Program Works with Casper Hospital to Provide a Disabled Student a Job
(Posted February 16, 2016)
Article by Heather Richards, January 9, 2016
Note: Students with multiple disabilities, especially where cognition is involved, create a special emphasis on job training and workability. Options such as the one in this article expand the parameters of where to look for pre-employment opportunities during Transition.
Noah, 20, has several disabilities, including cerebral palsy that prevent him from following a more typical path after high school. Noah’s job at the hospital is a trial of sorts, the brainchild of his teachers at the Natrona County School District ABLE program, Adult Based Learning Environments, and hospital officials. ABLE is a bridge to ease the transition from high school to life for disabled students. It teaches life, job and social skills.
Four days a week, Noah arrives at the ambulance bay at 9 a.m. He spends the next hour and a half filling blood draw kits for the EMTs: color-coded vials, a needle, two alcohol swabs in a plastic baggie. He checks that the 20-plus vacant rooms in the ER are stocked. He prepares urine kit bags. The sequencing is important. It helps him remember. The part time job at the hospital is about finding a niche for Noah, where he can be productive and social.