About the time that Nick turned 21, it became clear that the clock was rapidly ticking and a new focus needed to be undertaken to move him along to achieving the goals of high school graduation and an employable set of skills. Again we looked at doing things a little differently, Although Nick continued to be enrolled in school, he had been provided with about all the services that Jardon could provide. It was time for him to take those skills, and with support, apply them in the community. An IEPC was convened.

For this meeting there were some old allies, and some new partners, sitting around the meeting table. By this time, the school personnel were somewhat accustomed to me asking them to think in creative ways about how to move Nick's progress forward. To that end, I indicated that I would like to have invited that Vocational Rehab Counselor mentioned above and staff from a local community-based sheltered workshop. I had heard through a parents' group that the workshop was planning to expand its employment training programs by working with a new local hotel to offer housekeeping and maintenance training experiences. This seemed like an ideal work/study situation. Thus, the plan for that year was that Nick would return to his home school district for early morning academics and then report for work for the remainder of the day.

Admittedly, things were a little rocky at first. Some days the hotel would cancel and say they did not need the help, so Nick would sit in the workshop without much to do. So we tried to transition that into having him do housekeeping or light maintenance work at the sheltered workshop instead of packing widgets if he had to be there for the day.

The hotel experience also expanded into work in the hotel kitchen, thereby using some of the kitchen skills he had learned at Jardon. This experience eventually led into him obtaining a supported employment placement in the commissary of a private boys' prep school about 5 miles from our home, which represented a reasonable driving distance for him. So off to work he went.

This experience was great for him in many ways. First because he had support of a job coach, but mostly was working independently and acquiring important skills like being at work on time, working as a member of a team, and being pleasant and courteous. In addition, this school is known for its great athletic teams. The students took Nick in as a pal and often invited him to attend sporting events with them. This entire episode gave him self-confidence, solidified skills that he had been practicing over the years, and put money in his pocket. Eventually, Nick decided that he had outgrown that job and was ready to take on new horizons.