[humanser] Challenges with VR services

Lisa Irving peacefulwoman89 at cox.net
Tue Nov 24 03:13:36 UTC 2015 

I'm glad that you asked. I will describe the purpose, the role and job functions of the inclusion coordinator. Here's a little history about full inclusion programs and services. Long before "full inclusion" there was something called, "mainstreaming". The difference between mainstreaming and full inclusion is, in some ways vast. Mainstreaming brought the children with disabilities into the halls the cafeteria and sometimes into the classroom.  Children with disabilities were tolerated; not fully embraced. I first heard about the inclusion movement probably15 years ago. I received some inclusion training which fit nicely with my therapeutic recreation and human services back ground. I did some contractual work as a trainer/presenter and worked with school age youth and teachers. In 2007 I was hired to develop and support a day camp inclusion program.  Now you know some history about the inclusion movement.  

The overall purpose of fully inclusive programs is to make level the playing field for children, that is, for peers with and without disabilities to build genuine relationships on common grounds; the largest common ground is the need for acceptance and friendship. The focus is on similarities and the recognition and understanding about differences. It is the job of the inclusion coordinator to model, educate, support and reinforce full inclusion. Let's look at how the inclusion coordinator strives to make all of this happen. 

To begin with, the coordinator meets with the parents/caregiver(s) of the child with a disability. The coordinator conducts a complete in-take; including medications, allergies, aspects of the IEP and the child's interests/strengths/needs. The in-take includes assessments. I created a leisure assessment because I worked for a day camp program. The information is sculpted into a Plan for Inclusion. The inclusion service plan is similar to any strengths/needs treatment or care plan. There needs to be one or two primary goals, objectives and how to carry out the plan. All of this needs to be written as simple as possible. There's more beyond the ever-present paperwork. 

The inclusion coordinator can be found on the deck of a community pool engaging a camper with autism. S/he can be found on the floor in the gymnasium playing with little kids. The coordinator can be found in the computer room making sure that the child receiving services has sound-blocking head phones. The coordinator may be called to monitor the child's behavior during lunch. It's done naturally; you sit and eat and hang out with the kids. There's more. 

I probably should have mentioned that when you write the plan for full inclusion you may need to incorporate verbal or visual cueing support, behavior modifications, token economy, transitioning plans and thinking faster than the run-away child.  Keep in mind that  you're usually working with high school and lower level college students who were hired to work as after school leaders, recreation aids and camp counselors. The frontline program staff have little training, have high numbers of children assigned to them and typically receive low wages. Your support, encouragement and enthusiasm will go a long way.  It's non-stop, hard work and tons of fun! 

Best,
Lisa Irving 

 and 

-----Original Message-----
From: humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Carly Mihalakis via humanser
Sent: Monday, November 23, 2015 10:58 AM
To: Human Services Division Mailing List
Cc: Carly Mihalakis
Subject: Re: [humanser] Challenges with VR services

