Job/Employment

Disabled is really an ugly word when applied to human beings. Until people like you and I get organized we are going to continue to get treated like a turd in a urinal. “Docs” and state Voc Rehab tin gods have no reason help us. No money in it for Doctor Greed and no accountability for Mr. Slacker, the bean counting puke that works for the state. The dirtbag lawyers won’t work on our behalf and the ADA is a cruel joke that only serves to create an adversarial relationship between the employer and the disabled. Employers main responsibility to workers is to stay in business.

So Woodie you’re on your own. Help yourself as much as you can. Try to rehab your brain as best you can. For your own satisfaction give the people who are screwing with you a peice of your mind. Let the Governor of your state know how much your voc rehab agency sucks. VESID is the New York State voc rehab agency and those a-holes are demented Nazis.

The other thing LD is only a lable,created for parents who are pissed that Johnny is not the smartest kid in the class. The LD tag makes him feel like a loser and in some cases helps parents justify bad parenting. Certianly there are children that are LD but when they become adults the accomodation disapears but their impairment does not. LD is an inaccurate term for a problem with how the brain operates. The small minded no it alls that apply these lables most likely know little about the brain. So as these idiots pontifficate (defficate) about the subject, picture there mouths a toilet that desperately needs flushing. So, in closing my advise to you is to play the lottery you hav a better chance of winning that than getting help for your problem. The only thing I can think of would be for you to get a neuro-psych evaluation if the doctor isn’t a complete numb-nuts he might suggest coping stratagies and compensatory methods that could help you. Good luck. Try to have fun.

Call it whatever you wish… but it does exist. It (LD or ADHD) is real. It is a neuro-biological condition that science is able to prove. It is not a moral failing, an excuse or a character weakness. It is comforting to have a label and to know and understand why you do, think or act the way you do. There are many positives to this “condition”. Just as a deaf person has heightened awareness in other sensory areas, LD/ADHD people often have heightened talents and creativity in areas that are unaffected. For one, most of them are extremely sensitive and creative. They react in a crisis better than most… they are resiliant and able to laugh at themselves. They look at life from a different perspective. Maybe a better one, who knows. I don’t like the way they are labeled because the label carries a negative message. I like to think of ADHD as Attention Difference and Heightened Detail. Maybe we are the “norm” and everyone else is handicapped. :0)

The idea that a person is learning disabled is an inaccurate lable that pretends to desribe a mafunction of the brain. A better and more accurate “label” would be learning impaired. “LD” people learn so their ability to learn is not disabled. I hope this clears things up.

Hello Georgia,

Great point! I agree with you.
When my autobiography about living with LD and ADHD gets published in a few yrs.I hope you and others will pick up a copy. Despite my “disabilities” I managed to earn a B.S. and a Master’s Degree along with others achievements. I’m not saying that my life has been an easy road because it has been the exact opposite, but I can say that I feel as if I am a more caring and creative person and I would not change that for anything. It is sad that many people in the community are so clueless and that’s why it’s our job to educate others in a caring manner. I have also met MANY wonderful, genuine, and compassionate people in my journey.

Take care,
Maria

Thanks Maria…
And I agree that although it has been a long and difficult journey, I would not trade places with being anyone else on the planet! I really do love my personality and all the gifts I have. I will never be understood by most of the people that I come in contact with or work with. But heck…How can they understand me? I have an IQ higher than most of them and wow, such life experiences…..creativity, fantastic ideas……Oh well… nice to brag about me now and then. :0) If you read my “Years of Tears” you will see that we are a lot alike…….. I hope I can find more like me nearby….there is no support group here. i am writing a book, too. A math instuctional guide for teachers of LD kids. I LOVE TO TEACH MATH! Which by the way, I failed twice in high school. Hope to finish the book and become a consultant to travel the nation.
Georgia

There are things that I can not do, or can only barely do, that are core components to the learning process. In those areas, I am disabled. Ball, your crap about how it’s just a label, well if you have LD’s and this is your attitude? You really need to rethink it. I don’t disagree with much of what you’ve said about hte ineffectivness of the states etc. but this bit about the “label” being totaly spurious is utter crap.

As for the ADA, a more worthless law has never been enacted. The courts should be ashamed of themselves, as should big buisness, but obviously there’s a lot of them with the Enron mindset, and if normal people end up screwed becasue of those sort of attitudes and practices, it only means that disabled people were there first. And politicians arn’t much better, they just stand around and flap their arms a bit about it only as much as they must, and meanwile do nothing substantive other than line their pockets with money. They’re all pretty much corrupt.

Woodie, you’re probably going to be more employable longer than many, many people. There are a lot of folks who only ever have done one thing, and when they can’t do it for whatever reason, they have trouble finding other things. People who have LD’s are very adaptable by their very nature, and it’s a talent that serves well to deal with work issues.

I agree with you all with regard to creativity and sensitivity.

