Special Needs

     I found chapter 6 of Brown (2012) extremely interesting because is it important to understand that individuals have special needs, and those needs need to be addressed in alternative ways. When it comes to getting a career, most people do not even realize that there are careers some individuals simply cannot have because of a special need. Individuals with special needs include those with disabilities, women, displaced workers, economically disadvantaged, delayed entrants (including military personnel), midlife job changers, older workers, and LGBTQI+. Some of these people most might not consider as special needs, but they are because they do not have the same resources as more advantaged people do in getting a job or having a career. I will highlight a few of these in this blog post.
     It is important to note that individuals with disabilities include those who have difficulty in their mobility, hearing, vision, developmental disorders, seizure disorders, psychiatric disorders, and cognition issues. These people are still capable of working, but it might be a different degree or in a different way than those who are able can do it. It is also important to recognize that many laws are in place in order to protect those with disabilities from discrimination. In career counseling an individual with a disability, it is good to start in a process of assessment, occupational exploration and choice, vocational training, placement, and follow-up. Obviously this process is something can be adjusted slightly to be tailored to each person as no one is the same. There are complications in job placements, mostly due to those who believe disabled individuals are not as capable as able-bodied people.
     In regards to LGBTQI+ individuals, it is important to know that there is a high amount of discrimination when it comes to sexuality and gender (please note that these two things are not one in the same.) The biggest disadvantage for LGBTQI+ is that they are protected by laws federally, and the laws that protect from discrimination vary from state to state and most states do not have any laws. Someone who identifies in the community can easily be fired strictly due to their sexual orientation or gender representation and there is no repercussions to those who fired them based on an arbitrary reason.  In career counseling, it is important to recognize these barriers and the counselor needs to become an advocate for their clients.
     The last special needs population I am going to address is older workers. Many hirers are hesitant to hire older workers because of they assume the myths of they have health problems, they are inflexible, less productive, unhappy in a job they are "overqualified" for and working for a younger supervisor, and that they have diminished strength and learning capacity. The best way to counsel this group is to assist in practice interviews and job hunts.
     There are obviously many more special need clients and they all involve various approaches in career counseling. As future counselors, we need to recognize this and do our best to accommodate and help our future clients.