Why not go to the sheltered workshop first and learn work and social
skills?
Answer:
Using a sheltered workshop to teach valued work
and social skills might be like using a Ouija Board to improve team
communication, to paraphrase management consultant Don Blohoiak.
Segregated settings, especially community monuments such as workshops,
stigmatize people with disabilities and make them stand out as different
and incompetent. These facilities, and any other segregated models
be they recreational or educational, interrupt the natural flow
of personal interaction and activity common in communities. Learning
valued work and social skills occurs only in typical environments.
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- The VCU-BARC Self-Employment & Social Security Pages
have been developed in conjunction with Griffin-Hammis
Associates, LLC. The contents do not necessarily represent
the policy, interpretations or opinion of the Social Security Administration
(SSA). The information contained here is intended to inform readers
of issues that may affect Social Security and/or other public assistance
benefits. Because individual circumstances differ, the reader should
not rely on any information here as being specifically applicable
to an individual's situation. Readers are encouraged to contact
a BPAO benefits specialist to discuss her or his specific situation.
