GETTING A JOB, GETTING A LIFE
We began our discussion of learning disabilities by noting that people do not 'grow out of it'. Some people with learning disabilities ask family and friends about jobs, apply for jobs they are interested in, get hired, do well on the job and never need any special assistance. Other people need assistance to find and keep a job. The first place for them to start is vocational rehabilitation. Every state has a vocational rehabilitation program. Over 70 reservations have tribal vocational rehabilitation programs, too.
- While most tribal members with disabilities choose to work with their local tribal vocational rehabilitation project, this is a choice. A person can choose to receive services from the state program, their tribal program or both the state and tribal program.
- Vocational rehabilitation programs can help you look for work, apply for work, get on-the-job training and keep your job.
- The staff of these programs can work with you and your employer to make changes in your workplace to succeed, very much like the changes special education teachers make in classrooms to help students with learning disabilities succeed.
- Vocational rehabilitation programs can also help you with other areas of life where you need help so that you can get and keep a job. This includes getting your car fixed so you can drive to work and back, helping you move out of your parents' home and get an apartment near your job, money for gas to drive to an interview or clothes to wear to an interview.
Much, much more information on vocational rehabilitation is provided in our workshop on "Youth and Adulthood". For now, go to the next page to see an example of some of the changes in the workplace a counselor might arrange for a worker with learning disabilities.
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Accommodations on the job |