Ask Slashdot: Dealing With Disabilities In the Workplace? 292
mpol writes "The job market can be hard right now, depending on your background and location. Having a disability makes things even more interesting. Seven years ago I suffered from a psychosis, and I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I have been recovering quite well, and last year I started searching for a paying job. I found one, but it didn't turn out to be the right place, so I'm back at my volunteer job as web developer. My current workplace is quite unique, as there are several people who have had a psychosis in the past, or have been diagnosed with autism. When I look at myself I know that I have some things that will always play a role: I'm very sensitive to the atmosphere in the workplace for example. I also need clear communication, more so than other people. Furthermore, a workweek of maybe 20-25 hours is the max for me. I tried self-employment, but motivation and discipline are a bit hard to come by, and it's not something that will work for me long-term. In theory it's perfect, in practice not so much. I'm not sure what my short-term future will look like, and for this year I'm quite happy where I am, but next year I might go searching for a salaried job again. I'm wondering if there are more people on Slashdot who have a job in ICT, or are seeking one, and also have disabilities. How did you land at your job, and what issues do you run into in daily practice?"
From experience... (Score:5, Insightful)
By far the most useful thing, however, were the pub trips after work. Both employees were quite happy to talk openly about their respective conditions, which took it from being a confidential, management-only issue to being an open one where people were encouraged to ask questions and understand how they could help the employees adapt. The chats over a beer/coffee were far more useful than any management policy could have been.
No Joke (Score:1, Insightful)
You're unemployed, have no personal motivation, need to be handled with kid gloves from environment right up to management, cannot work a full-time schedule, and are pretty much untouchable as far as a clearance goes. Good luck finding a job that can cater to all of your needs in such a depressed market... and make a note to count your blessings (thank your sugar-mama?) that you are able to survive by working in a volunteer capacity for months or years at a time.
About success ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Sorry to hear about your conditions.
> but motivation and discipline are a bit hard to come by
While that may be true, success like anything else is learned. It starts the first thing you wake up, and ends when you go to sleep. In order to get good at it you have to keep practicing. They say a person becomes proficient at a skill when they have done it for at 1,000 hours. In order to have discipline you must reprogram your mind. With time + effort you can achieve it.
WRT motivation no one can give you motivation. The trouble with companies that often times they should of focus on NOT DEMOTIVATING people. Being self-employed you need to find your own motivation. i.e. There has to be at least _one_ thing you enjoy doing, what is it? You say you are a web developer. Do any programming languages interest you? Any kind of computer science problems? The reason I ask is because:
There are 2 hard things in life
- finding your passion
- finding how to make money at it
Take care of the first one, and the second one will follow.
You say you require clear communication. That's true in all relationships. Your relationship with your computer (i.e the compiler / interpretor requires clear syntax), relationships with your co-workers (miscommunication is the cause of many problems), relationships with friends and family. The point of all this is that there are courses you can take to help with this. Dale Carnegie is a popular one. Shelf-Help books are another.
One of the secrets to happiness is to remove false expectations. You have to match you ideal world with the reality of your situation. Let's play a game for a moment. I have a magic wand; with it you can do anything you want. What would it be? Forget about all the impracticalities for a moment. If you could do anything in the world what would it be? The secret recipe is to now make a game plan on how you could achieve that big goal, but one small sub-goal at a time.
Good luck!
Re:autistic adult sysadmin (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:to the PUB? (Score:3, Insightful)
Just because you are at a PUB doesnt mean you are forced to get drunk. Get a Ginger Ale on the rocks and have a good time instead of ruining it for everyone else that does want to have a beer or something.
Basic Problem (Score:5, Insightful)
Why hire you when there are probably hundreds of alternative applicants without your baggage? Either you have some crazy unique skill to bring to the table, or they have a financial incentive to hire you (pay less money than someone "normal", or maybe there's some weird tax writeoff).
I don't mean this as an insult or anything, just as a shot of reality. You say you are happy doing volunteer work right now, which sort of implies that you are able to pay bills and stuff. If that's the case, stick with it. You can do that and some self-employment on the side as your motivation allows. You aren't going to find that kind of happiness with a salary job.
