 |  Blindstorming: Arranging for Accommodations As people with disabilities, we run into many ?Catch-22? situations. That is, we, like the protagonist of Heller's novel by that name, have conflicting requirements and expectations that may prevent us from moving forward as productive, successful individuals. In general, we want to and are expected to step up to the plate in, say, a new job, but the tools we need to do that job are often slow to come. We pronounce our capabilities to the interviewer, but, when we get the job, we run into the bureaucracy and foot dragging and just plain difficulty getting the accommodations we need to live up to that pronouncement. ?First impressions? clash with ?red tape.? For instance, when I first started at one job several years ago, all my accommodations were being supplied by the Department of Services for the Blind. The department had specific requirements, purchasing procedures and other time-intensive processes ? all roadblocks to productive work. As a result, I sat on my thumbs, more or less, for a month. I remember painfully typing away at a typewriter (remember those?) and feeling like I just might be in over my head. Then, in my next job, I did not even have accommodations. I did finally manage to supply my own. It's a long story why this happened, and frankly the whole job was one long sad tale of poor management. But, when I left frustrated to the core, the failure of the organization, a community development group, to include me as a worker had clearly begun with the poor handling of my tools. I am happy to say that later experiences have been more positive. However, when obtaining accommodations is not a positive experience, I become frustrated. I have a low tolerance for incompetence, my own included. It does not seem to matter whether it is my own fault or not. If you are like me, you want to be effective on a job as soon as possible, but you also want to look laid back, understanding, patient and not at all whiny or demanding. That can be a bad combination. Is there a ?best practice? for this situation? Please take a minute to give your brief, pithy response to these questions:
Nan Hawthorne eSight Disability Employment Resource of the Day.
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