I wish that I could figure out how to use that in a career. I would like to work for myself which would alleviate bosses expectations, but of course you still have your clients expectations to meet, which is difficult as well.

I’m not sure what the magic answer is about successful employment and LD. For me it’s been hard to find my niche and the anxiety this has produced along with the financial difficulty has been so stressful and unpleasant.

Junk science, Neuro science, pseudo science you pick it. LD, ADD, ADHD, What is the cause? Do the experts know? What part of the brain is involved? What are the experts credentials? Consider the possibility that these expert are wrong or at least only know part of the picture. Medical science is an oxymoron… What diseases has medical science cured in the last 50 years? Could it be because the drug companies do most of the “research?” The emporer’s new clothes… Question authority. When it comes to disorders involving the brain, don’t you think it would be a good idea to at least try to be accurate? Why spout the dogma of psychologists who are in a feild in wich they are clueless. What are othe countries doing? For the most part I think clinical psychologists are charletons. They may help some people with some problems but so does Miss Cleo. They still teach the fallacies of Freud, B.F. Skinner, ect.. as gospel in colleges. Shrinks base their approach predicated on work that was pretty much conjecture because it sounds cool and makes sense but things that “make sense” are not always right. The Earth does appear flat. If you are not getting help,how useful and valid are the experts in this very new field? P.T. Barnum is alive and well and the reason you believe him is because you are in desparate need of a disreet solutions to a problem. Alot more research should be done before they release their verbal diareaha and sell it as fact.

I tend to agree with Ball (though the profanity just makes me laugh). “Learning Disabilities” is such a vague name. There are sooooo many learning differences among people- reading, writing, spelling, taking directions, auditory processing, the list can go on and on. Since “special” education/government doesn’t seem to help much when you’re in the “Real” world (out of school/college), why not just admit that we all have “some” problems in “some” areas. Afterall, that’s about as vague as “LD” is…

The only reason we label, is because it’s helps the schools classify you(group you like sheep) and (surprise) they DO receive $$ for doing that. We ALL have some type of deficiency. Even if someone is a valedictorian of their class, do they have any social skills? That’s a deficiency too!

My teacher is LIFE, now use (or avoid) whatever helps you to function in this world (family, computers, friends, the internet…)

Many states provide services for people who have disabilities of all kinds,
including learning challenges. They can provide job coaches and counseling.
You might try contacting one of these agencies. In New York State, one of
the offices is called Vocational Education Services for Individuals with
Disabilities. Good luck!

Insted of LD folks being put in the perpetual screwing machine of Voc Rehab. What about affirmative action for all disabled who need it. When rubber hits the road employers need workers that are competitive.A person who is less abled will not get hired if he is not productive enough. Employers are in business to make money not do voc rehab but if they do VR the government should compensate them. Voc rehab has been, is and willalway be a failure.

TO BALL. Pal, you need some major attitude adjustments. If you can’t say something contructive without being evil about it, then kindly keep your mouth shut. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is tired of you. Get some counseling. You seem to have a huge chip on your shoulder. Meanwhile, find something else to do. Don’t spend so much time in front of the computer.

Dear Kathy,

Thank You so much for your comments. I appreciate your honesty with Ball which I have also posted a similar message as well. I believe the purpose of these Bulletin Board(s) is to help others and not to constantly condemn others and or agencies even though I too have had a rough time, I try not to spend time worrying about things I cannot change. My brother made a great comment about “why do you let people like that take up so much space in your mind, … it’s not worth it …” which was in reference to my worry and frustration at a person who didn’t understand my LD/ADD, and didn’t want to understand.

Keep up the good work and take care,
Maria

Baaa Baaa say the sheep, ” We just gotta except the screwing VR gives everybody.” “Nuthin we can do about it” “We are just victims boo hoo” VR may even admit that they suck but they can come up with every excuse in the book as to why. They suck because the are allowed to suck. It’s as simple as that. George W hit the nail on the head when he said if your not for us then you are against us. Does Maria and Kathy really think that VR is for us? I suspect that Kathy is a VR counselor. Some folks get a bit antcy when someone brings up accountability and VR. Kathy what VR agency do you work for? Kathy, when you arrive at your VR job in the morning don’t read the paper cause if you do you won’t have anything to do in the afternoon. The truth hurts sometimes. Anyway Kathy PMS is probably a prerequisite for a VR counselor. And Kathy as far as evil is concerned’ it seems to me that evil can flourish quite well in the VR setting. All those downtrodden unfortunates, Satan is having a field day. Isn’t he or she? Just read the horror stories on this bulletin board of the jerking around people are getting. Read the suffering of the children at the hands of insensitive schools. Read about the grief of the mothers of these kids. And Kathy do what every good sleaze ball VR counselor and lawyer does. Blame the Victim. Yes maria I condemn VR. I hope they are condemned to hell.

1. How many clients?
2. How much in your budget?

3. Percentage vocationally rehabilitated?

SHOW ME THE NUMBERS!!!