COACH and CUSTOMIZED EMPLOYMENT: A PROMISING COLLABORATION

On April 29, 2010 I attended a very interesting training entitled IEP's From Start to Finish. One of the presenters spoke about using the COACH program for children with disabilities. The program has shown great promise and is appropriate for students from 3 to 21 years of age with moderate, severe, and profound disabilities (or "differing abilities"). It was interesting to note the similarities between this program and the Customized Employment approach Job Squad uses to assist our job-seekers in finding employment opportunities. Some of the main aspects of the program include a focus on family, collaboration among schools, support persons, and other agencies and professionals involved in a student's life. With COACH, the focus in on family, support persons, interests, social activities, educational, support needs, and career goals (especially for high school age students). In other words, the focus is on the whole person and not a "system". It is important to note that "family" is defined as adults who live with and care for the student. The family (and student, if appropriate) determine the goals to focus on for each year. The following is a summary of important questions and answers that explain more about the program:

How does COACH fit into IEP development?
A: COACH is meant to be used as one part of an overall approach to planning an appropriate education for a student with disabilities. Therefore, it is appropriately considered an IEP planning tool and has proven to be a useful component of transition planning (e.g., preschool to kindergarten; grade to grade; school to postschool). The information generated using COACH is designed to develop an appropriate, individualized education program. COACH is
Not designed to determine eligibility for special education
Not designed to provide a comprehensive assessment profile
Not designed to assign grade or developmental levels
Not designed to be used to the exclusion of other planning tools
Not designed to justify segregation of students with disabilities
COACH is meant to assist in educational planning by
Identifying family-centered priorities
Identifying additional learning outcomes (e.g., general education)
Identifying general supports to be provided to or for the student
Identifying priorities into IEP goals and objectives
Summarizing the educational program as a Program-at-a Glance
Organizing the planning ream to implement the program
Scheduling participation in general education classes/activities
Planning and adapting lesson plans to facilitate learning
Evaluating the impact of educational experiences
Typically, COACH is used to assist in the identification of IEP goals and objectives and to provide some information to document a student's present level of functioning in reference to selected goals and objectives. The planning activities conducted using COACH are then documented in the IEP.

In the article, Severe Disabilities (Education and Individuals With Severe Disabilities: Promising Practices), June E. Downing and Stephanie MacFarland elaborate on the absolute necessity of active family involvment in developing and implementing an educational program for students).

"Given the importance of meeting individual needs that reflect cultural differences, religion, experiences, and language, active family involvement to assist with assessments and determining instructional programs for a particular student is a recommended practice (Downing 2008; Turnbull et al. 2006). When students are unable to speak for themselves, which is often the case for students with severe disabilities, information from family members regarding expectations at home, skills and interests of the student, concerns, and future goals serves to guide educational programs. The home-school relationship is vital, and specific approaches have been developed to facilitate this bridge, such as these seminal approaches: Person Direct Support (O'Brien et al. 2005), and Choosing Outcomes and Accommodations for Children (Giangreco et al. 1998). These approaches to obtaining information from families are designed to keep the individual student as the focal point, with those closest to the student using their in-depth knowledge and caring for the person to guide their comments and hopes for the future"

Downing JE, MacFarland S. 2010. Severe Disabilities (Education and Individuals with Severe Disabilities: Promising Practices). In: JH Stone, M Blouin, editors. International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. Available online: http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/article.php?id=114&language=en

All parties involved in a student's life are interconnected. Every component, whether it is educational, career goals, social life is of equal importance and one should work together to strengthen the other. For instance, teachers can greatly assist career counselors in providing valuable work experiences for students by open sharing of information (the COACH profile is a useful tool for this since it shows all the individual's goals, support needs, social needs, etc.. on 1 page). This profile is similar to the Vocational Profile we use at Job Squad to learn more about an individual. It is especially important to get differing perspective about an individual from the people they are closest to and obtain detailed information. This open sharing of information is beneficial all parties in assisting students in setting and achieving goals and in linking careers with the actual coursework they are doing.

Next posting: Discover how to assist students in linking educational experiences with career experiences!