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Employment Journey Part Two: Searching

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Okay it’s official I’m the worst blogger ever. I told you that I was going to start doing weekly installments just in time to go MIA for months. Sorry about that. I could give you a ton of excuses, but the truth is time just got away from me.

If your wondering about how I’m doing with the whole Covid-19 thing, I consider myself one of the lucky ones. Yes, I lost my job, but I have a roof over my head and food on the table. At the moment that seems like all any of us can ask for.

Anyway, as I recall I stopped my last post at the point where I had just left my first job with the arrogance that only someone in their early 20s can muster. Let’s pick up the story there. In keeping with my attitude at the time I was sure I would find something else in the next couple of months. So, I spent about an hour a day filling out applications and went about my business as if everything were fine.

As June slowly turned into July the fear and desperation started to grow. The one hour spent on applications steadily grew to four a day and an interview became a weekly occurrence. This to me shows that my qualifications were good enough, but yet none of these resulted in anything.  I will freely admit that I blew some of these interviews through a combination of wrong answers and nerves. Most though followed an all too familiar script. They would call or email eager to meet the amazing candidate who had graduated at the top of his class with spot on references. Then they would meet me and have one of two reactions. Some would look at the wheelchair like it was a joke. As if at any moment I was going to pop up and shout that they were being punk’d.  Others would look at me with such disappointment that you would think I got them a bag full of coal instead of that puppy they wanted for Christmas.

At this point someone is bound to say, “Hey, that’s discrimination!” To which I have to say welcome to America, where have you been? And before you ask yes there is legislation against employment discrimination. Actually, there is quite a bit of it. In this case the relevant law is The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Like a lot of such laws though the teeth have been taken out of the enforcement section.  For the ADA the only way to lodge an employment complaint is to sue and as anyone who has had to make that choice knows there is no faster way to get put on a blacklist. For those of you that still think it is a good idea to sue you should know that courts side with the employer 92% of the time. Then there is the fact that Arizona has a law where employers don’t have to disclose why they didn’t choose a given candidate. Therefore, the discrimination is next to impossible to prove. As the cherry on top there is this old chestnut:

   Chief Justice Rehnquist said it would be ”entirely rational and therefore constitutional for a state employer to conserve scarce financial resources by hiring employees who are able to use existing facilities” without the accommodations that the disabilities act requires for those who need them. Feb 22, 2001

Even though this ruling is 20 years old it is still the official law of the land. So, needless to say I didn’t sue. Instead I just stomached the injustice and kept my nose to the grindstone. About two days before the new school year I got a lucky break. I got hired as a substitute teacher without an in-person interview.  As fortunate as this was it did create a whole host of logistical problems. Especially, since I never knew where I was going until the last minute. Still I would have stuck it out if my dad hadn’t lost his job. There was no way for me to support myself on a substitute’s salary so when he was forced to move to another state for a job, I had to give up my job and follow.

I’ll talk more about this move in later posts, but for our purposes here let’s suffice it to say that it did not go well.  When I returned to the desert my job hunt was even worse than the first time. In addition to the discrimination my references were older and therefore less convincing.  Seeing that it was going to be a long road I decided to expand my search into a number of other fields. After a year though and over a hundred interviews I got the distinct impression that no matter my training or education no one wanted me.

So, swallowing my pride I turned to the government for help. I should have known from a lifetime of dealing with government bureaucracy that it wasn’t going to end well. First, I investigated social security disability. Like most federal programs its administration largely depends on the state you are in.  As I came to know Arizona’s program, I found a variety of problems for me. For starters you must get four doctors involved. Two doctors chosen by you to provide evidence that you are no longer able to work. The other two doctors represent the government and their job is to pick you apart. Even if they do all agree that you have a case, they will still reject you on the first pass in order to discourage as many people as possible.

 If that wasn’t enough of a hassle for you there is the matter that once you are declared unfit for work, it is twice as hard to get it reversed. Meaning that for pennies you are surrendering your right to work. While some like my ex brother-in-law might find this to be a dream situation, I assure you it is not. Human beings need some type of work in our life. Without it we tend to go a little crazy as has been on full display during the quarantine. So, despite my desperation I refused this Faustian bargain. Instead I went down the other government path of vocational rehabilitation or VR.

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of working with vocational rehabilitation services let me explain. VR often gets students referred to it while they are still in junior high or high school. They then put these students through a series of tests to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Based on these results VR recommends a career path for the student and helps them make the transition from school to their professional lives. In addition, VR helps adults with newly acquired disabilities (Such as a traumatic brain injury from a car accident.), those lucky few who came off Social Security, and disabled adults who have fallen on hard times such as myself.  If you are wondering VR usually doesn’t get involved with college bound students. That’s why I didn’t go through this process in high school.

