Unit 2: What does my career demand?

Unit 2 is about analyzing the task demands and educational skills of a career. Task demands are body functions anyone needs to perform a task. They are fundamental to participating in activities. Task demands come from the outcome expectations of an activity and the environment in which the activity is performed. 

Task demands is a concept that shifts the focus from individual bodies to socially created body functions. It is rooted in an interactional model of human functioning rather than the medical model of disability. The medical model of disability (person-only) understands disability as the result individual impairments (i.e., deficits). This out-dated view was replaced by more complex understandings of disability that emphasize how social forces (e.g., environmental barriers, social policies) create disability by excluding people with disabilities. Disability is now understood as a social problem not just an individual (medical) problem. Social understandings of disability led to disability rights laws. A fundamental disability right is accommodation. The concept of task demands is key to understanding why accommodations are a legal right. Accommodations are a right because task demands can be adjusted to make a place for (accommodate) people with disabilities. But accommodations are not explained in Unit 2. It is simply setting the stage by introducing the concept of task demands.

Unit 2 introduces the concept of task demands through the well-known workplace scenario of a fast food restaurant. The person who greets customers, takes their order, and hands them food is responding to a complex set of task demands. The job places demands on the person’s body functions. Six body functions are explained in the lesson:

• Sensory demands
• Social emotional demands
• Communication demands
• Attentional demands
• Physical demands
• Thinking demands

Educational skills, another layer of job expectations, is also reviewed in Unit 2. These skills are very familiar:

• Reading
• Writing
• Note taking
• Math
• Organization

The goal of Unit 2 is for students to analyze the task demands and educational skill expectations of a career choice. My Next Move website offers a summary of many different careers, including a brief video. Students can use this content to create a profile of their career. Every career demands slightly different body functions and educational skills. The goal is for students to general describe each task demand and educational skill, and rate the relative impact of each demand (how much). 

Unit 2 does NOT include the goal of assessing personal compatibility with the task demands and educational skills of a career. That issue is addressed in Unit 3. 

• Before starting this course you must complete the required prerequisite course: Unit 1: What is my career destination?