JOB COACH REPORT

Client

/ : C.

Date of birth

/ :

Project start

/ :

Job coach

/ :

Subject

/ : Basic skills observation report

Objective

Evaluate attitude to work and skills aspects, prepare for next situation

Particular points of attention for client

Gain better insight into specific abilities and limitations.

Focus on acceptance of autism.

Obsessive behaviour.

Abilities overrated by environment.

Empowerment.

Become aware of her physical language and aura (attitude to work).

Product input

-Individual coaching discussions

-Observation of work attitude and skills at “work placement” site

During this period C. has worked at two different work placement locations.

  1. Dr. Leo Kannerhuis, distributing mail (December to February)
  2. ROC Rijnijssel College, mail room assistant (March to present)

Result

General

As stated in the report dated 5th April 2004, the start of the project coincided with the discharge from the ‘Dr. Leo Kannerhuis’. This had a major impact on the result of the project. People with autism usually have difficulty in adjusting to changes and this was no different for this client.

Project progress with respect to points of particular attention:

-Gain better insight into specific abilities and limitations

During this period C. had “work placements” at two different locations. In particular during the initial weeks of the work placements she had difficulty coping with the change in situation. She expressed this by stating that she did not think the work placement suitable (“with my pre-university education this work is not suitable for me”) and the inclination to take more exercise (sports) [1]. Once she had received feedback about her behaviour, C. appeared to recognise it as a specific pattern. After a few weeks, when C. becomes more familiar with her environment, the resistance appears to wane. We can conclude, therefore, that C. seems prepared to discuss her behaviour.

-Focus on acceptance of autism.

The work project confronts C. with her own limitations, as she has to adjust her future prospects time and again. She finds it difficult to accept that a career in sports is not feasible at this point in time. During the previous period, which was subject to many changes for C., she had the inclination to relapse into obsessive behaviour (excessive exercising) or look back into the past (trying again to find some sport she could excel in).

C. has been offered a place in an RIBW (sheltered housing) sooner than expected. She feels that her treatment at the Dr. Leo Kannerhuis hospital has thus been completed quite abruptly. This coincided with the start of a “work placement” as mail distribution assistant in the main building of the Dr. Leo Kannerhuis. Because of the many changes during this period, the work placement did not run smoothly and resulted in an increase in obsessive behaviour (exercising for at least 3 hours a day). In order to help C. and deal with her difficulty in coping with changes, I decided to find a work placement outside the Dr. Leo Kannerhuis. The location prevented C. from closing the door on her treatment period. We found a new work placement in the mailroom of the ROC Rijnijssel College, where the client started on 1 March.

The client has now worked in the ROC mailroom for two months. Again the initial period was not easy. She is slowly becoming more familiar with the new situation and it appears that her work motivation is slightly increasing. Getting used to new people, rules and operations is, and for the time being remains, a difficult process for her. C. considers the level of work in the mail room below her expectations. In practice, however, we have found that she has difficulty learning these tasks and carrying them out independently.

Conclusion

The acceptance process is currently high on the agenda and very painful for C. It is similar to a mourning process, accepting that future expectations are not feasible. The process affects many different areas of her life in this period, i.e. housing, leaving home and finding suitable work. It has a major impact on her life just now. I have tried to help C. to separate issues and find the right help for her problems. The process is not complete yet and will be a point of particular attention during the next period.

-Obsessive behaviour

During periods of change obsessive behaviour increases in people with ASD, as they see it as something to hold on to. The same applies to C. The relapse into compulsive behaviour, excessive exercising, also has an effect on her ability to cope. Three hours of exercising a day requires a major effort.

-Empowerment

During this period the focus of the support provided in C.’s project was mainly on work motivation, the introduction of actual prospects and the division of problems. As a result little has been done so far with respect to empowerment, which will become a point of particular attention/learning during the next period. C. feels little responsibility for her own choices and project. This is not a conscious decision. C. has few opportunities for self reflection and does not have a real concept of what it is to be employed in the labour market. C. needs to gain status from her work, but acquires status from her physical/sports performance. This cannot be realised in a work situation. She will have to obtain other values/recognition from her work, e.g. the importance of being able to provide her own income.

By giving her more feedback on her actions and way of thinking, I hope to achieve that, in the next period, C. will feel more responsible and be able to evaluate her own abilities more realistically in order to obtain employment. I would also like to find other values and recognition, which she sees as an important aspect of her work, in addition to the status she would like to derive from it now.

-Awareness of physical language and aura (attitude to work).

This issue is closely related to the above-mentioned issue. For example, during the last work placement C. did not give herself time to learn new tasks, which is translated into her stating and demonstrating that she finds the work boring (‘no work for someone with a VWO (pre-university) diploma’). It appeared, however, that she could not quite manage specific tasks yet. In this case C. has started off with a specific idea. When it turns out that this idea does not agree with her expectations, C. does not have the necessary flexibility to deal with it. This issue also relates to her work motivation (see empowerment).

Conclusion

During this period circumstances dictated that the project was mainly aimed at trying to stabilise C. Support was focused on achieving acceptance of the handicap and creating a work identity[2].

Project follow-up.

-Formulating work identity

-Creating actual prospects in accordance with C.’s abilities in the labour market.

-Learning to be more responsible for own work project.

[1]Against this background exercise (sports) should be seen as obsessive behaviour.

[2]Work identity refers to a group of implications that apply to the labour market for a specific person.