Is working just a dream?
Is working a dream or a reality for people with a disability? How can someone assess their abilities versus their limitations in order to know what kind of employment is even possible for them? Can any accommodations be made or training be offered? "I'd Rather Be Working: A Step-by-Step Guide to Financial Self-Support for People With Chronic Illness", by Gayle Backstrom, is a valuable resource for any person with a disability or chronic illness considering the search for gainful employment. The first part of the book focuses on self-evaluation, while asking the tough questions:
- Where am I?
Where am I going?
What can I do?
What do I know?
Where do I want to go?
What do I want to do?
What programs/services can help?
The self-assessment helps decide what is realistic and truly achievable. Once the realistic goals are established, the second part of the book concentrates on what programs and services are offered by the federal government. Information about employment rights and the protection offered by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), vocational rehabilitation, and financial assistance for retraining is presented. Even more information from the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), describe new initiatives and referral networks to help disabled persons find work.Another chapter is devoted to the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) whose mission it is to assist in the hiring, retraining, retention, or advancement of persons with disabilities by providing accommodation information.
Rethink, refocus, retrain
The book is a must-read for any disabled or chronically ill person who wishes they were working. There is a message in the book for those people: RETHINK --------REFOCUS-------RETRAIN. Gayle Backstrom teaches us how.
