The disabled, we want to work. We have ambitions
just like you. The thing is that it is easy to get a job, but
it is keeping that job that is the hard part. This is because
we are usually asked to leave the company, due to our
disability...
With experience at having over ten jobs has taught me
a lot. You see, it is not getting the job that is hard, it is
finding a job where others want to work with you that is
hard. People, just don't want to work with the disabled, no
matter how functional you are.
Lord forbid, you don't tell the employer about being
disabled. If they find out after you were hired and slap
you with psyche eval papers, they are in their rights to do
such a thing, especially if the job requires working within
public safety.
I found the perfect job for me, only after much heartache,
sweat, and tears. I have a job that requires me to be disabled.
For the first time in my life, I can be open at work about being
disabled, and I am shown respect for my lived experience.
I am even protected by my co-workers when I am explaining
how the process of being disabled works to a client who is
finding coping hard.
So, just because we are disabled, do not count us out in
the employment pool...we are getting a little more accepted
daily. There are more people who are disabled than are self
reported. This is due to oppression, exploitation, and stigma.
Yet, there are new laws, from when I was first diagnosed, that
support the privacy of the individual now. Those are HIPAA
and the GINA Act. Progress may be slow, but that is progress.