When She Thrives的动态

Launching a young adult with special needs into the workplace requires a delicate balance of support and independence. Recently, our 19-year-old with ASD and PDA attended his first job fair, applying for a part-time position at a local grocery store. This role is his first experience with clocking in, handling shifts, and engaging with both co-workers and customers—a big milestone for him. His internship won’t start until spring so we asked him to work part time while he finishes his IT certification (3 hours/M-F) at a local trade program. But as much as I strive to empower him, I’m also learning to check my own instincts to "protect." In trying to prepare the staff for his needs, I disclosed his diagnosis to a co-worker without his permission—a well-intentioned but uninvited step into his autonomy. When I explained my reason, he looked at me and said something that hit home: *“I don’t need you to protect me.”* And he’s absolutely right. As a disability advocate for my children (and ADHD myself), I deeply believe in self-disclosure as important for appropriate accommodation in the workplace IF that individual desires those supports. This experience was a reminder that, while my role as a parent and advocate is to support and empower, it’s equally important to allow my son to lead his own journey. Mistakes will happen. The key is recognizing them, apologizing, and ensuring they fuel growth on both sides. For those guiding young adults with special needs into independence, know that you’re not alone in this process. The journey is one of learning, humility, and constant recalibration. If you’re navigating similar challenges, feel free to reach out—I’m always open to exchanging ideas on creating supportive, empowering transitions for young adults with unique needs. Link in comments to grab a call. #SpecialNeedsAdvocacy #DisabilityInclusion #WorkplaceDiversity #ASD #ParentingYoungAdults #GrowthMindset #LearningThroughMistakes #Empowerment #Autonomy #LeadershipThroughSupport

Featured Session at Lavender Law? Conference and Career Fair: Dismantling the Administrative State and the Impact on LGBTQI Communities What does a Supreme Court case about fishing regulations have to do with LGBTQI rights? Quite a bit, in fact. Government agencies radically impact the lives of our communities: issuing marriage licenses and driver’s licenses, regulating healthcare for people living with HIV, overseeing homelessness and immigration policy, ensuring access to food and gender-affirming care, and enforcing nondiscrimination laws. For decades, federal and state agencies were given wide latitude to administer these programs, with a wide range of consequences for LGBTQI people. However, as reflected most recently in the Loper Bright case, the Supreme Court has charted a course away from this fundamental component of functioning government. Join us at Lavender Law? as we discuss the present state of administrative law, key developments most relevant to LGBTQI communities, and effective strategies at the federal, state and local agency level to leverage positive outcomes for LGBTQI people. View the full program: https://lnkd.in/eWmdTjcP Learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/g7vvSzu7

Phenix Gateway aims to empower individuals with disabilities by providing access to?#career?opportunities,?#education, and hands-on?#experience. We do this in several ways; ?We provide an 11–week paid internship program that offers guidance and mentorship to neurodivergent individuals aspiring to join the workforce. Participants follow a thorough work-skills curriculum, which incorporates on-the-job training with community employer partners. ?We partner with local school districts, Inland Regional Center, and the California Department of Rehabilitation to provide vocational work-experience opportunities to those with disabilities. ?In conjunction with Riverside County Workforce Development - Employer Services, we partner with resource providers and businesses to provide?#accessible?Resource & Job Fairs to the community. ?In collaboration with State Council on Developmental Disabilities we also facilitate the conversation between businesses and resource providers to tackle the issues behind inclusive employment at our bi-monthly Inland Empire Disability Employment Awareness Roundtable. And we want to do more for our?#Riverside?community! #Empowerment?#Neurodivergent?#Neuroinclusive?#OpportunityForAll?#EqualOpportunity

For Boris, a registered nurse in our Mental Health Program, working in a fully tech-enabled environment means he can spend more time with his patients. It’s what sets Mackenzie Health apart, he says. Technology like smart phones that enable calls, texts and real-time alerts so that nurses can provide more responsive care to patients, make all the difference. Plus, having electronic medication dispensers that eliminate the need for him to manually count medication is a huge plus. Altogether, the technology helps him spend less time doing tasks like filling out paperwork, locating equipment and other staff. Creating a more efficient and seamless workplace makes nurses like Boris choose Mackenzie Health. If you’re a registered nurse or registered practical nurse interested in working our growing Mental Health Program, join us for our upcoming Virtual Career Fair on March 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: https://lnkd.in/gi-cVMAS #NursingCareers #NursingJobs #MentalHealth #HealthCare #MackenzieHealth

