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Employment retention often breaks down not because a customer lacks skills, but because workplace behavior is misinterpreted. What appears to be resistance, disengagement, or noncompliance may instead reflect sensory dysregulation.
ASSUME a Sensory Reason™ introduces a structured interpretation framework that helps CRP staff pause before assigning intent and instead evaluate whether sensory processing differences are impacting workplace performance, communication, or emotional regulation. Participants explore how proprioceptive and tactile dysfunction may present in employment settings, including seeking and avoidant behaviors that affect productivity, teamwork, and supervisor relationships.
This session provides practical tools for identifying sensory-driven behaviors and implementing natural workplace supports that strengthen regulation, reduce escalation, and improve job retention outcomes. The framework integrates lived experience, trauma-informed principles, and recovery-oriented practice to support customer dignity while advancing employment success.
Objectives
Upon completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Identify common workplace behaviors that may reflect proprioceptive or tactile sensory dysregulation rather than noncompliance.
- Apply the Assume a Sensory Reason™ framework to analyze employment challenges through a regulation-support lens.
- Implement natural workplace supports that improve engagement, reduce unnecessary job loss, and strengthen customer outcomes.
About the presenter:
Jordan Smelley is a Certified Mental Health Peer Specialist, Certified People Planning Together Trainer, and nationally recognized speaker on intellectual and developmental disabilities and recovery-oriented supports. As a professional with lived experience of disability and workplace navigation, Jordan brings both systems-level knowledge and firsthand insight into employment retention barriers.
He currently serves on the Rehabilitation Council of Texas and has presented at state and national conferences on neurodiversity-informed practice, regulation-centered support strategies, and employment sustainability. His work focuses on strengthening interpretation practices within service systems to improve engagement, dignity, and long-term outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Jordan was named 2025 Mental Health Professional by personsoftheyear.com.
