Contributor Terri Winaught – His Eyes Only See Abilities
The unemployment rate among the blind, visually impaired and others with significant disabilities has been 70 percent for as long as I can remember (The above statistic has been cited by the American Council of the Blind, Hadley School for the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind).
Though I see the reasons for this as many and varied, I consider the main reason to be negative stereotypes which create attitudinal barriers. I also believe that if more administrative eyes saw the disabled as people who are differently abled with many capabilities, stereotypes would be like towers falling in on themselves. The blocks of misperception would be re-formed into a strong tower of accurate perceptions and acceptance.
Mr. Jim Nelson, the Operations Director of the Pittsburgh-based nonprofit for which I work, is just such a person. When other hiring personnel may have feared that I couldn’t, Mr. Nelson knew that I could.
When some may have wondered how a nonprofit organization could afford access technology while the United States teeters on the foundation of a fickle economy, Jim had hope that fickle could become friendly enough to sustain investments in access technology.
Instead of fearing that I might fail, Mr. Nelson was so sure that I would succeed that he confided to a colleague, saying, “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Terri, so long as it wasn’t illegal or immoral.”
Since Operations Director Nelson never feared that hiring me as a Supervisor would be a decision that he would regret, I would like to focus the remainder of this article on translating the letters of “fear” into the positive perceptions with which I–and my abilities–have consistently been viewed.
F is for faith.
From the moment I was hired in 2005, I always had the sense that my employer had FAITH in my capabilities rather than fear of my blindness.
E is for encouragement.
Once I knew that I would be using a computer to enter call data, and having the preference for Braille output over speech that I have, the last thing I wanted to do was learn JAWS. Because having JAWS installed on my laptop and learning how to use it was the best way to go, though, I reluctantly learned JAWS, and now I just love it. My learning and loving this accessible program was thanks to ENCOURAGEMENT.
A is for Accessibility.
I can’t even begin to tell you how many interviews I’ve been on during which I was told what I couldn’t do because of my blindness instead of what I could do based on my abilities. Needless to say, prospective employers with those attitudes had no desire to make their work environments accessible. In my current position, however, administrative colleagues truly went above and beyond the reasonable accommodations mandates of the American with Disabilities Act by not only allowing me to be paid for my computer training but also by repairing and updating my BrailleNote several times. Though the Pittsburgh Office of Blindness and Visual Services paid for my computer and software updates–which I very much appreciate–it was my workplace administrators that paid for the work on my BrailleNote. (Because Jim Nelson’s primary responsibilities as Operations Director are monitoring budgets and tracking cash flow, he was the key person providing this additional ACCESSIBILITY).
R is for respect.
The mission of the agency I work for is to create a society free of stigma, which also means treating each other with respect and dignity.
Though my workplace has its share of office politics–as I think every office does– I have generally been treated with respect and dignity, especially by Operations Director Nelson.
Operations Director Mr. Jim Nelson is the epitome of Faith, Encouragement, Accessibility and Respect because where there are challenges, Mr. Nelson see chances; and where there is despair over lack of employment, Mr. Jim Nelson brings hope through the dignity of work.