Frontline Initiative: Direct Support Professionals Supporting People's Employment

I (Chet Tschetter) had the pleasure of interviewing Allan Cole, along with his job coach, Estel Williams. I wanted to find out from Allan what he values in a job and why work is so important to him. Allan has high expectations of himself; he told me he wants to do everything “perfectly!” Just as important, he wants to be around customers and talk to them in the grocery store where he works. He also has enjoyed making friends at this job.

When Allan first started his job, he needed more support from Estel than he needs now. Although Estel still supports Allan in challenging situations with customers and other complications, the amount of support that Allan needs has decreased over time. Estel is with Allan at Food City to give him the right amount of support that Allan needs at the time. You will notice that Estel even does this throughout the interview. When Allan doesn’t understand my questions, Estel rephrases them. After working together for a few years now, Allan and Estel understand each other very well.