Salaried job (Score:3, Insightful)
That's going to be a problem when he seeks a salaried job
Undoubtedly. So, what are we as a society going to do with our schizophrenics in particular, and the problem of mental illness in general?
Let's begin with the understanding that schizophrenia, like autism and Down's Syndrome, is an organic problem, where something physically went wrong with the body. It isn't the result of harsh circumstances like PTSD (also a very real and crippling problem) or a "learned behavior" like certain phobias. This means we can put schizophrenics right next to victims of childhood polio who can no longer walk. The disabilities they face aren't their "fault," and any "bootstrappy" behavior we might expect from them is right off the table. These people, who certainly can still live full, meaningful and productive lives, are simply going to need some help and consideration.
It's really unlikely that their condition is going to make them brilliant crimefighters.
This is supposed to be where the "compassionate" part of "compassionate conservative" kicks in, but unfortunately, it's actually the case that proves "compassionate conservative" is an oxymoron. They say the problem with mental illness is that it's "invisible," that it's harder for people to empathize with a schizophrenic than say, the blind, because mental illness doesn't show obvious trauma the way that MS does.
I'd be more inclined to agree if my state's schools for the blind and deaf didn't keep getting their funding slashed time and again. I can tell you from first-hand experience that my State's plan for the handicapped, despite an awesome amount of empty spin and window dressing, basically boils down to three choices; Family, Homelessness or Prison.
The people of the United States used to unanimously agree on this, that we had an obligation to care for and support the infirm, that a basic benchmark of civilization was that we took care of people who could not care for themselves. We lost that conviction sometime around the time when Reagan turned mental patients into homeless people, and then used that collection of homeless people to demonize the poor.
So, I guess the question I'm asking here is aimed at my fellow citizens and especially fellow Christians who identitfy as "conservatives." How about this guy? Schizophrenia. An actual medical problem, no fault of his own. Able to lead a productive life if we just shield him a little from the Darwinian bloodbath.
Can we get your heart to bleed at least a little bit for him? Can we set up a filthy Socialist program to make sure "the least of these" gets the help they need, or are we going to sit back and cheer as Ayn Rand slashes his throat?
This might sound insensitive, but (Score:4, Insightful)
While I know the problem is a serious one and its fully classified as a disability, it almost sounds as if you're using it as a crutch in the summary. What I'm trying to say is that no situation is ever going to be perfect, and everyone has some nag or another that wears on them whether it be a disability, family problems, or in my case severe OCD to the point of trichotillomania. I think that finding a manager who is understanding and willing to work with you is the best thing you're going to be able to do. If you demand they heed your every desire and consider everything else unacceptable, you aren't going to ever land a job in a positive work environment. This is something you're going to have to meet others in the middle on and try to focus on the positives rather than the negatives. Its all relative and everyone has to do this, whether its visible to the observer or not.
In short: try to not wait for the ideal scenario, meet people halfway. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be open about your issues, it just means you shouldn't lean on the issue as an "out" when a less-than-perfect scenario shows up. Give it a shot, you may surprise yourself.
Suck it up. Thats all I can say. (Score:0, Insightful)
People with "disabilities" need to just suck it up. Life isnt fair and isnt always fun, paticullary when it comes to working. You can get a job in this economy where millions who arent disabled can and youre bitching? Fuck you, thats all I can say. Appreciate the fact you have a job and be proud youre "disabled" and have a paying job or are able to get one on top of it.
Bottom line is people with disabilities will always have a disadvantage because of it. But thats life. Its unfair for the vast minority to be treated special compared to the vast majority who arent disabled. You arent special, you arent unique, you dont deserve special treatment for being disabled. Thats what my father taught me and he was missing an entire leg from shrapnel and infection. He never got online or wanted to talk to people about his disability or used it garner attention or sympathy, he just went on with his life as if he had two legs. Man is 73 now and still doesnt even have a handicapped tag for his car.
And I have no doubt you were diagnosed with psychosis because thats popular today for special treatment and disability. Hell Im fit as a fiddle but I can be diagnosed with whatever I want if I try hard enough. Patients want excuses and dr's are lazy enough to just dispense them out at will. Kind of like how parents get their kids diagnosed with ADD constantly because its easier to blame the ADD and just give them some pills than it is to be a parent and have to raise a kid to not act like a rampaging nutball.