Is it me or would it be easier to predict the lottery than get an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) for your young person that you know definitely needs one? I’ve always liked the phrase ‘hen’s teeth’ and it strikes me that sums the EHCP process up quite well. It’s careers fair season, as you may have noticed from the photos we’ve been posting on our socials and one of the questions that we always have to ask is, ‘Do you have an EHCP?’ because ridiculously on top of everything else, that’s where the funding sits. So, it’s really hard to get an EHCP and then specialist organisations can’t work with you if you don’t have one. Talk about knocking someone when they’re down. That’s a whole group of young people that as a society we’re essentially failing. EHCPs were in the news last week. The article on the BBC website quoted Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner, as having said that, “At such a crucial time developmentally, every day a child waits for support could permanently alter their life”. You can read the full article over on the BBC. Last week, at one of the careers fairs, a parent asked me what an EHCP is, to which another parent passing by replied, “You’d know if you’ve got one.” Meaning that you’d have the battle scars to prove it. And it’s not just the trauma of having to argue your case repeatedly with an over-tired looking SENDCo, of Head of School, it’s the time and admin associated with it too. You feel like you’re a qualified educational needs practitioner yourself after a while. Here are our SENDCo’s top tips for getting an EHCP. - Parents OR school can apply for an EHCP. If your school won’t apply, put in an application yourself and school will then be legally required to provide their evidence and information. Doctors cannot apply. - Get your evidence ready. Collect anything and everything you can do and submit it together. Don’t leave the EHCP reviewer to access evidence, send it all to them with the application - they just don't have the time to put to each and every one that comes across their desk. - Even if someone is coping with interventions that are in place, do not assume that these would be able to continue and/or be replicated at the next setting they move to, for example moving on to a new school. Be clear about what your young person needs and what life is like without the interventions. - Give context and timelines - be really thorough with what has happened and when. Don’t just think about what’s happening at the moment. - Likewise, make sure that you provide information about all areas of need as this is often left off, and can be one of the reasons that people are not successful. There’s a lot of information on completing forms and applying for your EHCP on the Leeds Sendiass website:?https://lnkd.in/eAhqE3hF #LFTWednesdays

National Careers Week 2024???????? With it being National Careers Week, we thought we would ask some of the team what they wanted to be when they left school, here's some of the answers - ??Summer wanted to be a Fashion Assistant ??Yazmin wanted to be a Forensic Scientist ??Diaz wanted to be a Solicitor ??Libby wanted to be a Nurse ??Sommer wanted to be in the Army ??Jo wanted to be an Air Hostess ????Tom wanted to be anything but a Recruitment Consultant, but here he is?? Taking the first step in your career when you leave school can be daunting and not everyone knows what they want to be or what they want to do! Sometimes you follow your dreams and end up in a role you have always wanted, sometimes your career can take a very different path. If you are a school leaver and looking for your first role or some advice and guidance, then feel free to browse our vacancies on our website – will pop the link in the comments ?? #nationalcareersweek

On this episode of the Navigating Blindness podcast, Bosma’s employment service team speaks on the success of the recent Reverse Job Fair and what National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) means to the team. https://lnkd.in/gn9aRHt8?

Have you ever considered hosting a job fair to hire people with disabilities? Or if you are an employer, have you thought about recruiting at a Job Fair specifically for people with disabilities? People with disabilities are excellent employees and often employers say that they witness better attendance, higher morale and productivity. For more information about how to hold a job fair for people with disabilities, please read here: https://lnkd.in/gfvczqk9

Mutiple student winners of a statewide contest encouraging high school students to create public service announcements that discourage tobacco use through vaping were feted last week at Monday’s Michigan Association of Broadcasters Michigan Student Broadcast Awards Luncheon & Career Fair. Wendy Zdeb, MASSP Executive Director. "Many schools have consequences for students who are found to be vaping at school but we realize prevention is the best answer....Our hope is that this contest will grow and we will be able to share student-made PSA's statewide to help students as young as elementary school learn about the dangers of vaping. As administrators we recognize elevating student voice and helping peers to influence each other is a valuable tool in combating this epidemic." Another valuable tool is Soter Technologies' FlySense vaping detection devices, which notify school officials - in real time - when vaping (and/or bullying) is taking place in areas such as restrooms where recording devices are not an option due to privacy issues. ★ Derek Peterson ★ #novaping #vapinginschools #stopthevape

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