Strategies That Work Best at Work

Often all that is needed in the workplace to see a FASD individual flourish is a little education, routine and practical hands-on training and coaching. Good supervision, understanding and tolerance also go a long way.

A Recipe for Success

In your workplace add:

1 cup of education
1 cup of structure and routine
1 cup of practical, hands-on training and coaching
add plenty of repetition and praise
1 good handful of supervision

Mix well with the spoon of understanding and tolerance.

What can Employers Expect?

Typical Strengths

Good verbal communication – often very chatty and engaging
Loyal and friendly
Generous and helpful
Perseverance
Creative – artistic, musical
Practical aptitude
Good with animals, young children and the elderly

Typical Challenges

Memory difficulties
Language processing/comprehension deficits
Social difficulties and immaturity
Easily over-whelmed or over-stimulated
Poor impulse control and decision making skills Inability to understand abstract concepts – math, time, money
Poor organisational skills and inability think too far ahead or understand consequences
Easily distracted, short attention span
Quickly frustrated with difficulty regulating emotions
Fatigue
Concrete thinkers, take literal meaning.

What can Employers do to Help?

Provide a structured work environment with very little changes day to day. Those with FASD can be inflexible in their thinking and they find it difficult to quickly adapt to change.
Provide a position with routine. Same position, same task, same work colleagues every day.
Keep instructions specific, simple and explain step by step. Do not give a string of instructions.
Ensure training is hands-on. SHOW don’t just tell. Use the TIPS teaching philosophy as a guide to coaching on the job:
- Tell – explain what you want them to do
- Illustrate – show them what you want them to do
- Practice – let them practice the task in front of you
- Support – close supervision, check often to ensure their understanding
Expect to have to repeat basic instructions often
Provide visual cues to help them with task completion
Help with time management by use of bells or buzzers for break start and stop times.
Put with a ‘work buddie’ who can quietly give guidance in terms of social interactions and work place health and safety expectations. Avoid having them work alongside bad influences (they are vulnerable and easily led).
Focus on strengths. Praise often.
Allow flexibility in scheduling if signs of stress or fatigue are evident.
- Part time hours may be more suitable especially in the beginning.
Keep communications simple and concrete. Do not use phases or words with double meanings. For example; “the balls in your court”
Limit choices and enforcing decision making from them.

Education sector and Workplace Differences

Education Sector	Workplace
He needs to pay more attention to instructions.	We have a board where we post all important daily information. We teach all our staff to refer to it every day. We are reminding him to check the board every day.
He needs to listen.	We will put him with a work buddy who will be on hand to repeat instructions. We will make sure he is with someone who is patient.
He needs to be responsible for his own time management.	We have set break times and a Team Co-ordinator who ensures everyone is back at work at the right time.
He needs to form independent work habits and take responsibility for his own learning.	We have a training co-ordinator who will work closely with him on the job (supported hands on learning). We use the TIPS method of training: Tell, Illustrate, Practice, Support.
He needs to learn to transition well from class to class/subject to subject.	We will have him repeat the same task until he is fully competent at it and before moving him on to more complex tasks. Repetitive and routine.
He is defiant and breaks the rules.	We will ensure he is surrounded by a good team with good work ethic to ensure he is steered in the right direction.
He needs to be socially isolated as he is a distraction to others.	We encourage social interactions to build a sense of being part of the team.
He has not fulfilled the criteria and will not get a certificate/award.	We recognise outstanding performance of individuals but we also encourage and reward team effort.
He is too difficult to manage in the afternoons.	We will trial him with full time hours and can scale that back if he becomes too fatigued.
He needs to start making choices for his own learning.	We will ensure a static work environment for him with set hours in the same department with the same colleagues. Choices to move to other departments will be limited.

Final Word

Working and feeling useful and respected is an important part of life for everybody but perhaps more so for those with FASD. Too often these children are leaving school with no qualifications. They may not have been adequately supported in the education sector and leave with a real sense of failure that can spin them into anti-social and criminal behaviour.

If you can believe and focus on their strengths, understand and accommodate their deficits, then you could help restore some of their self-esteem and alter their life outcome.

Wherever possible, it is also helpful to keep in touch with family/caregivers so that small issues do not become big problems. FASD is a spectrum and very individual. Ensure you get to know the person you employ.

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