Thursday, June 22, 2000

There's pride in Efrain's routine now

Michelle Christenson/Caller-Times

Efrain Juarez shreds documents at Alice Regional Hospital.

Ever since their 20-year-old son was a child, wake-up time for Elena and Robert Juarez has been 5:30 a.m.
   For years, their morning ritual never deviated. Their son, Efrain, repeatedly returned to his bedroom to inspect his belongings before finally leaving their home in Alice. His TV had to be on either the Discovery Channel or the Weather Channel before being turned off. The radio had to be set on a certain station, books lined up neatly on the shelves and videos put in order. The checks were so numerous that the family needed the early start in order to get Efrain, who has mental retardation, autism and obsessive compulsive disorder, to school on time.
   That all changed in April when Efrain, an Alice High School senior, landed his first job with the help of a pilot project that assists students with significant disabilities to transition better from the school system to the real world. Today, Efrain wakes up at 7:30 a.m., and his compulsion to recheck his bedroom is forgotten in his enthusiasm to get to Alice Regional Hospital by 9 a.m., where he shreds documents two hours a day, twice a week.
   Tools for the job
   "This vocational profile project doesn't guarantee anybody a job, but it gives them the tools to be gainfully employed," Elena Juarez said. "That's what we're getting him ready for, because one day we won't be around."

To learn more For more information about the vocational profile project, call 561-8525.

   That realization hit the Juarezes two years ago, when Efrain's father suffered a heart attack.
   "If something happened to the both of us, what would become of my son?" Elena wondered.
   After meeting with their son's school principal, the Juarezes were referred to a new project under way at the Education Service Center, Region 2, that addressed the "What comes after school?" concerns parents like themselves wrestle with. To participate in the pilot project, Elena Juarez took 90 hours of training. In all, eight students from the area participated; four are now employed.
   Life experiences
   The project uses a profile process originally devised for adults with significant disabilities that, unlike traditional vocational assessment methods, takes into account the job applicant's entire life experience.
   "This profile becomes a working document, almost like a resume or work history, that can be used by an agency, like the Texas Rehabilitation Commission, to continue services once that individual graduates from school," said Twinkle Morgan, an ESC consultant. Morgan spearheaded the project to adapt the vocational assessment tool for use in school districts.
   To prepare Efrain for his hospital job, the Juarezes used picture cues similar to the ones used to get him ready for school. Because Efrain is not an auditory learner, the cue system capitalizes on his visual strengths to teach and reinforce life skills.
   Efrain's schedule
   After consulting a master schedule in his bedroom, Efrain starts his day with the first picture block, which directs him to the bathroom to wash up. The next picture cue directs him to the breakfast table where he must get his food and utensils, and so forth. In all, there are 37 cues in the Juarez home.
   Efrain has progressed so much at work that picture cues have been phased out.
   While Efrain adapted to the work world, the Juarezes embarked on a discovery process of their own.
   "I couldn't see my son's qualities because I kept comparing him to our daughter," said Elena, referring to Efrain's sister, a 25-year-old University of Texas graduate who is an interior designer in Dallas. "She's a go-getter, a high achiever and I was wanting that for my son without considering his limitations.
   Right to his own life
   "It took a lot of teary nights, but I now accept him for who he is. And I realized he has every right to make his own life in a place he feels comfortable in."
   Elena credits the profile project for helping her see all the unique ways Efrain can contribute to society.
   "The profile project has helped me see my son through very different eyes," Elena said. "The negative things that I saw in him really turned out to be positive things."
  
  
 

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