Employment and Disability

I feel a little silly writing about this subject. A line I heard at my few job interviews, applies to this. ‘I have little to no experience.’ I have no degree. I’ve only had a short internship which was many moons ago, yet I’m writing this blog.

There’re many factors that contribute to the continually low disability employment rate. I will list a few of them. This is my opinion. I may be wrong, I may be right. That’s what a blog is, an opinion.


Lack of access to higher education for people with disabilities

Some people with disabilities may need an aide to write etc for them in class. When I was in K-12 the public school system provided an aide. When I graduated, I had to find my own aides while programs like the VR Pas and the CD Pas paid them via the state. Hiring and keeping an aide even for home care is difficult. I can’t imagine managing an aide for college.
Click Here to read my experiences with personal aides.

Sure, you can earn degrees online. But if I were an employer I wouldn’t want to hire a person coming off as a recluse that has had no interaction with people and no set schedules.
Vocational schools for people with disabilities should offer degrees.
I went to one of these schools that provided me housing and personal care but all I earned for my drafting class was a certificate. This was a state run facility, so that somewhat explains it.
How about offering to the students that can and do want to go to college, work out a tuition program? Students can be housed there and receive the care they need, plus earn a college degree by either hiring accredited teachers onsite, or providing transportation to a nearby college. Vocational schools for people with disabilities may be already doing this I’m not sure.


Acceptance in the workplace

I’m going to make a bold assumption here: Most people are uncomfortable around people with disabilities. It’s one thing to have access to the outside world via the ADA, it’s a completely different thing to be chosen to come into a company to get a job done.

The invisible barriers of awkwardness towards people with disabilities need to come down. Now there’s an interview policy that prevents an interviewer to ask about a disability. Questions can only be asked that verify if the job can be executed in relation to a persons disability. You cannot ask questions about the disability outside of the needs of the job. While I understand that focuses the attention on the job itself and off the disability, I can’t help but wonder if that’s not enough to relieve the awkward feeling.

DRS (Dept of Rehabilitative Services) was in charge of my time in the vocational school and finding me job interviews. They also helped me find funding for Assistive Technology to use on computers. They did a great job until it was time to help find me a job. A few things stand out to me as I look back on it.
It was silly to be promoting somebody without a degree. They saw how smart I was, why not help me go to college to get that degree? When I say help, I mean point me in the right direction of other resources that can help. I don’t mean I expected them to do it for me.
I feel DRS wasted a lot of time job-hunting on my behalf. It was clear employers were less than thrilled when they heard about me. That being said, I think a large division of DRS should focus on Disability Awareness Training for businesses. DRS could come up with a workshop that alleviates the awkwardness the abled-bodied community has towards the disabled community. Knowledge is the antidote to fear of the unknown. I also believe Disabled History and Rights should be taught in schools so future generations can be more open-minded about hiring people with disabilities.


Getting the job done

I feel I’m the same as everybody else and should be given a fair chance. At the same time, I also know I am different. I may do things different than others, and I may take more time than others.
So is it really fair for employers to bend their expectations for me? No. Time is money, money is time.
But if I can do the job on time, then what is the fuss?
I believe employers have a hard time seeing pass people with disabilities transportation schedule, modified workplace, attendants, etc to gauge how well the job will get done. I don’t blame them, it’s a huge leap of faith on their part.
Businesses and for the most part people like their routine. Any change or disruption causes anxiety. Some people with disabilities need modified workplaces, modified work schedules, etc. At worse, some employers must feel hiring a person with a disability detrimental to the health of their company. A glitch in a well oiled machine.
Flexibility goes a long way with hiring people with disabilities. Often I would guess, these so-called glitches would work themselves out in a short period of time. Still the fear of the unknown is there for the employer on the interview.


Actively finding work for people with disabilities

Certainty everybody with a disability can contribute. But why are the Disabled Community continually held to the same standards as the abled-bodied population, when they’re different? Can an employee with a disability accomplish the same job as an abled-bodied employee? The answer is yes at times, but other times it’s no. So why can’t jobs be created for only people with disabilities? I suppose that is very similar to Affirmative Action, which has its good points and bad.

Why can’t the government take a more active role in the high disability unemployment rate? There’re people with disabilities that are using the government’s money to survive who would rather be working. So I would think the government would want to step in more forcibly to save money and see that businesses hire people with disabilities. Wouldn’t tax payers pay less if more people with disabilities worked?

Some hear that and think ‘oh no, a government takeover!’ I do agree the government is overwhelmed as it is and doesn’t need more burdens. I also believe, the high disability unemployment rate is very similar to the 60’s when government stepped in to see that African Americans were ingratiated into public schools. Do you still see the military escorting African American kids to school? No. Very quickly the public schools in the south caught on and obeyed the law.


I don’t like to end my blog like that, because I know some people will see the word ‘government’ and freak out.
The disability employment rate has never risen...as far as I know...so I ask people what ideas do they have?


Click Here to read more of my views on this topic. I've also posted useful employment links there.

Other factors that contribute to the disability unemployment rate are explored in a report by the UCP: The State of Disability in America (pg.36) HERE