What kind of disability employment services are available?

6 comments

1. Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) is pretty great, assuming they’re not so backed up that you can begin services in a timely manner.

2. In addition to the OVR as pointed out by u/dclxvi616 there are countless non-profit organizations that help with this as well.

   Heck, even major corporations have programs to hire and assist people with various disabilities.

3. Speaking as a disabled American: Hahahahaha- Oh wait, you’re actually serious?!

4. There are a variety of programs.

   A good friend of mine was born with spina bifida.

   Basically, his spinal nerves developed outside his spinal cord. Because of that he lost both his legs at a very young age just above his knees. So he is in a wheelchair.

   He has had a lot of help from various state, federal, and private programs. One thing that is frustrating for him is that none of it is centralized so you have to hunt around for different programs. Like his wheel chair was provided by a private charity. He has been on federal aid from Social Security. He got assistance from the State for finding a job that can accommodate him. Federal law under the ADA requires that he get accommodations for work and his work has apparently been super helpful in that regard. The place he lives built him an access ramp even though they were not required to do so. That was a purely “community” thing because a couple people that lived where he lives were contractors and the landlord got together with them and bought the materials to build a rail and a ramp to make it easier for him to get in and out. He also got assistance from a state office that helped him find out what benefits were available.

   So his major issue was hunting down all the different programs that were available. There is assistance out there but it isn’t always easy to track down and it varies by location.

5. I’m on disability. My state’s vocational rehab has helped pay for my university, offered tutors to help me, helped me get my internship at school, and have offered lots of other supports.

   Unfortunately, I had to withdraw from school last fall due to my disability getting worse, but there are definitely programs out there.

   The helpfulness of them, their budget, and what they can actually do? That’s going to vary widely based on what state you live in.

6. It totally depends on the state or city you live in in many cases. I am partially disabled physically and I work from home in my recliner. Before that I had an ADA accommodation to have a recliner in my office at work. Look into your rights under the ADA, America has very strong protections for people with disabilities.