Breaking the barriers into work

Sam_Alumni

"A picture book-related project has been launched to help people with learning disabilities and autism prepare for the world of work.

People with a learning disability are more excluded from the workplace than any other group of disabled people. More than 65% of people with a learning disability and autism would like a paid job yet only 7% have one and in many cases this is part-time work.

The government is working with social enterprise Beyond Words, which produces books, services and training for those who find pictures easier to understand than words. The project will include four new picture books that will focus on four stages of employment including leaving school or college, volunteering, finding work and staying in a job." 

You can read more about the project here.

Would this project help you or your loved ones? What other things could be put in place to help break the barriers that disabled people face in the world of work? Let us know your thoughts now.

LDNUMBERPAIN

Hi Sam,
From your comments the focus on 'breaking the barriers' accepts the need to simplify written information with pictures which will be helpful for communication  but what about using computers  as is increasingly required  for employment and not least computing for work courses?  on the web site of a  computing for work company it claims to provide for adults with learning difficulties, (LD) but in practice only put there otherwise excellent tutors under contract to teach on paper the course syllabus -which is not the same thing as teaching LD adults at a pace they can handle  what the session lesson requires.

I can say from personal experience that at least one major computing for work course provider does not pass on to its tutors important documented evidence about specific learning difficulties to its under contract tutors because my last tutor never knew anything about my LD until I asked if they had been informed and only then did the tutor make exaustive efforts to  carry me through the session exercise.
 The only way the tutor was able to fulfill the contract condition of teaching all the syllabus required was to sit one to one and verbally dictate which keys to press in the correct sequence which left no time to ask questions to make things clear -but only served to 'prove' that I had completed the required task from the exercise print out which left me none the wiser about why I was unable to perform the task on my own..what then is the point of giving LD people a course pass certificate if they are unable to perform what that peace of paper says they can -in a work pressure situation?
Those who found the volume of information to much to cope with and began to miss sessions were simply deleted from the course register which left the company with a 'high' pass percentage based on full attendance, the paper stats do not include the number of adults with LD who's names have been removed from the register. Computing for work courses in there present form act as a screening out process to exclude those with LD.

 Computing for work courses already provide excellent pictures for LD adults to study at home which are very helpful but Its not more information that LD people need to learn faster-its tutors who will work at the pace the LD adult can cope with and that means explaining in as few words as possible put simply in terms the LD person can understand  using constant basic techniques rather than a guided tour round multiple icons ect.  I know this can be done because on a previous computing for work course I asked the tutor to explain one key function with multiple applications and every one in the small group understood, it was unfortunate that the tutor was under contract to teach what the syllabus required so time pressure prevented exploring it further.  

Sam_Alumni

Some great thoughts there @LDNUMBERPAIN