Target Selection and Task Analysis:

In what contexts does the student need to display this skill, now and in the future?

Calling in sick to work is a very transferrable skill.  Aside from formal employment and other shift-based positions, notifying someone of the need to cancel a scheduled meeting or event due to unexpected circumstances may be required for many social situations, in certain academic settings, and for professional gatherings.  Establishing the rules of when it is appropriate to call-in, learning how to assess the situation and the necessity of being absent, and following a procedure to notify others are skills that fit a multitude of situations. 

What are the steps that comprise this skill?
This topic really focuses on two separate items:  1) Calling in sick and 2) Requesting time off.  While there is overlap in the general skill sets used, it will be most often the case that these items are taught as individual (but related) topics.  Additionally, these items rely on a wide variety of sub-skills.  Due to the nature of these skills, this intervention topic is designed to provide general guidance requiring adaptation for a particular employer’s rules. Expectations and Accepting Feedback)

1. Calling in sick
     a. Identify the general rules of calling-in
          i. Concretely define when it is appropriate to call in sick: personal illness, family illness or emergency, traffic accident, etc.
          ii. Concretely define your employer’s specific protocol for calling in sick
     b. Assessing the situation
          i. Am I sick – What am I feeling? How bad do I feel? (teach the student to label this in a way that makes sense to them)
          ii. Is this a personal emergency? Is this a family emergency?
          iii. Based on what I know now, when do I expect to return to work?
     c. Calling-in (will adjust per employer’s protocol)
          i. When do I call/email?
          ii. Who do I call/email?
          iii. What is his/her number/email address?
          iv. What do I say/write?
     d. When was the last time I called in sick? What are the general “rules” on how often I can call in sick without being perceived as irresponsible?

2. Requesting time off in advance
     a. When was the last time I requested time off?
     b. When is the event or vacation?
     c. How long is it going to last?
     d. Am I scheduled to work at that time?
     e. Is it at least 1-week away (will adjust per employer’s protocol)?
     f. Notify my supervisor (e.g. face-to-face, submit appropriate documentation)
     g. Confirm leave request has been approved or denied (e.g. supervisor returns leave request form)
     h. Accept response from supervisor (If approved, say “Thank you.” Tolerate denial appropriately (see Workplace Hierarchies topics such as Labeling Roles and Expectations and Accepting Feedback)

What sub-skill should you target first for the student to initiate?

Every step of this topic relies on multiple sub-skills such as:  self-identifying illness, making requests, adhering to established rules, using effective communication, using schedules for planning, and responding to feedback.  There may be other intervention topics to examine in conjunction with this topic:  Labeling Roles and Expectations, Following Instructions, Accepting Feedback, Asking and Divulging Personal Information, and Organizing Time Around Priorities and Deadlines.  The sub-skills requiring direct focus will depend on the individual student’s current abilities.

Here are just a few of the necessary sub-skills:

1. Am I sick?  Before actually calling in sick, the student must be able to self-assess if he is too sick to go to work.  Differentiating “tired” or “hungry” from an actual illness may prove difficult and is likely to require focused instruction.  Using checklists or other graphic organizers can help provide support in interpreting these abstract principles more concretely.  The student may need to be taught the criteria of being sick, how to assess the level of illness on a 1-5 number scale, and contemplate options before ever making the decision to call-in.
   
   
2. What is an emergency?  Finding out this morning that your favorite movie is showing at noon may be very important to you, but it is not an appropriate reason to miss work.  Some individuals might consider such events to be emergencies.  While these interests should be respected, it is important to clearly define emergency situations that are appreciated as such by an employer.  These may include events such as involvement in a traffic accident, a fire or theft at home, or the death of a family member or friend.  For some people, this may also include less obvious situations such as the death of a pet.  In these cases, while it may be appropriate to miss a day of work, the employer will likely not support the employee who takes a week off of work.  The student will require direct instruction on such issues, paired with activities where he can rank emergencies and identify items in the “Top 5” that actually constitute missing work.  
   
   
3. At what frequency is it appropriate to call-in sick?  This is a very subjective judgment call.  It is an abstract rule that is not often included in concrete terms within an employee handbook.  For example, if an employee works two days per week but calls-in once every other month, that is a substantially high rate of absence.  On the other hand, if an employee is working full-time, the same number of call-ins may not raise “red flags.”  Apart from providing concrete guidelines, teaching this sub-skill hinges on activities designed to promote attribution and perspective-taking (i.e. Will my employer think that I am not reliable if I call in sick again this month?).
   
   
4. I requested time off and submitted a Leave Request form, but my boss denied me!  Understanding and executing the steps of planning and requesting time off can be completed with success only to result in the request being denied.  This is a normal part of employment, but for some individuals with autism this may be interpreted as a personal attack, an act of disrespect, or personal failure due to inadequate execution of the skills.  Rightfully so, this undesired result can be frustrating and discouraging for the employee who perceives it in such terms. If this is likely to present an issue for the student, such topics as Accepting Feedback should be targeted in conjunction with this topic.