Good morning, Lisa,

         What is an inclusion coordinator?At 04:15 PM 10/6/2015, you wrote:
>Hello Ashley and Erica, A while ago I worked a seasonal job with the 
>local Salvation Army's summer day camp program. I worked full time as 
>their Inclusion Coordinator. I felt as though I had little support. 
>Perhaps I wasn't clear enough or, perhaps I was not very assertive. At 
>the time I was a V. R. client. As a whole our local Blind 
>Rehabilitation Counselors are, in my jaded opinion, mediocre and at 
>least one of them isn't the role model I'd seek out. Needless to say, I 
>had NO SUPPORT from the Department of Rehabilitation. Erica, many after 
>school programs need Inclusion Coordinators. Your experiences and your 
>positive philosophy make you an excellent candidate for this type of 
>position. Additionally, you may want to check with school districts and 
>inquire about their programs and services for blind and visually 
>impaired youth. I have a visually impaired friend who is a teacher's 
>aide for the program that supports elementary children with vision 
>loss. If you have lived experience with mental health challenges or 
>have a family member with mental health challenges you will qualify for 
>a number of positions in the public mental health field. This is the 
>avenue I have embarked upon... From, Lisa Irving -----Original
>Message----- From: humanser
>[mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ashley Bramlett via 
>humanser Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2015 4:52 PM To: Human Services 
>Division Mailing List Cc: Ashley Bramlett
>Subject: Re: [humanser] Challenges with VR services Hi, Lisa, that was 
>my reaction as I read all Erika's education background. A BA in social 
>work allows you to do many jobs in the nonprofit area. You could work 
>in some case management jobs, information and referral, or maybe some 
>coordinator positions. Ericka, I think you would be a good fit for an 
>after school program with at risk children or teens.
>If you have courses in learning disabilities, you can combine the human 
>service interest and interest with kids  by working with kids generally 
>or disabled kids. Inventories are a good idea to figure out what you 
>want to do. But I'd also add informational interviews which is where 
>you question people in the field of interest. You might find job 
>shadowing helpful too. I suspect you cannot shadow specific clients and 
>their social workers due to confidentiality, but you could perhaps 
>shadow other parts of the social work job. The site indeed.com is 
>pretty easily laid out. But I don't recommend monster.com. Its sad to 
>learn of people with  much education, so much interest, and so much 
>potential still not finding work. I know how it feels though having not 
>found employment with my BA. Like Ericka, I have several interests 
>including working with teens and children whether they be regular kids, 
>at-risk kids, or those with some learning challenges or blind 
>themselves. Even in the DC area, I've found most opportunities working 
>with learning disabled or blind kids to be volunteer based. For 
>instance the columbia lighthouse recruits volunteers for its camp; same 
>with camp abilities in MD. Nothing wrong with volunteering, but there 
>comes a time when you want to be paid for your work. Good luck finding 
>employment and navigating vr. Ashley -----Original Message----- From: 
>Lisa Irving via humanser Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2015 4:53 PM
>To: 'Human Services Division Mailing List' Cc: 
>Lisa Irving Subject: Re: [humanser] Challenges with VR services Ericka, 
>Wow! You are very well-rounded. I would think that should make you 
>highly employable. You might consider playing around with monster.com, 
>indeed.com (I think's right), and other job posting sites just to get a 
>feel for careers. Consider writing your ideal job position. Consider 
>taking job interest inventories. If you are involved in a religious 
>organization you may wish to consider taking a gifts of the spirit 
>inventory or class. Ask your closest friends about your strengths and 
>growth areas. Lisa -----Original Message----- From:
>humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ericka via 
>humanser Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2015 1:22 PM To: Human Services 
>Division Mailing List Cc: Ericka Subject: Re:
>[humanser] Challenges with VR services Let me think on this. Can you 
>come up with some other paths for me as well? I have early 
>childhood/learning disabilities education but never really was able to 
>teach in that capacity.
>I have a gerontology certificate and a BA in social work. Unlike you, 
>most of my things I have done where volunteer unless they were part 
>time or work-study/shadowing type. I'm certain that my seizures are not 
>helping me in the hiring process any either. I've never disclosed until 
>after the fact because most of the time my seizures are so under 
>control it's not an issue.
>Ericka Short "Friends are like flowers in the garden of life" Sent from 
>my iPhone > On Oct 6, 2015, at 3:06 PM, Lisa Irving via humanser > 
><humanser at nfbnet.org> > wrote: > > Ericka, > > In the state of 
>California Activity Directors are only required to > complete 32 hours 
>of training. My first two jobs were as an Activity > Director; my 
>degree was in recreation with a concentration in > Therapeutic 
>Recreation. At the time I was nationally certified. > > I see what 
>you're saying about an undergraduate social work position. > What 
>career suggestions can you share with me? > > Thank you. > > Lisa 
>Irving > > -----Original
>Message----- > From: humanser
>[mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of > Ericka via humanser 
>> Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2015 12:51 PM > To: Human Services 
>Division Mailing List > Cc: Ericka > Subject:
>Re: [humanser] Challenges with VR services > > Unless someone else can 
>come up with something, I don't think there is > an entry-level social 
>work job in the field you were looking at. The > only social work 
>related job entry-level that I have been able to > obtain with a 
>bachelors in social work was an activity assistant part > time at a 
>nearby nursing home. I have a non-certification teaching > degree in 
>special ad as well. You'd think I would be employable to > somebody. 
>Here are a big portion of the problem is transportation and > the 
>second is a saturated environment > > Ericka Short > "Friends are like 
>flowers in the garden of life" > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Oct 1, 
>2015, at 7:54 PM, Marisol Carmona via humanser >> <humanser at nfbnet.org> 
>wrote: >> >> Hello, >> >> I tried applying for VR services in order to 
>have some tuition >> assistance during my master’s program, which I 
>will start fall of >> 2016. However, they denied me because by pursuing 
>a social work >> degree, it is expected that I would not be advancing 
>in my career, >> particularly in terms of salary. I am currently 
>employed, but plan on >> quitting my job to focus entirely on school 
>work. I shared with them >> this fact and they said that I would be 
>eligible for VR services if I >> am unemployed, but I possibly could be 
>asked to show proof that I >> cannot get a job with my undergraduate 
>degree in psychology. I >> explained that there are no jobs that I’m 
>aware of where I could work >> as a social worker without a master’s 
>level degree, to which they >> responded that I could probably be hired 
>as an entry level employee. >> Has anyone had a similar challenge?
>Your input is greatly appreciated! >> >> Marisol >> >> >> >> >> 
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