I’m confused….
So, when I was working with vocational rehab a few years ago, they tested my intelligence first, and I believe that since the intelligence part was high…they decided nothing else or nothing new could be happening. Only my depression. that existed already at the time as a possible factor in my jobllessness at the time.
Because you know, a smart person with a high IQ couldn’t possibly have mental health issues.
My new shrink did the screenings for two new conditions *first* before trying to put a handle on my IQ….and I have one new and possibly two new diagnoses.
There was this one list, and I kept saying “Wait, this happens to other people?”
This not knowing where a thing is a minute after I put it down, the rampant disorganization and procrastination that is my life…and the more recent (1993) sudden onslaught of negative emotion connected to a memory or piece of music when I didn’t ask for it….
There are apparently reasons listed in the DSM4 for this.
Hmmm
Since self made job hunts aren’t working
I’m going to go back to what’s called in this state the department of vocational rehabilitation…
And, hope that I get a better answer than I got in 2003 which was in essence: “You’re smart, *you* figure it out!”
To be fair, carpal tunnel had not yet been found and the physiatrist had not yet re diagnosed my “spastic paraplegia” (aka at different times in my life as cerebral palsy etc etc etc…
And, I’ll need to make clear to both the medical and vocational sides the fluid nature of my capabilities…They are no longer static, stable, …any one piece of the puzzle can go suddenly south.
It’s as if my various impairments force me into a game of Jenga, or Tetrus. At the last employer, things were difficult until winter, but bearable, then quickly changed when my symptoms of three separate impairments flared up in tandem with dramatic changes of the requirements of the job…for those who *love* cures, or who relied on them too much
I don’t have anything *bad* to say about the medicine. It worked quite well. From October to May, and then suddenly *bam.* No help…and the pieces started falling off, and well eventually the whole Jenga tower went to hell. (for those who’ve never played Jenga: Google is your friend.)
But I’ve already been through Masters level work. Automatically vocational counselors in 2003 seemed to see that based on that education and the fact that I had to wear clean officewear for the job I had then, I obviously had too much money and brains to be looking for help from them.
Jeebus. Let’s imagine for a moment that impairment is The Worlds Worst Drama Queen. Impairment doesn’t show up at your door, or interact with other impairments already present in an unfavorable way, and then suddenly discover the nice pink blouse in your closet or your IQ score and *then run shrieking away!!!*
“I can’t hold on! I can’t take it anymore! I cannot inflict impairment on this individual? Their IQ is just *too high!* Oh, and the kicker! I cannot possibly operate effectively if she dresses in a manner appropriate for the office! I’ll be in my *trailer!* [door slam]
Brought to you by
The Department of Education
(cross- posted yesterday to my Livejournal since blogger was down)
So explain this to me like I’m five.
(The caveat is, I’m nearly as ignorant as any able person about the RSA and its workings, having had minimal contact with them in 2003 and in college. I’m watching this as an ‘outsider’. ) Nonetheless I read about the actions being taken by the RSA and basically said “WTF? Back up the truck…” This makes no sense…under any administration, red, blue or green.
The Rehabilitation Services Administration, an organization whose purpose it is to find disabled persons gainful employment let things get so out of hand with the firing (termination, layoff, whichever is the correct term) employees of theirs that had disabilities, and were by their work,
1. Giving back to the disabled communityAnd
2. Fulfilling the purpose of the organization by working there.The Administration is going through a reorganization that means many regional jobs, for disabled and non-disabled workers there will be eliminated….but reassignment to a different job type is evidently common in these situations: Long story short, that is not happening for the disabled members of the RSA workforce.
That said disabled and blind employees have taken legal action to attempt to stop their firing with the beginning of the RSA’s fiscal year October 1.And, the pretzel-like thinking that means of course, if they lose their jobs, one of the resources that they could avail themselves of is the RSA, to get new jobs.
God, I need a drink.
Got this from http://www.aapd-dc.org They’re more thorough than I.
Please don’t
I really wish politicians wouldn’t use disabled people to further their agendas.
To generate guilt or warm fuzzies when it is convienient, and then move right into wielding the Medicaid or Vocational Rehab ax. It’s revolting.
There’s a column here that discusses the appearance of a girl with Down’s syndrome at the Robert’s hearing. (go to the post entitled: “Celebrations)
More on the RSA closings
Our “friends” at Fox News give us this little gem.
The article supports combining the funding of job programs for abled and disabled clients, but the folks that work in rehabilitation interviewed for the article do explain that changing the funding streams to block grants to the states may result in preference for the easiest to place able bodied workers, funding them ahead of disabled adults in order to meet expectations for the numbers of clients placed.
According to the article, RSA presently places about 215000 clients out of 1.2 million served in jobs.
“The administration is pushing a proposal for the WIA that would offer states the choice of receiving block grants that would incorporate RSA and Department of Labor job-placement funds for both disabled and non-disabled workers. The proposal is controversial and was not in the House reauthorization bill passed in March. It is uncertain whether it will make it into the final Senate legislation.
Wilson said the block grants would be attractive to cash-strapped states, which would likely put more of the money into quick and cheap non-disabled placements at the expense of other programs for the disabled.
“If we cut back funding and mush it in with other generic programs in the system, the adult disabled folks will be left behind,” she said.
Paul Lather, director of Adult Learning and Rehabilitation in the New Hampshire Department of Education, which receives about $10 million in federal funds and helped 1,245 disabled people get jobs last year, said he is worried his staff will dwindle under block granting.
“We would have concerns about the quality of staff and the dedicated resources that would be available to disabled people in terms of employment,” Lather said…”
Joanne Wilson, former head of the RSA will be at the May 26 protest in Washington.
Wish I was there.
Midlife And Treachery 
