Mitchell Albrecht is an individual whose Vocational Rehabilitation journey began in 2013 when he was still a student at Wooster High School with no work history or understanding of what he would like to do for employment. Mitchell was diagnosed with bilateral severe to profound hearing loss at age 9 months and with autism at age 3. Mitchell can communicate with ASL but still has communication impacts with his autism that required dedication to developing unique connections with Mitchell that could make a Vocational Rehabilitation program successful.
Mitchell has used art as a way to express himself and connect to others since he was a small child. His Vocational Rehabilitation team made a connection to Mitchell through artwork, often doing guided painting sessions with him and creating an arts sale for Mitchell of his own paintings at local Reno non-profit Project Help.
When Mitchell had shown readiness to begin a true job search after this time spent in the “Discovery” phase of customized employment and ability to communicate and connect with his team, a perfect opportunity was developed at Whole Foods to carve a specific job for Mitchell after job developers worked closely with store management to oversee “Job Fit Analysis” services with Mitchell. Mitchell displayed particular skill and interest in the dairy department and after showing his skills during those job fit analysis services a position was created for him in the dairy department. Mitchell loads dairy cases from delivery to shelves, taking special care and consideration for how they are displayed to customers.
This job opportunity provided Mitchell an opportunity to connect with a world he has often been excluded from due to his disabilities. His independence and skills have increased, and he is a permanent and adored employee of Whole Foods who recently won Employee of the Quarter. He has earned the nickname “The Terminator” at work for his speed, strength, and precision performing his job duties.
