JWOD Program Employs People With Severe Disabilities
John Waterman, a retired engineer and former CEO of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, designed a program to help people with severe disabilities obtain employment. This program, JWOD Program, has been successful in deploying people with autism spectrum disorder into low-wage service jobs in order to increase their self esteem and independence while they work. While many such programs fail those who are most vulnerable due to an inability to find and keep steady jobs over time, this program has shown success through its flexibility in adapting plans for each individual client on the basis of their progress or lack thereof. It offers "adaptive jobs" that engage the client not only in production but also in independent living and community integration. The program is spread across New York City, Long Island, and Westchester.
Waterman created the program after his own personal experience of having a son with autism, which motivated him to improve lives of people with disabilities by providing them with work opportunities. He then founded JWOD Program in 2004 with his sister Sally Waterman. It was Waterman's idea to develop a business plan for placing companies in need of employees on a low-wage level for placement of people with disabilities. From Waterman's perspective as an engineer and designer, he regarded autism as similar to any other disability from a design standpoint. His son's challenges in communication later led him to study autism, particularly the benefits of applying design process to provide better guidance for those with autism.
In 2005, the program partnered with Brooklyn nonprofit JobStart and many other organizations that had interest in employing people with disabilities. In its early phase, the program mainly helped young adults achieve independence through employment in a fast-paced supermarket or a gas station. The first successful graduate got his job at Kroll Bond Rating Agency at Wall Street. In 2009, JWOD was awarded grant from New York City government to train workers and place them into jobs of up to $12 per hour so that they could pay their own rent and save money for the future. In 2010, the program partnered with Westchester Jewish Community Services to further expand into White Plains. In 2011, JWOD began another expansion from its single location to the second location in Long Island. And in 2012, they expanded into 10 new locations across the city of New York and Long Island.
The program offers both job finding and job training so that it can adapt to individual needs of people with autism spectrum disorder to support their employment in the long term. It offers a range of jobs that are designed specifically for people with autism as well as those who want to work despite their disabilities. The program trains the participants for the job, which is then paid by a local business.
Participants of JWOD Program have experienced many benefits from the program, including developing their self-esteem, spiritual and social values and gaining independence. For example, one participant, who joined the program in early phase of its establishment in 2005, said that joining the program has changed his life. He mentioned that getting a job on his own has given him courage to go out and explore other people as well as himself. Another participant said that after starting to work in a fast-paced supermarket, he finally developed confidence to say hello to others without having to worry about what they might think of him.
Due to unexpected success of JWOD Program, it has received many recognition, including being featured in magazine "Autism Asperger's Digest", in which one participant of the program mentioned his personal experience and how joining the program changed his life. In another article by "The Jewish Standard" on JWOD program, a director for JWOD Program mentioned about the success of having people with autism employed after graduation from the program. A "New York Post" article also mentions that one participant has benefited from this program by earning as much as $200 a week from working in a gas station.
The JWOD Program has also been fairly successful in engaging and preparing people with autism spectrum disorders to live independently. The program provides support through work, training and community integration services as an approach to help participants achieve self-sufficiency. In many ways, the program has allowed participants to participate in a community activity that would not have been possible for them otherwise. This has helped young adults who previously had no contact with others outside of the family and school setting or those who had never learned basic social interaction skills acquire meaningful employment skills.
The program was also effective in providing independence from employment which was not known by participants early on in its existence; this helped many young adults develop their social life as well as self-confidence. This independence has been supported in the program through a range of activities and healthy living strategies so that participants can learn to manage their money and social relationships.
The program also assists participants in achieving financial stability, which comes to play a significant role in the participants' life after the end of the training period. In addition, it provides them with community integration services such as meal plans in order to engage them through group education, after-school sessions and workshops.
Overall, the JWOD Program has provided young people with autism spectrum disorder with better opportunities for employment. It is possible that having them gain skills necessary for employment over time may help improve their self-esteem and sense of worth.
The JWOD Program is currently located in 10 different locations across New York City and Long Island, including the following:
JWOD Program also operates in a variety of areas that focus on job opportunities for young adults with autism spectrum disorder. These areas include:
As part of its development, the program has expanded to reach more people with autism spectrum disorders through new and existing program locations. The JWOD Program offers training for both businesses seeking employees as well as training for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. It also continues to develop new strategies and learning techniques for improving the abilities of people with autism.
In 2010, the JWOD Program launched a pilot program that targeted older adults with autism in order to explore whether aging adults could take advantage of the same job training skills provided to young adults. The program offers services such as job finding and job training as well as financial management and socialization services to improve quality of life for aging adults with autism spectrum disorders.
The JWOD Program has also been working with Long Island Jewish Medical Center to develop an initiative that prepares caregivers of the children with autism spectrum disorders for their jobs through a combination of work experience, training and education. The program uses its work program as a way to expand their employment opportunities in a system that relies on training to develop their skills.
JWOD Program has also partnered with the Autism Alliance of Long Island and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center to create summer camp for children with autism spectrum disorders. The summer camp offers similar programs for children including mental health, speech and language and physical therapy services. It also provides socialization activities for children with autism spectrum disorders such as swimming and horse riding.
Conclusion
Although there are still a number of challenges faced in helping more young adults with autism spectrum disorders enter the workforce and live a life of independence, work experience has proved to be a useful tool. It is possible that the JWOD Program's success in providing employment and valuable skills for participants will continue to prove useful as communities continue to broaden their knowledge about autism spectrum disorders.
Articles Cited:
"Bringing Autism Into The Workforce." Autism Asperger's Digest. June 2005: 21-22. Print.
"Autism'S New Job Training Program." The Jewish Standard, December 7, 2006: 24A.