More Preparation:

Practical Work Experience, Assertiveness Training, and Public Speaking Skills

Some of the challenges that a job seeker with a disability shares with all job seekers are more pronounced. Although the challenges often vary by the individual as well as by the nature of the disability, too many people with disabilities fail to take advantage of opportunities to foster their own career development. Others, because of experiences they had while growing up, may not have had the chance to develop, through a variety of experiences, in self-confidence or other areas such as public speaking. If you lack skills in these areas, there are steps you can take to address these concerns.

Experiential Education
Lack of experience is the number one thing holding back the employment of people with disabilities. This is an important issue for all job seekers, but it is particularly crucial for people with disabilities. Showing that you have practical experience is the one thing that can go the furthest in proving that you will be able to perform the essential functions of the job.

What is experiential education? It can come in many forms. In its most common form, it is an experience that is related somehow to more formal “in-class” education. It is an important part of many high school and college experiences. The value is that you can gain practical experience that, when accompanied by the kind of theoretical knowledge you have gained in the classroom, gives you a more three-dimensional understanding of the work.

Obviously, it’s to your advantage to become involved in some form of experiential education while you are still enrolled in school. Schools often have well-established contacts and can help you break into a company in which you are interested. The fact is, however, that it is never too late to get this kind of experience. Many people who are considering making a career move will volunteer with a not-for-profit agency in the evenings or on weekends. This gives the volunteer the feeling of fulfillment that comes with helping out a good cause, as well as some practical experience in a field of interest.

What forms can experiential education take? These experiences come under various labels, some of which are used almost interchangeably. These programs can include apprenticeships, internships, cooperative education, service learning, practicum, student teaching, and volunteer work. The following sections discuss these forms of experience in more detail.

Apprenticeships
Usually associated with the skilled trades, an apprenticeship is a form of on-thejob training. The apprentice works with a skilled veteran craftsman for a period of time, after which the apprentice becomes a fully functional tradesman. To learn more about apprenticeships, visit the following sites on the Web:

The Office of Apprenticeship Training, Employer and Labor Services www·doleta·gov/atels_bat This U.S. Department of Labor site offers information on apprenticeship programs from across the country.

Job Corps

jobcorps·doleta·gov This federally funded job training program is for at-risk youth, ages 16 through 24.

Internships

An internship is usually a one-time work experience done by a student who is at least at the high school level. Many interns are in college and have taken some coursework that is related to the field. The intern works in a professional setting under the supervision of at least one practicing professional for a period of around three to four months (or one college semester). The student may or may not get academic credit for the internship. Some companies pay interns, whereas others do not.

For more information about internships, see the following Web sites:

InternWeb·com
www·internweb·com

This site has the benefit of some well-written information about internships, as well as an easily searchable database of internship opportunities.

Workforce Recruitment Program

A program available to college students specializing in assisting students with disabilities to acquire internship opportunities is the Workforce Recruitment Program run by the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor. More information on this program can be found on the ODEP Web site.

Entry Point

www·entrypoint·org This is another great resource for internship opportunities for students with disabilities in Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science. Entry Point, a program of the American Association for the Advancement of the Sciences (AAAS) is a summer internship program that partners with NASA, IBM, The National Science Foundation, Lucent Technologies, Seagate Technologies, Procter & Gamble, and Texas Instruments. Check out the Web site for more information on the program.

Cooperative Education (Co-op)

Cooperative education is usually a work experience done by a student who is at least at the high school level. Cooperative education usually spans more than one semester. These students are enrolled in high school or college and have accumulated a significant number of credit hours in their major academic study area. The co-op involves work assignments that are related to the student’s academic and career interests. Co-op students are almost always paid, and they earn academic credit. The typical program plan is for students to be involved in the work setting at the same time that they are taking classes in this area, thereby maximizing both experiences. Examples of career fields that regularly suggest co-op education are engineering, physical therapy, and pharmacy.

For more information about co-op opportunities, check out the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ JobWeb:

www·jobweb·com

Service Learning

Service learning is a term used to describe what is usually a component of an individual academic class. The idea is to augment the academic content of a class with practical experience. Service learning does not involve pay and is usually arranged at a not-for-profit organization. Supervision is not often a major component of service learning.

Practicum

A practicum is similar to service learning in that it usually does not offer pay and usually is completed as part of an academic class. Most practicum experiences are centered on human-service occupations such as social work and counseling.

Student Teaching

In order to complete a degree in education, a student must first demonstrate competency in the area of teaching. To that end, students are placed in a classroom setting where an experienced teacher supervises them. The supervising teacher observes the student teacher in the preparation and delivery of classroom presentations and lesson plans. These are rarely if ever paid experiences; however, the student teacher does receive academic credit.

Volunteer Experiences

For the most part, the experiences described above are all associated with a structured academic setting. Many individuals arrange practical work experiences on their own as well. The volunteer experience can be very flexible. Depending on the employer’s need and the volunteer’s availability, this may involve a full-time commitment for several weeks, or it may involve the volunteer coming to help out when they can.

For more information about volunteer opportunities, check out the following:

Idealist

www·idealist·org
A clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities, which you can search based on your interests, skills, and dates of ability.

SERVEnet www·servenet·org A free matching service for volunteers and organizations.

Assertiveness
Throughout the job-search process, it will pay to have developed your assertiveness skills. These skills will help you as you communicate your decision about which career you want to pursue. They will help you as you approach your networking contacts. You will need them as you interview for positions. You will need them as you negotiate an offer, and you will need them as you negotiate accommodations in the workplace.

It is possible that you have already developed significant skills in this area. Many people with disabilities have had to learn to be very assertive as they have negotiated the educational system. From advocating for access or an appropriate Individualized Education Plan (IEP) in the K–12 setting, or advocating for academic accommodations in higher education, you may have had to be extremely assertive to have gotten where you are today.

