Felicia Welch; 1/2010 Disabilities And You An unofficial mini-guide for adults with disabilities and life after high school
Felicia Welch; 1/2010
Disabilities And You
An unofficial mini-guide for adults with disabilities and life after high school
Felicia Welch; 1/2010
Facts about disabilities
Can be physical, learning, or developmental
Even with a disability, you can still work towards your goals; even if you need to go at it a different way
Felicia Welch; 6/2009
Case in point: Had Asperger’s Syndrome
Felicia Welch; 1/2010
Has Dyslexia
Felicia Welch; 2010
Disability Law: Section 504/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The Who (cont.) [1.]individuals with disabilities are defined as persons
who have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities”
Ex: caring for one's self, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, working, performing manual tasks, learning
This also includes may those maintained by medications or assistive hardware/software (ex: [1.]”AIDS, alcoholism, blindness or visual impairment, cancer, deafness or hearing impairment, diabetes, drug addiction, heart disease, and mental illness…”)
Felicia Welch; 1/2010
Disability Law: Section 504/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The What Section 504 states that any
[2.]“program and activity receiving federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the United States Postal Service…” is required to provide reasonable accommodations.
[2.]http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=15
Felicia Welch; 2010
Disability Law: Section 504/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The What (cont.) Reasonable accommodations are
[1.]“reasonable steps to accommodate your disability unless it would cause the employer undue hardship.” Undue hardship is defined as [3.]“an
action requiring significant difficulty or expense…in light of factors such as an employer's size [less than 15 people], financial resources, and the nature and structure of its operation.”
[3.] http://www.eeoc.gov/types/ada.html
Felicia Welch; 1/2010
Disability Law: Section 504/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The What (cont.) Examples of reasonable
accommodations:Speech-to-text softwareRevised work schedulesAn Interpreter*Changing Policies
*: http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/accommodation.html More information on reasonable accommodations : http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/accommodation.html
Felicia Welch; 2010
Disability Law: Section 504/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Where The ADA and Section 504
Applies: Any work/volunteer agency/site with
15 or more employees At any and all schools and vocational
training agencies
Disability Law and School
Unlike in grammar school and high school, YOU are responsible for signing up for whatever services you need in college.
There are, however, disability coordinators that help you get various accommodations
Felicia Welch; 2010
Disability Law and School (cont.)
Script activity 1!
Felicia Welch; 2010
Disability Law and School (cont.) Things to remember:
Always give your professor your accommodations sheet at the beginning of the semester
Though it can vary with every school, it’s usually best to submit testing forms at least one week before the actual test if needed.
Also remind your professor if you are taking an exam in the testing center at least 3 days in advance (in person or email)Felicia Welch; 2010
Disability Law and School (cont. again) Though it’s very rare, professors
may sometimes forget to give you your accommodations. In these cases, it is best to speak
to the professor about why it’s important for you to have accommodations and that it is your federally mandated right to receive them.
Felicia Welch; 2010
Script 2!
Felicia Welch; 2010
Disability Law and Work
[4.]Special Note: If you are receiving SSI or SSD, you may lose it if you make $1,000 or more per month.
[4.]http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/sga.html
Felicia Welch; 2010
Felicia Welch; 2010
Disability Law and Work (cont.)
[1.]“Section 504 protects… individuals with disabilities who, with reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job for which they have applied…”
[1.] http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/resources/factsheets/504.pdf
Disability Law and Work(cont. again) Depending on what career you
go into, you may or may not need accommodations.
If you find that you need accommodations, it is best to let your supervisor AND human resources know as soon as possible (and put it in writing)
Felicia Welch; 2010
Felicia Welch; 2010
Disability Law and Work(cont.)
An important thing to note is that employers are not allowed to inquire employees about their disabilities and/or the severity of their disabilities [4.]So it’s important to be proactive
and let your employers know what you need in order to be an effective worker
[4.] http://www.eeoc.gov/abouteeo/overview_practices.html
Disability Law and Work
If you find that you are not getting the accommodations you need, there are steps that you can take to fight for your rightsThey are usually in the back of the
employee handbook under “Grievance Procedures”
Felicia Welch; 6/2009
Script 3 for the win!
Felicia Welch; 2010
Great Starter Career Options
When starting out in the workforce there are various programs and places to begin.
Hireds.com and AmeriCorps are just two of many places to begin a career or start a job
See Disability Links for other Links
Felicia Welch; 2010
Hireds.com
Powered by Monster.com, Hireds.com is an easy to use website that works to increase diversity in the workplace by catering only to those with disabilities.Like monster.com, people can
post their resumes and apply to a variety of jobs; where employers seek only the most qualified for positions Felicia Welch; 2010
Felicia Welch; 2010
AmeriCorps: What is it?
AmeriCorps is a federal program which is a division of the Corporation for National and Community Service
It allows people from ages 17+ to work volunteer hours in exchange for a bi-weekly stipend as well as an education award at the end of their term
Felicia Welch; 2010
AmeriCorps:Terms and Hours
As an AmeriCorps employee you may complete full time or part time hours, in order to get education awards:
Full-time: 1700 hours in one (1) year/ $4,725 in education awards
Part-time: 900 hours in one (1) year/ $2,362.50 in education awards
You must complete your required hours in order to get your education award.
Felicia Welch; 2010
AmeriCorps: General Info
In AmeriCorps there is a large variety of things you can do to complete your required hours
Ex: Painting houses Tutoring Clerical (office) work Volunteering time with seniors And much, much more!
Felicia Welch; 2010
AmeriCorps (In Conclusion)
AmeriCorps provide many opportunities to gain connections in the city
AmeriCorps can help you gain experience in both the working world and in life
AmeriCorps also looks great on your resume ;-)
Felicia Welch; 2010
Disability Rights Links
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/resources/factsheets/504.pdf
http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=15
http://www.eeoc.gov/types/ada.html http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/accommodation.html http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/accommodation.html http://www.eeoc.gov/abouteeo/overview_practices.html Job/Career Info Links
http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/sga.html http://www.hireds.com/index.php http://www.thinkbeyondthelabel.com/Default.aspx http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/nymakesworkpay/index.cfm
Felicia Welch; 2010
THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING!!!