The Journal News (Westerchester County, NY), December 12, 2004, Sunday

Copyright 2004 The Journal News (Westerchester County, NY)
All Rights Reserved
The Journal News

December 12, 2004 Sunday

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A

HEADLINE: COMING OF AGE

SERIES: Coming of Age

BYLINE: Amy Sara Clark

BODY:
Developmentally disabled make way into work force
Once relegated to low-paying jobs, many seek careers
Amy Sara Clark
For The Journal News
First in a series The moment Jessica Martino was born, the medical staff could tell from her tiny features that she had Down syndrome, and the delivery room fell still. Kay and Luigi Martino's doctor told them she would never walk or talk or be able to love. It was 1978, a time when it was still common for doctors to advise parents to institutionalize newborns who were develop-mentally disabled. The Martinos didn't listen. Today, she has a job and a full social life and soon will move into her own home.
Every weekday afternoon, Jessica Martino walks through the sunlight-filled library at Westchester Community College, straightening chairs, collecting books and keeping order in what - especially come finals - can be a very disorderly place.
Martino, who has Down syndrome, works 17y hours a week in a permanent clerk position and gets full benefits, including health insurance, a pension plan, and vacation and sick days.
When Martino is done with her rounds, she electronically scans the books, then sorts them by call numbers. She also sends out video materials requested by other libraries and modifies records in the library's database.
Four decades ago, a person with developmental disabilities securing such a job would have been nearly unheard of. Back then, if such a person worked, it was most likely in a "sheltered workshop" specifically for the disabled. If the person did get a mainstream job, it was likely to be at the lowest level, with little chance of advancement.
"People were working for minimum, or even subminimum wage," said Carol Blessing of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. "They weren't going anywhere."
Carolyn Holodak of Yonkers had such an experience.
Holodak graduated from high school in 1974 and was considered lucky when she secured a 15-hour-a-week job at a college cafeteria with the help of Westchester ARC, a social-services agency. At first, she was happy to have the work, but with a fifth-grade reading level, she soon felt unchallenged.
"They never really tried to train her to do anything," said her father, James Holodak. "After 20 years, she was about where she was when she started."
A few years ago, through political volunteer work, Holodak landed a full-time salaried job with benefits at Yonkers City Hall. She started out sorting and distributing mail, but her duties have grown to include maintaining records and answering the phone.
If she had been born a generation later, that job would have come much sooner.
Legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits employers from discriminating against people with disabilities as long they can do the job with reasonable accommodation, has opened up a world of opportunity. Teens with developmental disabilities now begin exploring potential careers in high school.
Jessica Sirota, 27, of Pomona tried several jobs, including working at a nursing home and busing tables at a Ruby Tuesday, before settling on a job at a day-care center, which she adores. "I love being with (the children); I get to talk to them, I play with them and I enjoy them," she said.
Joseph Lombardozzi, a 19-year-old who has autism, found his job at Pappalardo, Tombini & Wolff, a small Elmsford law firm, through an internship program at Southern Westchester's Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
"At first, we thought we were going to get a regular vocational student," said Michele Tombini, a partner at the firm. But the school suggested Lombardozzi, and the match was apt.
"The task itself is very repetitive in nature," said the firm's senior paralegal, Phyllis Brigantino. "The average young person would get very bored with the job."
Lombardozzi continues checking his work long after most employees would have gotten lazy, Brigantino said, adding that he rarely makes mistakes. "Not a single keystroke error," she said. "No matter what he does, he does it to precision."
So when another position opened, the firm went back to BOCES.
"The pride, the work ethic," Brigantino said. "Why wouldn't you want someone that does at a drop of a hat whatever you ask?"
Lombardozzi started out entering data from legal files, then packing the files for storage, and the firm continues to expand his duties. Now he opens mail and categorizes legal documents, sends out records to government offices, photocopies, and faxes and downloads legal files from the Internet. Tombini said she lies awake at night, thinking of new tasks she can give him to help him grow.
"For me, it's been quite remarkable to see a human being go from a very isolated person to such a social employee," Brigantino said. "For example, he used to not like people touching him. Now he high-fives them."
While Martino, Sirota and Lombardozzi work in what's called competitive employment, another option for people with disabilities is to work in a "work crew," supervised by a nondisabled job coach. Nick Albrecht of Mahopac sorts and hangs up clothing at a Goodwill store with a small group of friends from Putnam Associated Resource Centers. He's paid by the piece for his work, and he enjoys it. "I like hanging clothes, (and) I eat lunch down there," he said.
In this economy, it's harder than it used to be to get businesses to hire people with disabilities, professionals say, and one solution is for people with disabilities to create their own businesses. Another Step, a Rockland County agency, has helped four of its clients create a line of gumball machines. Jill McManus of Valley Cottage and three of her friends, Andy Vunk of Pearl River, Jeffrey Askew of Pomona and Kelley Christie of Pearl River, own about 20 machines in Rockland. They count the gumballs, clean the machines, count the quarters and try to expand.
"These guys have a very good feeling about owning their own business. It's being in control of your own destiny," said Jack Ribeiro, who directs Another Step's employment services.
McManus, 27, said she likes the store owners and friends she's working with. "I'm happy. I like to do gum machines. It's fun, making money," she said.
Although legislation and special programs have opened up a world of opportunity for McManus and Martino's generation, there's still a long way to go.
A lingering problem, many advocates agree, is a lack of flexibility in funding sources. For example, someone with an IQ a few points too high might not qualify for programs, even if other problems prevent the individual from finding employment.
Although things have gotten better, in the end it's still up to the parents to secure the appropriate resources and services for their children - and it's up to employers to be willing to hire them.
"A lot of people Jessica went to school with, I know they can do a lot more," said her mother, Kay Martino. "Kids that certainly aren't any more disabled than she is, they work as busboys, or work at the gym picking up towels, or at the grocery store doing carts. And nothing's wrong with doing that. But that's all they're going to get the opportunity to do for the next 30 years, when they could do more if somebody gave them a little push or a little helping hand."
Resources
Putnam
* The Friends Network (also serves Westchester):
845-225-1741.
* Putnam Associated Resource Centers or PARC:
845-278-7272.
* Putnam County Office for People with Disabilities:
845-228-5912.
* Taconic Developmental Disabilities Services Office:
845-279-2905.
Rockland
* Another Step Inc. (also serves Westchester):
845-353-2809.
* ARC of Rockland: 845-267-2500.
* Hudson Valley Developmental Disabilities Services Office (also serves Westchester):
845-947-6100.
* Rockland County Department of Mental Health:
845-364-2374.
Westchester
* North East Westchester Special Recreation Inc.: 914-347-4409.
* Nor-West Regional Special Services: 914-737-4797.
* South East Consortium For Special Services: 914-698-5232.
* Westchester ARC: 914-428-8330.