d d d d d d d d d d My name is Yvonne Wright, and I am considering research that you may
find interesting, considering your level of expertise in working with individuals with
intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Employment is a goal and right
of everyone in society, and, through my recent findings, support for those
endeavors is essential in the lives of individuals with IDD (Kramer et al., 2020;
Migliore et al., 2018). While individuals with IDD may aspire to gain employment,
job opportunities consistently remain low compared to individuals without
disabilities, such as individuals without disabilities have better chances of
acquiring jobs within companies within the community, and individuals with IDD
are not readily accepted (Kramer et al., 2020; Migliore et al., 2018). Opportunities
for competitive integrated employment may be obtained for individuals with IDD
with support not from family alone but state agencies, increasing employment
longevity (Wehman et al., 2018). I am interested in studying support for the
families needed for a successful employment trajectory for individuals with IDD,
so I have included two articles for your consideration.
Research Article One
d d d d d d d d d d Article one’s research question is how do individuals with IDD and their
families interact with the service system to pursue employment outcomes?
(Kramer et al., 2020)? The sample size for this study is small and includes 33
individuals. There were only three individuals with IDD Recruited, and the
remaining 30 individuals were relatives of the family (Kramer et al., 2020).
d d d d d d d d d The variables of interest in this study are individuals and families
interacting with state agencies, the independent variable, and pursuing
employment outcomes, the dependent variable. If individuals with IDD and their
families are offered support from agencies on a local level, for example, help
families learn how to navigate through the system to gain information on how to
utilize available services, which will allow better opportunities for employment for
individuals with IDD (Kramer et al., 2020). Surveying is the statistical test used to
assess these variables. The surveys included were online, private Facebook
gathering, and phone interviews, all occurring at different times with the same
question used for all platforms. The question asked involved individuals with IDD,
the support offered to their families, and employment options (Kramer et al.,
2020).
Conclusion for Research Article One
d d d Individuals with IDD and their families have many discrepancies regarding
support for employment, such as a lack of understanding of the support services
that are offered, staff that is competent to assist with skills needed to gain
employment, and a lack of knowledge about government funding (Kramer et al.,
2020). Many families have become frustrated with the ineffectiveness of
employment support. Support services tend to be limited, and strategies for
gaining skills for employment offered in the past are still implemented despite
minimal to no improvement (Kramer et al., 2020). More collaboration is needed
among individuals with IDD, their family members, support staff, and community
employers to help strengthen the employment trajectory for this population
(Kramer et al., 2020).
Research Article Two
Article two research question is what support methods are beneficial for
supporting individuals with IDD in obtaining paid individual employment (Migliore
et al., 2018)? Suggested support methods utilized in helping individuals with IDD
are the independent variable, and obtaining paid employment opportunities is the
dependent variable of interest. In this research, 16 job seekers specialists were
recruited and obtained through higher-level career professionals sought after in
employment support globally Migliore et al., 2018). The testing method used was
open-ended questions in one-hour semi-structured interviews with the employee
consultant. The employment consultants were very familiar with helping to
provide the proper support that is needed to increase employment among
individuals with IDD (Migliore et al., 2018).
Conclusion for Research Article Two
d d d d d d d d d The interviews during this research made a plethora of information on
employment support for individuals with IDD and their families available. Several
critical components were described during the interviews, such as gaining and
maintaining trust with the individuals with IDD and their family members (Migliore
et al., 2018). For example, following up with families making sure that support is
working for everyone involved, and if not, change needs to be implemented. Job
matching is another component required for individuals with IDD seeking
employment. Job placement should be favorable to the employer, employee, and
family members to have a healthy and lasting working relationship. Finally,
recognizing that individuals with IDD need support, not just with gaining
employment as previously stated, but during their entire employment trajectory
(Migliore et al., 2018).
Synthesizing Article One and Two
Employment support professionals have similar thoughts regarding individuals
with IDD and their families need advocates within the support system to help
make more employment opportunities available (Kramer et al., 2020: Migliore et
al., 2018). As aforementioned, individuals with IDD desire employment and
opportunities to contribute to society. Still, if support agencies do not inform
parents and Individuals with IDD on available programs, employment opportunities
will diminish. Employment consultants are essential and needed to help families
navigate the support system; without knowledgeable employee consultants’
employment opportunities for individuals with IDD may be even more challenging
(Kramer et al., 2020: Migliore et al., 2018).
d d d d d d d d d The two articles I have perused have strengthened my resolve regarding
support for families with individuals with IDD and their employment trajectory.
Both pieces expounded on the need to enhance the staff while making available
information for families to help their sons and daughters gain paid competitive
integrated employment (Kramer et al., 2020; Migliore et al., 2018). The articles
have helped me understand even more that there is support in society to help
assist with employment for individuals with IDD, but there is room for
improvement. Thank you for taking the time to look over my findings, I look
forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Yvonne D. Wright
References
Kramer, J., Bose, J., Shepard, J., & Winsor, J. (2020). Engaging families in
employment: individuals and families' retrospective transition experiences with
employment services. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 58(4), 314-327. d d d d
d d d d d d http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1352/1934-9556-58.4.314 (Links to
an external site.)
Migliore, A., Nye-Lengerman, K., Lyons, O., Bose, J., & Butterworth, J. (2018). A
Model of Employment Supports for Job Seekers with Intellectual Disabilities.
Journal of d d d Rehabilitation, 84(2), 3-13.
http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fschol
arly (Links to an external site.)
Wehman, P., Taylor, J., Brooke, V., Avellone, L., Whittenburg, H., Ham, W., Brooke,
A. M., & Carr, S. (2018). Toward competitive employment for persons with
intellectual and d d d d d d developmental disabilities: What progress have we made and
where do we need to d d d d d d d d d d go. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe
Disabilities, 43(3), 131- d d d 144. https://doi.org/10.1177/1540796918777730 (Links
to an external site.)