Sometimes, however, this is not the case. Sometimes the struggle in the K–12 setting is so great, or the resistance from health-care providers is so strong, that it is the parents of the person with a disability who have become more assertive and staunch advocates for their son or daughter.

Not only is this unfortunate from the standpoint that the parents have had to fight so hard for what should have come more easily, it is unfortunate because it keeps the person with a disability from doing more of the fighting for herself or himself.

When this is the case, it actually slows the personal development of the person with a disability. Regardless of the reason for a lack of assertiveness, it is important that you overcome this weakness.

Perhaps you are unsure of whether or not you are assertive. Some people believe they are assertive, when in fact they are perceived as meek. Others feel that they are assertive, but are perceived by others as being just plain aggressive. Generally speaking, assertive people are considerate of others but make decisions based on their own needs. Aggressive people tend to act based on their needs but without consideration for how those actions might affect others. Nonassertive (passive) people make decisions with the feelings of other people in mind, intent on avoiding conflict at any cost. These questions may help you determine whether or not you are assertive:

1. If someone asks you to do something or go somewhere, and you don’t want to, are you fairly likely to say no rather than go along so as not to hurt their feelings?

2. Are you comfortable asking for favors, or do you constantly find yourself apologizing when you ask for help?

3. If someone older (parents, teacher, relative) expresses a strong opinion with which you disagree, are you comfortable presenting your opinion in a reasoned way?

4. Do you find yourself able to resist peer pressure?

5. Are you proud of your accomplishments? Are you comfortable being complimented for those accomplishments?

6. If someone does something that bothers you (such as cutting in front of you in a line), do you bring that to their attention?

7. Do you feel comfortable maintaining eye contact throughout a conversation?

8. Are you more likely to demand something than to ask for it?

9. If someone disagrees with you, do you view that person as “wrong”?

10. If you compromise with someone, do you feel like you have lost?

If you answered yes to questions 1 through 7, you are likely to be consistently assertive. If you answered yes to questions 8 through 10, you are probably consistently aggressive. If you answer most of questions 1 through 7 with a yes, you may be assertive, but could improve. If you answered four or fewer of the first seven questions with a yes, you can definitely use some help in becoming more assertive.

Possible Sources of Nonassertiveness
There are a lot of sources for nonassertiveness. Many of the causes affect everyone. Some of the causes of nonassertiveness can be made much worse by the presence of a disability. Use the table that follows to identify problem areas for you. By identifying the sources of nonassertive behavior, you will be in a better position to address them.

Tips for Becoming More Assertive
Becoming more assertive is not something that will happen overnight. It will take time, and it will take a great deal of practice. Some of the activities will seem a little monotonous, but as you repeat them, you will find that you are more able to respond in a confident, assertive way.

Be Willing to Take Risks
It is only by taking chances that you can fail, but it is also only by taking chances that you can truly succeed. If you are willing to forgive yourself if you stumble, it will be easier to take a chance.

Be Happy About Your Successes
Don’t dwell on negative experiences. Learn from them and move on. Take a minute to enjoy the successes that you have as well. It’s OK to be proud of your accomplishments. If someone says “Nice job!,” don’t say “It was nothing.” Say “Thanks. It was a lot of hard work, but I am really happy with the way it turned out.” And mean it!

Keep Learning and Improving
If you need improvement in an area, keep working on it. Ask for suggestions. Ask questions to better understand something. It is far better to ask a question and admit that you don’t understand something than to pretend that you do and be stuck.

Forgive Yourself
It’s okay if you never quite get it down perfectly. Ted Williams was the best hitter in the history of baseball. He has held this distinction even though he failed to get a hit more than 6 times out of 10. Forgive yourself for being human. Although you are bound to make mistakes, so have your parents, your friends, and your teachers. I know that I’ve made some dandies!

Practice Speaking Assertively
Be direct. Speak about how you feel, what you see, what conclusions you draw. Do it in a clear and specific way:

“Jenny, when you smoke in my car, the windows get all foggy at night and it makes it hard for me to see.”

“Jim, when you don’t call and tell me you are going to be late, I waste my time waiting for you when I could be doing something else.”

Listen to Your Voice
Listen to yourself talk, use a tape recorder, or have someone else help you with this. Listen for uncertainty. Listen for tremors or signs of no confidence.

Be Aware of Your Body Language
If you look meek, you will be perceived as meek. Practice making eye contact. Sit alertly in your chair. Don’t cross your arms. Don’t fidget.

Listen
Listening is crucial to acting assertively. If you aren’t sure what the other person is saying, you will be less sure about your response. Listen carefully, check to be sure that you understood correctly if necessary, and then respond.

Be True to Yourself
Remember that it’s okay to say no. It’s okay if others are disappointed. Don’t feel obligated to do everything that is asked of you. If someone has been in a car accident and needs your help, by all means, go and help them. If someone wants you to help him or her move a sofa during your daughter’s piano recital, tell them that you are unable to help. Don’t feel the need to apologize and explain why you can’t help.

Acting assertively is as much about feeling confident about your worth as a human being as it is about anything else. If you have spent a lot of your life hearing people focus on the things that you can’t do rather than on the things you can do, it’s natural that you will not feel as confident about yourself. Bruce Willis, George Clooney, and Doug Flutie are not the best singers that you will ever hear, although they have all tried, and they would all like to succeed in this arena. Michael Jordan was a pretty poor professional baseball player. Wouldn’t it seem ridiculous if they listened to their critics and felt less about themselves because of one area where they didn’t excel? That’s no more ridiculous than you buying into the opinions of others and dwelling on the few things you can’t excel at, rather than on the many things you can do very well.