Job Wanted: Faithful Employee for Hire
Fall 1996 - By Tom and Sherry Bushnell
The time had come: Joey was 19 years old. Homeschooled since he was 8, he had
a wholesome character and was well liked in the community. In spite of the fact
that he was mentally handicapped, people felt they could trust him and just
something about him made you want to give him a smile of encouragement. He had
learned to apply himself diligently, even to the most mundane tasks.
Joey's family enjoyed having him around the house, but felt it may be time to
let him stretch his wings a little bit. Here is an inside look at what this
family went through in making their decision.
Working is definitely a Biblical principle. 1 Thessalonians 3:10 states, "For
even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that any would not work,
neither should he eat."
Being idle is not healthy, and as parents already know, idle hands tend to
roving minds and mischief. Idleness does not promote a Godly, wholesome life.
Keeping hands and minds busy and working diligently also helps men that are
still mentally boys control physical desires. This goes for boys about to be men
that are not disabled too!
As mentally challenged youth reach adulthood, they may become more and more
aware of their differences. Driving a car, living on their own, marrying and
having children, and many other privileges of adulthood are passing them by as
younger siblings are attaining these goals and they cannot.
Work produces a feeling of self worth. Not a feeling of "I'm so good," but
akin to the measure of satisfaction we get when we accomplish a difficult task
well. It is important that our children learn to support themselves in a God
honoring way as much as they are able. They may even be aware of the added
expense they are to a family, and to be able to contribute helps them feel more
secure in who they are in a family.
Since Joey's seizures were under control and had been for 4 years, they felt
confident that he was not a medical risk. This is an important consideration for
any person entering the work force. Employers do not want to have the looming
threat of having to call 911 everyday…it's not too good for business!
On the other hand, Joey did not have the stamina of a normal adult, and he
did need more rest. They decided on a shorter day to start with. Joey worked in
the morning when he was freshest and, after lunch, he would come home to do some
quiet activities to give his mind a reprieve. Later on, if he was showing signs
of increased mental strength i.e.: not getting frustrated easily, not being
droopy or lazy, and being able to stay on task longer, they would consider a
longer work time.
The next consideration was Joey's work environment. Joey's parents felt if
they subjected Joey's easily impressed mind to the world's evil influences, such
as bad language, promiscuity, unedifying music, their years of character
training would be undone. And of course, Joey's spiritual walk was very
important and compromising was out of the question. Along with this
consideration was their concern that fellow employees may abuse Joey by teasing
him or getting him angry just for fun. Joey's simple trust had been nurtured and
his perspective about himself was healthy. His parents did not want to throw it
away. On one hand they were not against Joey being stretched a little, by
learning to forgive and forget or to have patience, but to throw him to the
world would be like throwing a tender minnow to sharks.
So, first priority was finding an employer with a personal interest in Joey.
Their criterion for an employer was this:
- A personal interest in helping Joey grow;
- Patience with Joey's sometimes slow comprehension and occasional
stubbornness;
- Understanding of Joey's moods and a Christ-honoring perspective on anger
management, i.e. forgiveness and not feeding anger; and
- Willing to motivate Joey to do well and to give very clear instructions,
repeated as often as needed.
On the flip side, after a verbal interview with several business owners, they
found that these were the qualities employers looking for in an employee,
whether special needs or not.
- Honesty
- Good attitude – grateful
- On time, excited about working.
- Consistent in skills. Room for improvement was OK, but there should be a
moving forward, not backward, in quality of work.
Joey's parents looked for an occupation that they felt Joey could do well in.
Joey needed to succeed and feel the satisfaction of a job well done. Starting
out simple was the ticket. In fact, his first job ended up being just a short
walk from home, in a neighbor's yard. This was ideal. Not only could someone
from home be a job coach, but eventually weaned from a constant coach, he could
be monitored from a distance and gently critiqued when needed at the end of his
day.
Starting out simply is a good way to develop a good base of work habits. Bad
habits die hard and consistent training in the beginning is well worth the time.
For Joey, it was next door that he learned vital job skills that earned him a
well deserved spot on a landscaping crew with a local business two years later.
Job training begins in the preschool years. How is this? Children, whether
mentally challenged or not, need to be taught to be responsible as much as they
are able in the home. Getting out of bed on time was easy for Joey, since his
family was fairly scheduled anyway. For years he had gotten up early, had a
decent breakfast, and been put to work doing his chores. Joey was well familiar
with work and it was a pleasure for him, because his family's attitude was,
"Let's work together and get this job done". Joey's parents had found that
putting Joey to work on jobs that lent themselves to a routine helped Joey stay
on task. If he had a specific set of jobs, done in a specific way at a
particular time of day, Joey was faithful not to forget them once he was used to
his task order. This gave stability to Joey's day.
