Accommodating Individuals with Invisible Disabilities

 


Have you ever had a job where you felt unheard? Struggled with fitting in? Felt overwhelmed/overstimulated?  Most of the time, people who are living with an invisible disability can experience a lot of workplace and educational stress.  Did you know that people with autism have the highest number of under and unemployed people out of any disability?  It's very sad if you think about it.  I hate it when people say that we aren't a disability (especially people who have low-support needs), but we struggle socially.  

For instance, a big struggle for me is knowing when to stop talking.  I'm a very hyper-verbal individual, which means I can have no filter when it comes time to knowing when to end a conversation.  It's hard. I feel like it shouldn't be this hard.  Unfortunately, this is how society is uninformed about issues like autism and other neurodiversities.  There is more to autism than sensory issues and routine consistency just as there is more to ADHD than the hyperactivity.  In all seriousness, this is why it is important to educate the public on these topics.  Autism can be more of a social struggle than a sensory struggle for some people.  This is why they call it a spectrum.

Did you know that there's a law that protects us with disabilities?? It's called the ADA.  ​The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a U.S. civil rights law enacted in 1990 and it prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, ensuring they have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. ​ DID YOU READ THAT?!!? IT "PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES"!!!  Wow, I'm exhausted from shouting that!! In other words, people with ANY disability REQUIRES accommodations.

How does this accommodations work?? Well, calm your horses, understanding is a HUGE part of the acceptance and awareness process.  I have had many jobs over the past 11 years.  I've struggled with keeping a job consistently due to miscommunication over certain task expectations and demands that overwhelm me.  (I'll admit some of these job loses are my doing too and I would rather talk about it at a later date if anything.)  The job I kept the longest (shout out to my manager mamma, Deja Atwood from Pieology & Jamba 2019-2021), my boss was the BEST boss ever! Why?!  She accommodated me in the best ways.  She gave me "breaks" by sending me to do tasks where I could unwind after socializing when we got busy.  She was flexible with me being to work a little late since she knew I struggled with time management.  If I wasn't at work by a certain time and didn't let her know that I was running late, she would text me or the shift lead on duty would.  
Accommodation needs look different based on the individual.  Managers/shift leaders, here are some examples:
  • Some people can work without breaks because they're used to the routine consistency that putting them on break would be a lost cause.  
  • Giving 5-10 minute paid breaks where the employee is free to roam around, free to listen to their music, etc.  (this can be exactly however you want it to be)
  • Allowing your employee to wear noise cancelling headphones when they feel overstimulated in loud environments.  (I had a job where the shift manager and manager didn't allow me to do this, which I don't understand...as long as I am working, I should be fine.)
  • Letting them have task-analysis by breaking down your expectations for a certain task (i.e., you want your employee to do their closing tasks, but their ADHD challenges them to remember these routines, especially based on the shift leader.  Giving them and talking to the other shift managers by saying "we're going to follow a consistent closing routine by having certain employees completing certain tasks" can make it so that way if the employee does't want their shift leads to know, the accommodation is "secret", but built into the shift leads' plans.  Saying, "hey, I need you to mop the floors, do you know where the mop is?  If you do, try to mop the floors for at least 15 minutes really well then come and get me."  This is much easier than having them guess what to do.)
  • Get to know your employee.  Be patient with them.  Don't get rid of them because they didn't close the business properly.  Give them a chance to learn.  They might not be as fast as you with learning how to do certain tasks and that is okay. 
Below is a graphic on some other ways on how to best accommodate individuals with Invisible Disabilities.  

Questions, comments, advice?  Email me lyssie.flutie@gmail.com 

Thanks!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Can I Control?

Image
  What is control?  The  psychology definition of the word control is a person's ability or perception of their ability to affect themselves, others, their conditions, their environment or some other circumstance. Control over oneself or others can extend to the regulation of emotions, thoughts, actions, impulses, memory, attention or experiences.   As an autistic individual, control can be a hard concept to manage.  Here's the thing, we have a realm of what we can and can't control.  Think of reacting to your emotions like reacting to the weather, but with a proper balance.  I don't like the snow, especially when it is dangerous.  I can't control how much or when it snows outside.  HOWEVER, I can control how I react to the snow.  I can be mad OR I can be prepared.  I can go out wearing shorts and a tank top and risk freezing my butt off OR I can wear my warmest set of clothes so I can regulate the warmth in my body that the w...
Read more

Being a Friend vs. Being Friendly: A Neurodivergent Struggle

Image
  Have you ever met someone and thought "oh, they're being nice to me! I should be their friend, and have it not work out?"  Honestly, same.  Being autistic and neurodiverse, it can be hard to identify if I should be friends with someone or friendly.  Here's a little secret I've learned in the 27 years of my life: it is OKAY to not be friends with EVERYBODY!! --sometimes, people aren't looking to make friends or they're not interested in being friends with you and  THAT'S OKAY !!   As much as we want to be friends with everyone, this isn't possible.  Seems rude, but sometimes if we push ourselves to be friends with people, it's not going to be in our favor.   What we can do, is be NICE  to others or just be friendly to them.  This doesn't mean we're best friends.  It just means we are respectful and kind to them. But Alyssa! How can I tell if someone is being my friend or not? Good question! I'm glad you asked!  Sometimes,...
Read more

💤 Why Neurodivergent Brains Struggle With Sleep (And What Might Help)💤

Image
  It's time for bed!  You get in your pajamas, brush your teeth, shower, and do whatever you have to do before you crawl into bed.  You get into your comfy sheets and lay your head down on your pillow to rest. There's only one problem with this...you can't!  Your mind is going 90 miles per hour.  You have to sleep!  It's past midnight and you have to get up in less than 6 hours.  You spent time you should've been winding down and relaxing watching TikToks/Reels, doom scrolling, binge watching a new show, watching a movie, etc.  You can't seem to close your eyes or even relax your body...  This is a common challenge people with any neurodiversity face.   Getting to sleep can be HARD, falling asleep can be HARDER.   When trying to fall asleep, neurodivergent individuals are often challenged with sensory sensitivities, anxiety, and irregular sleep-wake cycles. In this post, we'll explore why sleep can be elusive for neur...
Read more