Disability in the Workforce: An Interactive Story

Good morning! You are spending your day applying for jobs. As someone who is a wheelchair user with Cerebral Palsy, you know that you will face many unique and difficult challenges during the process of job hunting. [[continue]]

You are filling out a job application. You come across the Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability form. How will you identify? [[Yes, I have a disability or previously had a disability]] [[No, I don't have a disability]] [[I don't wish to disclose this information]]

Sorry, you didn't get a call back. [[Try again?]]

You got the interview! [[Two days later...]]

Good morning! It's the big day. What are you going to wear to your interview? [[I am going to dress comfortably. It takes a lot longer for me to dress in clothes with a lot of buttons or zippers, and between showering and making breakfast, my mornings are already very busy. Plus, the process of putting on restrictive clothing can cause me pain, and use up a lot of energy.]] [[I will choose to dress business professional anyway.]]

Time to go! How will you get to the interview? [[I will take the bus. It takes 5 minutes to get to the bus stop. I will have to transfer buses one time. It will take about 20 minutes to get to the interview. The bus is not very reliable. It will cost $2.50]] [[I will take an uber. It will take 10 minutes to get there, but I may have to wait up to 15 minutes to get a wheelchair accessible uber. This is much easier on you physically. This will cost $12.]]

The bus is 15 minutes late. The interviewer tells you that your lateness is unacceptable and wishes you good luck on your job search. [[Try again?]]

Your uber driver arrives. He has trouble securing your wheelchair properly, but with some troubleshooting he figures it out. You arrive on time. [[Get out of the car.]]

There is no wheelchair accessibility button to open the front door! [[Call the front desk and ask them to come let you in]] [[Wait for someone to walk by or come out of the building]]

A woman opens the door and approaches you. "Hello! I assume you are here to see Dr.Shelby, the physical therapist. Her office is actually located around the corner. Did you need help getting there? [["Uhhh...I am actually here to interview for the HR position..."]]

Her face drops. "Oh my god! I am so sorry. Let me show you where that is..." [[You follow her and take the elevator to the sixth floor.]]

You enter the room, there are three interviewers. It is clear by the look on their faces that they were surprised that you are in a wheelchair. It is ten minutes into the interview and you feel like things are going well. The woman to your left asks "Are you able to type at 40 words per minute? This job requires a significant amount of data entry." [["Yes...no problem." (You are not entirely sure, but you really need this job!)]] [["No. I will need dictation software."(You are aware that this software can cost up to $500 and don't know if the company will be willing to pay for it.)]]

You wait for about 5 minutes and still no one comes by. You don't want to be late. [[Call the front desk and ask them to come let you in]]

"We can talk about that another time. You will be hearing from us soon." [[Time to wait!]]

"Wonderful. You will be hearing from us soon." [[Time to wait!]]

A day has passed. You have an email! [[Open email]]

"Hello! Thank you for applying for the open position in our Human Resources department. At this time we are continuing the hiring process with other candidates." You are disappointed. You thought the interview went well... [[Try again?]]

"Okay great! Will you be needing any accommodations?" [[Yes, I will need other accommodations. Would you like to discuss that now or at a later time?]] [[No, I think that is all]]

"Ok. We do not have that, but we can look into it...Will you be needing any other accommodations?" [[Yes, I will need other accommodations. Would you like to discuss that now or at a later time?]] [[No, I think that is all]]