Vocational Rehabilitation Services is necessary and noble work. Unfortunately, like most noble work it is heavily underfunded and understaffed. As a result, most VR counselors have caseloads similar to that of public defenders. The one I got was a perfect example of this, young, newly hired, and overworked. After only glancing at the first three pages of the mountain of paperwork they wanted from me, she agreed to draw up a contract.

A week later she sent me the contract expecting me to sign it on the spot. Something I declined to do because as you might have figured out by now, I’m a suspicious man. I insisted on reading the contract first. Something I would recommend everyone do before signing anything. Often the devil truly is in the details. In this particular case though my due diligence was pointless.  Upon questioning my young counselor proved that she didn’t know anything and made it clear that if I wanted any help I had to sign. So, despite my misgivings I did just that.

Now I’m sure you are wondering what those misgivings were. Like a lot of things they essentially  boil down to money. See even though Vocational Rehabilitation Services is a government service they contract out their job placements services to private businesses. This in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing. Where it goes wrong is the way they structure the contracts. The businesses are paid like lawyers through a process of billable hours. Depending on the company they charged anywhere from 75 to 110 dollars an hour. Meaning that they are incentivized to take as long as possible and since the contract lasted a term of three years, I have no doubt that is exactly how long they would have taken.

Not wanting to waste three years of my life enriching yet another person I redoubled my own efforts while the giant bureaucracy processed my paperwork. Through some act of providence, it was at this time that I finally got a job. Ironically, it was a job as a substitute teacher. It was almost the same exact job I had left a year and half before.  With this I got out of the contract and managed to achieve some semblance of normalcy. At least for a few months before I got laid off thanks to the pandemic. Meaning that at the end of this crazy journey I’m back at square one. I’m sorry if that is depressing but it’s true.

Just because that’s my experience doesn’t mean it has to be yours. If you or someone you know is struggling with unemployment due to a disability it is important to remember each case is unique. Please don’t be afraid to look for help in your local community. To that end I’ve included links to some resources at the bottom of this post to help you get started.

Well, with that you are all caught up on what has been happening in my career over the past two years. I won’t make any promises about future posts like I did last time, but I will try to be better. Until next time goodnight and good luck.

Employment Journey Part One: Origin

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Good old employment, it always dominates every election and rightly so. I think having a job is a crucial part of the American Dream. After all, isn’t economic opportunity the main reason most of our ancestors came here in the first place. Besides, having a job gives us all something to gripe about and to awkwardly ask strangers about at parties. On a separate note when did work and mortgages become fun topics? I mean I was never a frat type of guy, but this seems like an overcorrection in the other direction.

Anyway, for me a job has always represented the first key step toward independence. Without it my fragile ecosystem collapses. I realize this hardly makes me unique since most Americans have less than two months of savings. What is unique about me is the fact that I am a disabled American. As a disabled American the way people view me is very different than my abled body counterparts. At no time in my life was this more evident to me than during this past job search.

Before I get to the heart of the story, I need to explain of few things about myself and give some background. Consider this first post my origin story. Next week we’ll get into more of the nitty-gritty.  The first and most important thing to know about me is I am a teacher. It is what I went to school for. I am certified in a variety of subjects and I have several years’ experience in the field. When I started this blog, I was coming off of a particularly bitter experience and was eager to switch professions. That is why I’m listed as a writer. Don’t get me wrong I love writing, but teaching is my first love and just like most first loves I can’t shake her no matter how bad she treats me.  The second thing that is important to remember when reading this story is my CP effects three of my limbs and I use a power wheelchair to get around. That might not seem important right now, but you will see why I mention it next week. Lastly, my IQ is above 140. I know that last part sounds like a brag, but I promise you it’s not.

With these facts in mind let’s start the story at the beginning. My journey to become a teacher started when I was 14.  Back then I was in a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) class for reading. Ironic for guy who now reads a couple of books a week. I was in the SLD class because back then I had trouble tracking items on a page. It was a disorder in the same family as dyslexia. Since then thanks to the help of a lot of people I have developed strategies, which work so well that I sometimes forget that this was even a problem. I would be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to thank those wonderful people. So, thank you and I love you all.  

