This digest describes support strategies for overcoming obstacles to finding and maintaining employment for students with emotional disorders. These youths may avoid risk-taking situations and often have difficulty with verbal and nonverbal communication, such as struggling to make telephone calls to employers and exhibiting limited communication skills and eye contact. Obstacles to holding a job include difficulty following instructions and staying on task, inability to accept feedback, acting before thinking, and general lack of socially acceptable work behaviors. Support strategies include functional community-referenced assessment, modified supported employment, career skills preparation, problem-solving implementation, allowing natural consequences to occur, and action planning. A list of five organizational resources, and five electronic resources concludes the digest. Contains six references. (SW)