Resource 6: Self-Advocacy and Disclosure for Students and Employment: Implementation Support

This is a checklist of steps that supervisors can take to teach this Practice to their VR counselors*. The steps follow adult learning principles and are designed to support counselors in learning about and implementing this new practice.

  1. First, determine the learning goals related to this practice: What do you want VR counselors to know or know how to do with regards to this Practice?
  2. Adult learners need to 1) understand the content; 2) figure out how its relevant, useful, and feasible to apply; 3) identify the skills they will need to use; and 4) practice implementing it, ideally in their setting. Review the Practice with these questions:
    1. Knowledge: What is the best practice?
      Review the Case Example for Self-Advocacy and Disclosure, or the Module “[title of student module here]”
    2. Attitudes: How possible is it to implement in our program? How will it help our clients? Review these requirements and discuss how feasible it is to implement.

      Setting requirements

      • Office with privacy to conduct mock interviews

      Other clients

      • N/A

      Other resources

      • Working knowledge of types of accommodations available

      Barriers to implementation

      • Counselor comfort with mock interviewing
      • Counselor familiarity with disclosure strategies
      • Counselor comfort with discussing self-care issues and strategies

      Opportunities for implementation

      • Regular appointments with clients that could include mock interviews
    3. Skills: What do will the counselors need to do?
      • Conduct mock interviews and coach clients to disclose disabilities
      • Identify and problem solve around self-care challenges at work for individual clients.
    4. Practice: How would we do it here? Talk through steps to implementation together, from identifying clients to conducting practice interviews.
      • Can you eliminate any of the barriers you identified above?
      • How will you or the counselor identify clients to engage with this practice?
      • What support does the counselor want in order to use this practice with his/her first client?
      • What does the counselor need to do next?
      • What do you need to do to provide support for your counselor?
      • What is a realistic timeline for engaging the first client in this newpractice?
      • How/when will you and the counselor continue to problem solve any implementation challenges?

    *counselor can also mean vendor, as some sites may contract out for the services described

 

Next: Continue to Resource 7.