Anyway, back to the story. One day in the SLD class we had a workday to catch up on homework. Being the dork that I am I was already done. So, like any teenage nerd I started to bug the teacher about what I should do next. Keep in mind this was before smartphones. Most likely in order to get rid of me the teacher told me to help the other students. After being rejected by several people I ended up helping a girl with her Social Studies midterm review packet. it turned out to be her first A in Social Studies. Seeing her have that lightbulb moment made me feel being a teacher is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I kept this idealism all the way through College. When I graduated, I even took a job in one of the roughest junior highs in the district at the time. I was confident I was going to be the next Ron Clark. If you don’t know who Ron Clark is, checkout the link at the bottom of this page

Sadly, a classroom wizard I am not. Shocking I know a kid fresh out of school couldn’t magically save the day. Who could have possibly seen that coming? After ten months of working 90 plus hours a week. losing 30 pounds, being cursed at everyday by teenagers, and being told by my boss that I needed to work harder I had enough. I quit. It is a decision I still question to this day. At the time though I felt quite confident that I would get another job in no time. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Instead I was about to begin a two-year odyssey that would forever change my life.

Ron Clark Trailer

The Last Two Year

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I think it is abundantly clear by now that I’m not a very good blogger.  Sorry about that to anyone who may have been waiting on me.  Part of it is I am a very private person. See, I’ve been taught since I was in preschool to wear a mask. A mask which makes me more acceptable to society. Try as I might it is hard for me to shed this mask. Nor is it easy for me to lower the Byzantine walls I placed around my heart.

So, in honor of the new decade let’s see if I can turn over a new leaf of transparency. Each week on Sunday for the next month I will catch you up on the past two years by covering one of the main themes that has dominated my life during that time-frame.  Let’s start tomorrow February 9th with Employment.

How to Ask About Someone’s Disability

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I was talking to my sister last night and it caused me to think about somethings. She was saying how her coworkers were asking questions about my disability and I thought of all of the questions I’ve had to deal with my whole life. So, I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about how to ask appropriate questions.

First let me start by saying every expert is going to tell you in their books to use person first language. This simply means saying something like a boy with Autism rather than an Autistic boy. Simply put it makes sure that you see the person before the disability. Second it helps to know a little bit about the person before you start with 20 questions. This is especially true if you don’t want any awkwardness or conflict. Remember we are all just people too and like anybody else are background shapes us. For example, a war veteran or the victim of an accident are more likely to be dealing with the raw feelings of being disable than someone who has had it their whole life like me. Here though I feel obligated to remind you that these are generalizations and each case is unique

Now let’s say you’ve put in the time to get to know the person and you are ready to fire away, but you are still not sure how to broach the subject politely. My best advice is just to say what you mean in the simplest terms possible. I can’t tell you the number of awkward conversations I’ve had, which were made worse by having to guess what the person was asking. It saves both parties time and effort if you are direct but understand that there are some questions the person may not want to answer and you should respect that. As long as you remember that the person you are talking to is a human being and treat them with respect you should be fine.

Just to be clear respect means avoiding words like cripple and retard, these are the equivalent to the N word for the disabled community. You should also avoid using a baby voice, asking about their genitals or saying things like, “What’s wrong with you?” At this point some of you may be wondering, but how will I know what is wrong with them? The answer is there are plenty of ways you can find out about their disability without going negative for example instead of saying, “What’s wrong with you?” you could ask, “What is your diagnosis?” or “What type of disability do yo have?” Both of these are perfectly respectful ways to ask the same question.

Here too you have to do something very important, listen. I cannot stress this enough, if you are going to ask the question remember the answer. There is no quicker way to show you care. You would be amazed how many people just don’t listen. For example, when I was in high school I had a friend who thought I was a spinal cord injury the whole time because he never listened.  There maybe words used in describing their disability that you may not understand, but that is okay most regular people didn’t go to medical school. It is the perfect opportunity for a follow-up question or if you are not comfortable with that, smartphones come in handy. Just remember it is better to fail in the pursuit of knowledge than to live your entire life in ignorance.

I wouldn’t feel as if I’d done this topic justice without a quick word on talking to people with disabilities in public. Hopefully no one reading this says anything like, “It is so nice that they let you out today.” If you do please stop immediately. If you run into a person with a disability and their aide in public please address the person with the disability first. The aide may answer if the person is unable to, but it is always better to assume that the person with the disability is capable.

Finally, a word to mothers everywhere when you tackle your children to keep them from pointing it is far from the subtle move you are going for though it has provided me with many chuckles over the years. If you have the time, I would actually recommend approaching the person with the disability and if it is alright with them let your child ask some questions. Some of my all-time favorite questions have come from kids. Their fresh take on the world can lead to amazing insights and great laughs. For example, one day a few years back after a X-Men movie had come out a little boy walked up to me in a store and asked in a breaking little voice, “Did you lose a battle with Magneto too?” Looking back on this I always smile not only at the thought of me fighting Magneto, but also by the great compassion showed by that little boy.  I can assure you, you will be impress by your kids if you give them a chance to interact with a diverse group of people.

I’m sure I could ramble on for another couple of days, but I’ll spare you the pain. I hope this was helpful and if you have any specific questions I would be happy to answer them.