The interdisciplinary project group has developed the template for a theoretical course that we believe can bring young people with developmental disabilities into the labour market. Not everyone is expected to succeed, but the course will at least provide quality in the clarification of why it is not possible.
This theoretical process and its components are based on the knowledge and experience of the project partners, but it is of course important that the process is tested in practice in order to test the hypotheses and so that the project partners can gain practical experience and disseminate it.
Pilot testing in practice is demanding. It requires recruitment of people with developmental disabilities, a physical workplace, timing and most importantly that we can do it without compromising on how these vulnerable people are best helped towards the goal. So we cannot waste their time and must ensure that the time they spend in the pilot testing of the project is at least as rewarding as any other offer available to them.
The project group therefore decided to involve people from the target group early in the overall project, as we expected that it would be challenging to recruit the target group for a narrow period of time. Especially since we wanted to test both the tools and the developed method in the form of the preparatory process the project group’s interdisciplinary expertise has found. Therefore, we chose to involve people from the target group early in the process, to ensure adequate pilot testing. As the project developed, it proved very difficult to do pilot testing in Romania and Croatia, as it was not possible to build a physical framework during the small scale project period and the testing was not meaningful without it. It was therefore Danish persons with developmental disabilities who pilot-tested material at the physical base in Denmark and in the existing collaboration with the company Nabo Farm.
The following was tested:
- Developed material: guides and information material on hydroponic cultivation
- Mentoring; This includes peer to peer training
- The preparatory course; This includes gradual transition to the company’s workplace through preparatory visits and contacts, peer efforts and other tools.
The project partners from Romania and Croatia continuously supported with their respective professional knowledge and joint discussions of consistency between the theoretical basis and the practical real-life testing.
A total of about 15 interns have been involved in the project over the entire project period. The real-life stories describe 3 interns who all have developmental disorders such as ASD and/or ADHD.
*All interns have given permission to share their stories. Specific details that would make interns easily identifiable in the stories are, however, deliberately not given or removed from the text in order to protect them. These are details such as real names, age, starting date and end date of internship, specific diagnosis or specific incidents.
