By Rob McInnes

For anyone, in any circumstance, It is hard to “go it alone”. I remain haunted by the words I once heard from a person with a disability whose career has been quite successful: “I am so alone on this journey in corporate America”.

For many people with disabilities, the lack of opportunity to be supported by the company of other folks with disabilities makes the vocational journey a very lonely road. While there are a great many organizations that enable people with disabilities to band together on other major life activities (sports, daily living, housing, etc.), there are relatively few on employment-related concerns. This is a sad state of affairs. In the world of work/vocation/career, there is much to be gained from standing with others on common ground. There is always knowledge and wisdom and to be drawn from a community of people who are united in a common experience. There is motivation, inspiration, and self-confidence to be drawn from being welcomed into a group with a goal for the common good of its members.

While some people with disabilities might not feel an affinity to other people with disabilities (particularly to people with types of disabilities that are different from their own), there are many others who would love to find a community of other people with disabilities that could support them in their efforts to make a living – that would readily understand the particular disability-related obstacles and experiences that they encounter. As we collectively strive to increase opportunities for people with disabilities to increase their presence in our workplaces, I fear that we are neglecting to recognize and purposefully harness the power that that people with disabilities can offer to one another.

In the hope that they may stimulate new initiatives, new ideas, new models, in the rest of this article I will simply share a few of my experiences that demonstrate to me the value of associations, forums or programs that enable people with disabilities to network and support each other in career-related endeavors.

EDUCATION

A few years ago, I became aware of the National Association of Blind Students (NABS). I joined their email discussion group and was fascinated to see how actively this group was able to support its members – all with the goal of helping each other to be successful in their college education. From questions on how to deal with the idiosyncrasies of a particular software program through to the challenges of dealing with a seeing dorm-mate, the members of this group are privy to a diverse, knowledgeable and caring network of other students from across the continent.

JOB DEVELOPMENT

In the mid 1990’s I was working for an organization that provided employment and placement services to job seekers with disabilities. Our model, like that of most similar agencies in North America, was to assign job seekers to the “case file” of an Employment Specialist. (The assumption was that each Employment Specialist would be able to coach each of their assigned job seekers with the information, wisdom and support that they needed to be successful in their job search.) One year we tried something different. Using the Cultivating True Livelihood Curriculum developed by Denise Bissonnette, one of my Employment Specialists began to hold group meetings with her job seekers. The curriculum enabled the job seekers to support and encourage each others’ job search efforts. The results were quite amazing. There was new vitality and excitement in everyone’s job search efforts. The job seekers no longer felt isolated and alone in their job search. Amongst themselves, despite their varying disabilities, they were quick to offer and receive advice and counsel. In some cases, they went out of their way to develop job leads for each other. Between meetings, they routinely followed up with one another. One of the job seekers landed a job after only a couple of meetings; but asked if he could keep attending the meetings because he still wanted to help the others find jobs.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Back in July of 2003, I wrote an article for this newsletter entitled: “Professionals with Disabilities: Playing Hard to Get?” In it, I lamented the fact that there are very few career-focused professional associations for people with disabilities – while there are a myriad of such associations for most other groups who have historically been excluded from the workplace. These types of associations are set up so that members, individually and collectively, can support each other in career growth and development. Subsequent to writing that article, I began an email discussion group for professionals with disabilities in the San Francisco Bay Area. That small effort was later “adopted” as a project by a proactive group of employers (the Silicon Valley Partnership) who were able to devote some real resources to its development. Now, a year and a half later, the Alliance of Professionals with Disabilities (APD) has an active online discussion group, is hosting regular meetings an d is pursuing incorporation. Even in its infancy, the group has proven to be a valuable forum for networking. Members are benefiting from each other’s advice, knowledge, experiences and encouragement. (The Guest Article in this issue is actually an email posted to the APD discussion group – one member offering advice to another on “disclosure” issues.)

SELF EMPLOYMENT

A number of years ago, in response to a growing interest in self-employment for folks with disabilities, we began an online discussion group on that topic. Initially, it attracted policy-makers, service providers, and funders. Most of the discussions revolved around policy and program issues to support self-employment initiatives. As more and more entrepreneurs with disabilities joined, it slowly transformed to become primarily a self-help group for people with disabilities engaged in (or exploring) self employment. Now with over 200 active members, it has become an exceptional forum for individuals with disabilities to help each other chart their courses through the world of self-employment.

Last night I watched the Academy Awards ceremony on television. I watched two communities of people proudly celebrate the advances that their members have made in their industry. By supporting each other personally and professionally African Americans continue to make tremendous gains in the motion picture industry. Likewise, members of the Hispanic/Latino community are celebrating new levels of recognition and achievement. To me, it was a dramatic, tangible and heartening example of what can be achieved when groups of people band together to purposefully support each other in achieving unprecedented success, collectively and individually, in their vocations.

I am convinced that there is much to be gained from people with disabilities uniting, in various ways, to support each other in their vocational pursuits. With so few successful models in existence today, there is a wonderful opportunity for creativity and innovation on the part of visionary policy-makers, program developers and funders.

© Rob McInnes, Diversity World, February, 2005

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Are you interested in learning more about disability and employment issues? Are you an employer? An educator? A service provider? A job seeker with a disability? In our store, DiversityShop, we carry over 20 of the best books and videos that we have found on issues of disability and employment. Check them out now!

