disclouser /weather to or not to employers

I haven’t been in the job market for a long time so take this with a block of salt.

I would disclose no ealier than E.

The LD may not be an issue at your specific job or may only require minor accomadations. If the accomadations were minor enough, I’ve used the “oh, I just do better this way” line and have never been questioned.

From discussion with our HR manager (who does not know about any LD I might have) in this market with 25 resumas for every opening, she looks for any reason to drop people out of consideration.

Barb

Honesty is the best policy.

I wouldn’t disclose what political party I vote for. Nor a list of the many publications I subscribe to. Nor that I have some unusual interest.

I wouldn’t disclose a LD if I thought I could do a good job with only minor accomidations for the same reason. The employer is only interested if I can get the job done without costing them an arm and a leg.

I really don’t feel it is lieing but if you do, then I apploud you for disclosing.

Barb

It would depend. There was just a case in New Zealand (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?reportID=16&storyID=3198574) where a man won a suit because he was fired for not disclosing his “disability,” which affected his spelling but not his work performance (engineering).
Generally, interviews include some kind of question about your “weaknesses.” Rather than stick a label on ‘em right off, which is likely to send up caution flags (“oh, gosh, is this guy going to make all kinds of ADA demands?”), I’d describe one of the tough areas. In my case… welp, paperwork and organization are a genuine challenge. Let’s just say, when the o ne lady asked me how I ‘felt about tidiness’ I knew even if she called (she didn’t)…
Getting a job is about first impressions. Make the wrong one and you don’t get a chance to prove yourself. I’m a lot more honest than most — and it’s cost me some chances, p’raps, but I’ve got other strengths (like verbal skills that make a good first impression) to compensate so there have been plenty of chances. Suspect I’d be sneakier if I’d had to be…

If I can do a great job without disclosing, then my LD isn’t any more relevant to my employer than what color my shower curtain is. I see it my responsibility to know my own strengths and weaknesses, to work at building skills in my weak areas wherever possible, and to make sure I get as many of the accomodations I need as possible. Most people without LDs have preferences about how they like to do things, and employers can often understand in terms of strengths and weaknesses. I’ve gotten pretty creative about persuading people over the years in order to get many of the things I need. In my previous career I discovered I needed a lot more than that, and it was a big huge red flag that I was in the wrong line of work, not that I needed to disclose. That’s just me though, there are SUCH a wide range of issues that could come up under the broad heading of LDs, we are all individuals with many different kinds of difficulties. No one approach is going to be right for all of us.

Hi all,
It been awile I know but Im discuvering that a thething babby tacks a lot more time than I thought.:)
I have a tendense to be panfoly open and onest. Yes it hase cost me consetarably at times but I found that makking exuses tirersome and exosting. I allso got tierd of people triting me lick I was , well just a little slow in the head.
I fond that if I with held info from an emplyer they ended up treting me lick a dits that couldent grasp copex thought. How ever if I was up fruntin letting the employer know my needs right of the bat ( bracking tascks down and repeting them self oh and never asking me to compos without extided time and spelcheck) LOL that in many cases I dident have the dum blond labeld on to my self. Besids my sisters are blond Im albern :)-
Shour there have been the employers that hierd me ,I thinck, becouse they felt they had to.In wich case the sead employer tended to t a l k s l o w l y and I end up scubbing toilet as well as imptying the waset beens but they tended to be of anerlyer ginarashon or of a difrent coltur.
I gess I agree with the strat forwered aproch, How evere untel we get off are squchy back sides and stand up for are selves, we will never optane equalety. I am gilty of this as well , have walked away from potenchol emplyers that were stuped anuff to confess to LD as a reason ( I could have esaly been a delvery person) glad I dident thoue.
If your employer makes red and green light bulbs dont u thinck it would be binafechol for him to know that u were coloer blind?

I am an occupational physician, and so I do fitness for duty evaluations quite often. Under the ADA law, in order to get the job, you have to be able to do the ESSENTIAL functions of the job. If the job description requires you to lift 50 lbs. on a repetitive basis 300 times a shift, and you have severe arthritis of the back which prevents you from lifting repetitively, then you can’t do the essential functions of the job, and you are NOT qualified for the job. If you can do it 50 times a shift but not 300 times a shift if given a hoist, then you still aren’t qualified for the job because the ADA does not require managers to change their production targets in order to acomodate you. If the job description doesn’t require you to lift, but sometimes you are expected to lift anyway, then you ARE qualified for the job. Similarly, if the job is that of attorney or physical therapist or a welder, spelling is not an essential function of the job. If the job is that of typist, it is. You are not required to disclose your disability at the interview stage, but you ARE required to disclose your disability after you are offered the job, or at the point at which you first discover that you cannot perform the job without accomodations, assuming that you couldn’t reasonably know that you would need accomodations when you began. The accomodations must be reasonable but need not be cost-free. What constitutes reasonable differs with respect to a little 100 man firm vs. a Fortune 500 company. You cannot ask them to hire another person to do the essential functions of the job, and you can’t ask them to take away essential functions and give them to other members of the team, but you can ask them to allow you use of a spell-checker, or a hoist if that would allow you to perform your job as well as any other employee.

Hi Bonnie:

In having a learning disability myself, I think that it is an individual choice, based upon whether the person feels comfortable or not. I know for me and my own experience, if I am doing a job that requires some accommodations and assistive devices, after looking at the responsibilties and tasks of that particular job, then I will disclose to the employer. I think that it is important for the person to explain to the interviewer what is their ld in a positive way, giving some examples to their learning disability and what kinds of strengths they bring to the particular job. This is also educaing the employer for future accommodations if required, Because as I know, when one starts a job it may look simpler but as time goes on the job changes and the responsibilites increase and this offers the employee a better chance of requesting new accommodations.

Adovcating for one’s self is difficult as I can atest, however, If I am aware of how I learn, ie learning style. I am a auditory learner, so I use WYNN and Kursweil at times, and I am visual as well.

I think that it is important for the person to know themselves, becomes aware of what works best.
Now in saying that, if the person has knowledge of the job and responsiblities, and requires little or no accommodations, then disclosure may not be an issue. Sometimes people I know do jobs that don’t require any accommodation. I have not met many people.

I dislcose whereever I go even in volunteer positions…. because my ld affects each and every day, given that i have the strategies and accommodations in place. I could just have an ld day.

I believe that it is important to disclose at the interview stage, and if the potential employer does not respect this, then this is not the appropriate employer.

I also know people who are working and have difficulty in their positions, they can talk to their HR department and see if they can get some assistance. If an employer wants to see and assessment of some kind, the person does not have to share personal information. Only parts fo the assessment for recommendations and accommodations…

This is a great forum.

Sometimes though, some people have difficulty in presenting in interview, and that is important to disclose as well, so that accommodations are made avaiable.