Rhonda's Success with The Choice Group

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Rhonda from Charlottesville loves the new found independence she gained from being employed! 

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How The Choice Group Counseling Program Leads To Employment Success

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At The Choice Group, the goal of counseling is to provide a safe, accepting, and non-judgmental place where individuals can explore issues in confidence. Our goal is for the therapist and client to become a team that explores the client’s strengths, values, fears, and difficulties together. Many of our clients are on the autism spectrum. One such client had been told by a previous employer that he was never going to be able to hold a professional position. Before working with The Choice Group, this individual didn’t have a job coach and was terminated from many previous positions due to challenges with interacting with female coworkers. When The Choice Group manager Shadi Zadeh first met this client about six years ago, he was in his forties, held a Ph.D., and had been working off-and-on for years. By working with our counseling program, he has held down a position as an engineer making $42 an hour with the opportunity for consistent raises and the trust to work from home. Our client ...
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Experience and determination got Keaton the job he wanted!

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Keaton and his grandmother, Faye | Source  New River CC During the Fall of 2014, Keaton Hanks was a volunteer with a new and emerging consulting group in the Pulaski area of southwestern Virginia. Around that time, Keaton began working with his job coach at The Choice Group through Community Support Services. His objective was to gain employment as the consulting group's part-time administrative assistant by working on his customer service and administrative assistance skills with his coach, Caitlin Igor. Together they worked on phone etiquette, data entry, and in-person customer interaction skills while he was volunteering at the consulting agency. After several months of progress, Keaton was hired as the part-time administrative assistant at the consulting agency where he was volunteering! He and his job coach continued to work on reading and interpreting detailed instructions to complete data entry projects as well as advancing his already improved customer service skills. ...
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Building Confidence, Skills, and Independence: Dexter’s Journey

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By: Billy Kraus, Employment Counselor Service Area: Virtual PEERS courses throughout Virginia When I first began working with Dexter in December 2024, he was a bright, kind, and creative young man with a goal that so many of our students share. He wanted meaningful work, real independence, and a chance to contribute in a workplace where he could thrive. What he needed most was support building his confidence and strengthening his communication skills so he could feel prepared stepping into competitive employment. Through several months of Pre-Employment Transition Services and Situational Assessments, we were able to better understand Dexter’s strengths, interests, and needs. From there, he participated in our PEERS Social Skills course. This turned out to be a truly pivotal experience for him. During the program, Dexter practiced social awareness, communication strategies, and real world interaction skills. Over time, I watched him gain confidence, find his voice, and begin to truly b...
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Improving Disability Inclusion in Your Workplace

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     In staying with the theme of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, from the U.S. Department of Labor Blog, here are some tips for employers to improve disability inclusion in the workplace: 5 Tips for Employers on Improving Disability Inclusion In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the recent White House Summit on Disability Employment explored how we can better include people with disabilities in the workplace. Here are five top takeaways from the summit for employers on improving disability inclusion: 1. Connect with local disability advocacy organizations Advocacy organizations across the country are available to provide assistance with training, recruiting and hiring individuals with disabilities. Let them know your business needs and goals and they can help improve your disability employment program. 2. Provide on-the-job training Apprenticeship programs, paid inte...
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