(Margi Spitzer works within the highly competitive Silicon Valley workforce and also manages to volunteer her time to assist other people with disabilities with their job searches. Margi is a member of Northern California’s Alliance of Professionals with Disabilities. She wrote this letter in response to another member’s question about when to disclose his disability in the job search process.)

Christopher,

You will find many different philosophies for interviewing with a disability and disclosure tactics. Many people recommend that you bring disability up only after you have a job offer and are discussing accommodations. I don’t agree. I'll jot a few notes here about my philosophy, but remember that it's really just personal opinion.

First, let me tell you that I have experience interviewing with a disability from several vantage points:

• being the job seeker with a disability (involving part-time wheelchair use)

• as the hiring manager interviewing applicants with and without observable disabilities

• coaching job seekers with disabilities on interview preparation

• leading workshops on disabilities in the workplace.

As a job seeker, it is my responsibility to ascertain if I want the job and to convince interviewers that I have the skills, talent, and enthusiasm to do the job and solve their work problems. None of this is possible if interviewers are so distracted by the job seeker's unfamiliar physical problems that they can't focus. Therefore, I believe the onus is on the seeker to diffuse the interviewers' discomfort, distraction, and confusion with disability -- hopefully before they become obstacles. Note that this strategy is the opposite of my everyday-life approach. In regular life, I do not feel compelled to assist people I just meet in feeling at ease with my or others' disabilities.

Back to interviewing, I believe the best time to disclose a disability is right before it will become an issue. For a mobility problem, as you describe, I would disclose after the phone interview, after the appointment for an in-person interview has been made (so they can't weasel out of it), and before we hang up, perhaps when I ask for directions. I might say (for my own situation), "May I ask where the accessible entrance to your building is, as I think I will probably bring my wheelchair in case the interview is a long one." This accomplishes several things:

• I get my interview.

• I give them a chance to prepare themselves for interviewing someone with a disability.

• I warn them that they will see something they might not have ever seen -- someone getting in and out of a wheelchair.

• I give them a clue as to how to act gracefully under political pressure (they can answer the question about an accessible entrance instead of floundering around wondering what to say).

Your strategy for disclosure timing would be different for different disabilities. For example, if you were hearing impaired and would have obstacles in dealing with a standard phone screen, you would need a different approach. If your disability is not observable or has only mild observable impact, I would not bring the matter up until after an offer.

Now, as to whether you should bring a wheelchair... Do you commonly use one? Or are you more functional with one? If so, bring it. If you are accustomed to operating with a cane only, just bring that. Bring whatever you use in your daily work life. And bring the item with which you are most familiar (not the time for new crutches of a different design, for example). That way, you are most at ease, put them more at ease, and give a realistic impression of your own self.

If your observable disability impacts the way you would do your job, again, I suggest you be the one to bring it up. Perhaps I would say, during the interview, "I'm concerned you might be wondering how I'll work at a computer if I can't sit at a desk. So I'd like to fill you in on how I would approach this job. I use a fully reclining chair, a desk I can slide under, and swiveling arm supports. Using these three items, I've worked successfully and productively at desk jobs for over 15 years, so I'm very comfortable saying that I'd be able to work it out here too."

If my disability didn't prompt confusion over how I would do the job, I'd not bring it up until after an offer.

I'll stop here, hoping this somewhat long epistle has helped. These are snippets of what I typically cover in a workshop. The Alliance of Professionals with Disabilities is considering having me do a talk for the group sometime soon, so maybe I'll be able to give you more thoughts in person.

Sincerely, Margi Spitzer

A free online publication from Mobility International USA (MIUSA) that provides information, strategies and resources for organizations to become more inclusive in their hiring practices, administration and policies. Although specifically developed for international development agencies, it has some solid resources for any employer/company including some interesting material on Website Design and a Guide for Accessible Meetings.

“A Hire Vision: What Employers Want to Know About Hiring Visually Impaired Workers” is an online video that promotes the benefits of hiring workers who are blind or have low vision, and depicts how visually impaired employees perform their jobs. The video also contains interviews with those employees' supervisors, and explains how AFB can help employers find what they need to recruit, hire, and retain qualified workers with visual impairments.

“Taking Control: Career Tips for People with Disabilities" provides excellent, practical strategies for obtaining active, gainful employment. The video is presented by experts in the field of disability employment, and is produced with funding provided by The JM Foundation, New York, 2002. Employment Video: (Real Player, running time is 28:00)

More and more online videos are becoming available on issues pertaining to employment and disability. We have recently created a web page that lists all of the online videos that we are aware of. They are grouped according to their intended target audience - Employers, Service Providers and People with Disabilities.

Data is now available on individuals who completed Vocational Rehabilitation services in fiscal year 2003. For every state, you can find out how many people found jobs through the VR system, the hours they worked, the number of people who used supported employment, and the average cost per case, etc. You can compare states, view national trends, or download files to analyze on your own computer. In the Individual Outcomes section, you can view competitive employment outcomes by disability, age, gender, and educational status.

"I currently work as an office manager for a non-profit organization that provides services to people with disabilities. We have many people in our services who would like to support themselves (i.e. own and run their own business). We are looking for a website that may be out there where we can post products that our clients make (like hand-made soap, balloon wrap, bird houses, etc.). If anyone has information on a good, reliable website where we can post, I would love to know. FYI—if I am unable to find one, I will be creating our own website where anyone with a disability who has a product that they would like to advertise information for, they are welcome to do so."

Jennifer Kelly, RISE, Inc.

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