Our November Friday Forum event featured a presentation on Customized Employment by Emily Raming and Jill Young, Employment Specialists from TotalLink2 Community.
Working in partnership with the Northern Suburban Special Education District (NSSED), TotalLink works to ease the transition process from school to community life post-graduation and believes that every person with a disability who wants to be employed should have a job.
Emily and Jill shared information about the Everyone Works! Project and Employment First. They discussed the various stages in the Customized Employment process including individualized Discovery activities, development of vocational themes, creation of a living resume and brainstorming with a Community Action Team. Finally, they covered the steps involved in finding and facilitating employment through informational interviews/tours with potential employers, job negotiation and eventual job placement with necessary supports.
Thank you, Emily and Jill, for sharing your time and expertise with us. Thanks also to the Palatine Police Department for allowing us to use their Training Room for this event and to the Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization (NSSEO) for partnering with us on our Parent Education Series.
The PowerPoint materials from this event can be accessed at www.nsseo.org/community/parent-workshops.