An alternative approach to employment for people with deaf-blindness

American Rehabilitation, Spring, 1989 by Barbara Hausman

An Alternative Approach to Employment for People with Deaf-Blindness

Deaf-blindness, one of the most isolating and debilitating conditions known to man, demands a specialized approach to comprehensive services. A particular challenge is the provision of employment services which will allow people to experience success in spite of their profound multiple handicaps. An estimated 40,000 Americans have this condition. No other population with disabilities faces a greater likelihood of exclusion from the work force and being at such extreme risk for chronic unemployment.

Established in 1967 by a unanimous act of Congress, the Helen Keller National Center (HKNC) operates under the general supervision of the Rehabilitation Services Administration. It is authorized under Title II of the Rehabilitation Amendments of 1986 and funds for its operation are appropriated annually by Congress. Headquartered in Sands Point, New York, HKNC offers its consumers (who are referred and sponsored by their state vocational rehabilitation agencies) individualized diagnostic evaluation and short-term comprehensive rehabilitation training. The center also operates an extensive network of field services through its 10 regional offices, a National Training Team, Technical Assistance Center (TAC), and some 26 affiliated agencies. These affiliates are public and private agencies that receive temporary financial assistance and training from HKNC to develop and/or expand services for the deaf-blind population throughout the country.

The center's program focus is the provision of personal adjustment training in communication skills, orientation and mobility, personal hygiene and skills of daily living, home management, and other areas related to increasing the capacity of the individual to participate more fully in his/her home community. In addition to deaf-blindness, many clients have other diabling conditions, such as mental retardation, orthopedic and cardiac problems and diabetes.

Traditionally, vocational options for people with profound and/or multiple disabilities have been limited to a narrowly defined continuum, including placement in work activity centers, sheltered workshops or, less frequently, fully competitive environments. An alternative approach to employment in community-based work settings is supported employment. Yet, 2 years ago, HKNC's TAC, funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, Special Education Programs, conducted a search to identify supported employment programs serving people with deaf-blindness. TAC found that although there were community-based work programs for school age youths with deaf-blindness, there was a paucity of comparable programs for adults who are deaf-blind.

In response to this obvious program need, supported employment became a major priority for TAC. Activities have consisted primarily of intensive training workshops to build the necessary knowledge base to develop supported employment sites and offer practical learning experiences. Onsite consultation and followup were provided, as needed. The TAC Project has been a partner in the successful programming and implementation of supported employment in Kentucky, Georgia, Colorado, Illinois, Florida, and Washington, D.C.

One of HKNC's affiliates, the Arizona Department of Economic Security, Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, has been actively involved with The Community Outreach Program for the Deaf (COPD) in Tucson, which received a supported employment grant to serve people with deaf-blindness. Rod Ferrell, the affiliate coordinator of deaf-blind services, reports that one participant in the project, Robert Burdine, a former HKNC client who was employed as a member of a work crew, is now an independent houseman at the Plaza International Hotel. Connie Ochs, nearing completion of her training at HKNC is slated for supported employment in Tucson as well. COPD recently received a 3-year federal grant to provide "Comprehensive Community Adjustment for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults in Transition" which will demonstrate an integrated model of community living, work and social skills. For example, Mr. Burdine is living in an Adult Developmental Home in his own independent apartment and is a happy, well adjusted, contributing citizen. "We realize that supported employment is a new philosophy that will require `systems change.' We consider HKNC's TAC a vital partner in our commitment to try new techniques for serving persons who are deaf-blind," Mr. Ferrell noted.

According to TAC Director Angela Covert, "In the early days of the TAC Project, the suggestion that individuals with deaf-blindness and other severe disabilities might live and work in the community was generally met with skepticism, if not outright rejection. Supported employment was quickly dismissed as `it will never work.' In 3 short years, there has been a discernible shift in this attitude with a greater willingness to `make it work.' Although there has been great progress, the task is enormous and continuing efforts are needed to insure that all adults with deaf-blindness have opportunities to live and work in the community."