Are you Disabled and have a job?

Hey everyone,

I made this section so others can read what the difference between a disabled vs able bodied to get a job is. Below is my story. @Laura share on front page if you can.

My Job Story

First my story will share my belief, and I am not trying to impose it on anyone.

It starts with my first job I had the summer of 1999, I gave out maps out at an amusement park called Carowinds. I loved meeting/greeting everybody that came into the park, it made me feel like I was putting a smile on their faces. It ended when I had to back to school, but I had a great progress report at the end of it.

Now, Carowinds had to create that position because it did not exist at the time. However, they were willing to make that position because they knew I would be good for them. I was just a happy kid back then, I believed in God but wasn't a Christian back then.

Fast forward to 2015 I tried to get jobs at Walmart & Apple, I had prayed that God would open a door for me. Walmart didn't like the small amount of hours I could do at the time, Apple Retail Store gave me up to a 2nd Group Interview. I thought I had the job, but I got this in a E-Mail Message. "We thank you for your interest in Apple, but we have chosen better qualified applicants." I realize that might have been a standard message, but I was really bummed out about that one. I had also gone to a Fall hiring event in 2015 for Kings Island a sister park to Carowinds. They were full at the time.

Well, at the start of 2016 I applied at Kings Island thinking maybe applying at that point I'd get a better chance. Recently I attend their job fair, and I got it. That day I was overjoyed that God was with me that day, I still can't believe it.

I shared my story to show to never give up hope. Yes, being disabled and getting a job is challenge, because we are judged by how we look most of the time, It's sad.

Do "You" have story to share?

Please Only People With Disabilities Please.

@PeacefulSoul8 @Emily619 @Rycochet

My job story begins in my sophomore year of high school. I took my first APUSH course and immediately fell in love. I knew I wanted to go into historical research, and I was sure that I was going to college to major in the subject. I did whatever I could - I worked at McDonalds for years to save up money. I paid for a car so I could drive to a nearby college to take classes my senior year of high school. I was constantly tired and sore, but at the time I didn't really know that other people felt different. I assumed all people dealt with pain and headaches and tiredness all the time.

Fast forward to my freshman year of college. I was stressed and tired and pushing myself to take extra classes, to work as a Research Assistant to a professor. That summer after my first year I worked a 40 hr internship and then 20 hour wage job because I needed the money. My body continued to deteriorate but I thought it was just long hours.

Sophomore year of college I started getting worse. After fainting in class, dislocating a few joints, and throwing up a lot of meals I finally was given my diagnoses. Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, POTS, chronic pain, and chronic fatigue. I was devastated. I was a double major in History and Classical Studies and I didn't know what my disability would mean for my future career. My professors assured me I could continue on the path I was on, but I worried about the workload.

When it comes down to it, though, I learned that I was amazingly adaptive. I used braces, canes, crutches. I went to PT courses and learned to set my own joints. I traveled abroad to do research in London. I graduated with highest honors in my field and over the course of the last two years of study I decided I would use my disability to my advantage. I reviewed disability studies as a topic of study and picked a grad school that would accept my course.

Now I'm a PhD candidate studying physical disability in colonial history. I have an advisor at school who's Deaf. I have learned to sell my skills as an individual with a disability. It's hard - you have to be sure of yourself and what you're doing. You need to be open with your employers about your physical needs. As a TA I tell my students that no I can't stand in front of the class, I need to sit. I make sure that the places I need on campus are handicapped accessible. I plan my doctors appointments ahead of time and inform my employers of the time off that I need. I bring food/water to places that generally don't allow for it. All in all I think it comes down to owning your disability. People will judge you, employers will be skeptical. As a disabled person, however, you are a part of a strong community. Historically disabled people have fought throughout all of history to be recognized as intellectuals, as fully participating members of society. It is stressful to have health problems at work and to convey them accurately. It gets easier with time. It's hard to know what you need and how to get it, but over time it gets a lot easier.

Hi. I was working at home already, and in my fifties, when I got my diagnosis. The diagnosis was an MS related disorder called CIS. My doctor told me to reduce the hours I worked to get relief from some painful symptoms. I was lucky to be already working for a company that won awards for accommodating people with disabilities. I went to the Human Resources Department and got an official accommodation. At the time, my fatigue was terrible, and I was having problems with vision and spasticity that was making it hard to type. On my bad days, I slurred my speech. I worked on the phone at the time doing customer service; I used a computer and had to be able to read the screen, type and speak on the phone. I was having trouble doing all of these things. I was terrified. My doctor told me these symptoms would be relieved by resting more and reducing my hours and by taking more breaks. There was some back and forth negotiating to come up with an agreement for my accommodation that was also appropriate for their business needs. We reduced my work week to 15 hours a week. I worked three hours a day, and I did a split shift, an hour and a half in the morning and an hour and a half in the evening, with a six-hour break in the middle. It may sound effortless, but at the time it was all I could do. Sometimes my fatigue was so overwhelming I had to prop up my head with pillows to keep working. But, I was able to keep working, and I did not lose my job. My team was very kind and supportive, and I felt cared for. Since then I have improved to the point where I can work 4-6 hours a day. I now have a different job, and I have not told my employer that I have a disability. I work part time, but I have not asked for special accommodations. My vision is okay, the spasticity is gone, and I have not had speech problems more than 2-3 times a year. I credit the improvement to getting enough rest, lifestyle changes like eating healthy and taking supplements and doing the Wahl's protocol, as well as doing several detox protocols for heavy metals and parasites.

I'm not finished with university yet, so I can not talk about finding a full time job, but I have a side job as a tutor. I found it easy. I always had great marks at school and they were in need of new teachers anyways, sooooo I just applied at the right time :D