Jamarreo
Jamarreo is a nineteen-year-old student identified with emotional and behavioral
disabilities. Jamarreo’s interpersonal skills and work ethic are strengths for him.
Academically, he has maintained Cs and Bs in 10th and 11th grade. Jamarreo also
has a moderate hearing loss that requires him to wear a hearing aid. His speech
is intelligible to others despite his hearing impairment. He knows sign language,
but typically communicates with others by lip reading and responding verbally
Jamarreo exhibited behavioral outbursts including yelling and cursing loudly when
things didn’t go his way in the classroom and at school. At the age of 15, he was
sure that he would drop out of high school on his sixteenth birthday because he
didn’t like school and wanted to earn money like his older relatives. His special
education teacher, mother, and uncle worked with Jamarreo to develop a program that
included career- related courses, paid work experiences, and job-specific training
into his school day so that he could earn the money he sought while gaining skills
for a career. He worked part-time with his uncle at his welding shop and expressed
an interest in working in a similar environment after high school. He enjoyed working
with other young men, doing manual labor, and listening to loud music while working.
Jamarreo has expressed an interest in welding as a career. He exhibits strengths
in the area of mechanical work. Career assessments indicate that he is likely to
be a serious, dedicated employee. At home, he fixes appliances around the house,
which his mother appreciates. One time in the past year, Jamarreo received criticism
from his uncle because he was not consistently wearing appropriate safety gear.
Jamarreo did not accept the feedback well; he walked out of the shop and went home
for the day.
Jamarreo is most interested in racing cars on the weekends. He has never played
sports, and doesn’t have an interest in them other than watching stock car races
on television. For the past few years, he and his friends have worked to fix up
a car they bought from the junk yard for a few hundred dollars. They enter local
races on the weekends to win cash prizes. Jamarreo doesn’t race the cars; he does
the body work on them. He doesn’t always wear the necessary protective gear when
welding, which is dangerous. His uncle sometimes helps him with the more detailed
welding work in his welding shop. Jamarreo loves to work on the cars and attend
the races on the weekends. This hobby has prepared him with valuable vocational
skills related to welding and automotives, but these races are illegal. The local
police have begun to pay more attention to these events. Jamarreo doesn’t express
any concern that he will be caught participating in the races. Jamarreo’s uncle
and mother are concerned that he will ultimately get into trouble with the law,
ultimately postponing his career plans.
This document was produced under U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special
Education Programs Grant No. H326J050004. Marlene Simon-Burroughs served as the
project officer. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions
or polices of the Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department
of Education of any product, commodity, service or enterprise mentioned in this
publication is intended or should be inferred. This product is public domain. Authorization
to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this
publication is not necessary, the citation should be: National Secondary Transition
Technical Assistance Center (2007) Indicator 13 Training Materials, Charlotte, NC,
NSTTAC.
