. Needless to say, they have been very patient with my progress. I hope that I will be a better resource to my colleagues with regards to serving the hard of hearing in the public schools and surrounding counties.
There is a quarterly parent newsletter, which was published the week of the transition team meeting. My hope is to produce articles with the team over the course of the year, which will culminate at the Transition Fair slated for Spring 2007 on the ISD campus.