Proven-Effective Approach
Research-Based
- Developed through a grant from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities.
- Based on feedback from hundreds of self-advocates, parents, and service providers.
- Featuring best practice: incremental instruction, video models, audio-visual support, graphic organizers, and a sensory-friendly design.
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Field-Tested
- Effective across multiple pilot tests.
- Tested with diverse users: gender, age, ethnicity, disability, employment background, socioeconomic status.
- Tested in diverse settings: self-paced, 1:1 support; small group, transition classroom.
- Consistent outcomes: improvement in employment status, self-confidence, knowledge and skill level, and job search behaviors.
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Praise from Our Users
Self-Advocates
Brent T, who found a job after using the Virtual Job Coach
“[My biggest challenge in finding a job before using the Virtual Job Coach was] not knowing how to get started. [It] gave me self-confidence…and taught me how to find a job.”
Kayla D, who found a job after using the Virtual Job Coach
“[My biggest challenge was] being nervous that I don’t qualify. [Using the Virtual Job Coach] taught me how to tell my employer about my disability.”
James G, self-employed IT Specialist
“I appreciated the way everything was set up and was geared to fit an autistic [person]. All those videos, all those texts, and you could just replay it…It also helped me remember and pay attention to what I got out of the website…Everything really helped reinforce what I actually learned.”
Practitioners
Leah Davis, Project Search Teacher, Fort Bend ISD/United Healthcare
“The change I see in my students using the Virtual Job Coach modules is a change in their self-confidence and self-awareness. The students have really embraced their disabilities as a positive and have learned their strengths and weaknesses in the workplace.”
Rebecca Moran, Pilot Coordinator “My students’ confidence level was totally different from when I first met to when we were actually finishing up. It showed even in the way they acted. They would say, ‘Oh, I don’t think I should apply,’ or ‘I don’t think I should go for that interview. I won’t get it.’ But after doing the modules, they believed in themselves. They said, ‘I can do this. I can make this resume or this cover letter. If it doesn’t go well…I still have the skills I need to continue and keep looking for jobs.'”
Dr. Maria Quintero-Conk, Clinical Psychologist
“For many years, I have seen students and young adults with Autism who have so much to offer to the world, but can’t get a job. We’ve tried to fit them into existing programs to learn the skills they need, but this doesn’t work. In the Virtual Job Coach, we finally have a program designed for people with autism, with direct input by people with autism every step of the way. We need this program in every classroom and every service system in the country.”
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About
The Virtual Job Coach was built for and by people with developmental disabilities. It was created through a grant from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities.
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