When Joey was 6, he was capable of clearing the dishes and loading the
dishwasher with supervision, getting the dirty clothes into the laundry room,
and many other useful jobs. As Joey grew older and stronger, he was able to
clean the barn, carry feed, water animals, and get the eggs in addition to
household chores. There never was a time when Joey was made to feel not a big
part of the positive functioning of the household. In fact he insisted on doing
his part and was genuinely upset if a job that was his got done by someone else
by mistake!
At age 18, Joey did best working with his father, who was self employed at
the time doing free lance carpentry. Joey's job entailed picking up scraps of
wood and garbage and putting them in the wheelbarrow. This is a BIG part of
remodeling successfully. With supervision he also was able to sweep debris, wash
windows, put the first coat of primer on boards, and many other tasks, with Dad
right next to him.
When Dad changed occupations and did not have the same opportunities for
providing a suitable work environment, Joey's next best work environment was
when a brother or sister was working as job coach with him. Often a younger
sister was sent to work alongside Joey next door gardening. Joey learned to weed
around specific plants, carry weed to the compost bin, rake leaves and
windfalls, and use the blower to clean off the driveway. He was not ready to do
mowing or pruning, apply sprays or fertilizer or weed delicate seedlings or
plants that were hard to tell apart.
Here are some suggestions you may find helpful in finding a healthy work
environment: A farm setting is naturally full of good hard work that with
a little supervision can be accomplished with success:
- Pull weeds around buildings, some picking of produce
- Carrying boxes or things from one place to another.
- Bringing refreshment to other workers. This is always appreciated!
- Sorting fruit or vegetables by size or color, cleaning out stalls and
replacing animal bedding, sweeping the barn, feeding and watering animals with
help. The list can go on and on.
Shop work also lends itself to a number of chores easily done:
- General sweeping and cleaning with supervision
- Pick up scraps of metal or wood
- Sort nails, screw or bolts, moving lumber from one location to another
Finding a landscape contractor that is willing to have some
enthusiastic help may not be as hard as you think. Here is a list of jobs Joey
can do:
- Raking, shoveling and digging with supervision
- Packing lawn sod that comes in rolls to the layers
- Weeding ground cover
- Fetching some tools off the truck and returning them when not needed
- Moving flats of plants to the planting site off the truck
- Roughing up the ground to prepare it for lawn seeding
A bakery has many jobs and may prove to be a suitable work place.
- Washing cookie sheets and other pans
- Moving trays and baked goods from one place to another
- Taking cookies off tray
- Sweeping, mopping, cleaning counters
- Turning the crank of a grinder or noodle press
How about packing for a local business?
- Counting nuts and bolts. If counting is out of their league, make a
template out of wood or cardboard with the required number of holes. When the
bolts fill the holes, they get dumped into the bag!
- Bagging up items
Jobs can even be found in an office that can make young mentally
challenged adults feel useful:
- Stuffing and sealing envelopes
- Taking out the garbage
- Vacuuming
- Running items from one place to another. "Please take Mrs. Sans this
envelope, and then come back." (Mrs. Sans may need to remind him!)
Some jobs may not be as pleasant or as noble as others. If young adults are
leaning toward grumbling or feeling left out, often just taking time and working
along side them for a bit is encouraging and is a good way to motivate them.
The most important aspect Joey's parents found in finding a job that worked
for their son was communication with potential employers. Once a job was chosen
for Joey and a job coach established, continued communication was vital to Joey
staying healthy emotionally and keeping happy.
Working within the community and establishing good work habits in the home
removes the need for intervention from public institutions for training. Our
special needs youth and mentally normal children can and should be trained to
work well in the home first and then with Christians in the community.
As many employers can attest, instead of doing a favor for a mentally
challenged employee, they feel that they, as employers, are actually on the
receiving end and are glad to hire a happy, hard working young adult.
Working at home is the best place to learn to work "heartily unto the Lord"
and for some of our children the only appropriate place they ever will. This is
great.
The idea that our children have to find some functioning role in the
community or their life is a loss is wrong. God puts children in families, not
the work force. If He has provided a child he loves an adult body and a child
mind, He is glorified when they are functioning as an obedient child, working at
home. It is society that paints the idea that once a child turns 18, they must
live away from parents, not the Lord.
Sometimes the idea of living with a disabled child for the rest of his or her
life is overwhelming to parents. Feeling trapped and bitter is an awful
perspective of the future. This is the sad cause of divorce among non-Christian
homes.
It is important to seek the Lord for wisdom and to be in agreement as husband
and wife when decisions about the future regarding special needs children need
to be made. Momentary frustration or a bad financial year can negatively
influence decisions. Separation happens as part of life. Children are placed in
group home situations or foster homes and adoption disruptions, to name just a
few. Even in the lives of our normal children, separation eventually occurs.
Separation or a different living arrangement may not necessarily be wrong for
our special needs children, but the idea that it MUST come for all children is
wrong.
The best place for adult children to be trained for outside work is the home.
The best place for severely disabled children who cannot function in a job is
the home.
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