[blindLaw] Disclosure Blindness and Accommodations

[tmeloy83 at icloud.com]

Hello,

Best of luck with your job interview!  The decision whether to disclose your
blindness is up to you.  I have done both.  During my last interview I
disclosed because it fit naturally in to the conversation.  Certainly if you
disclose, then the topic of reasonable accommodations could come up.  I
would discuss payment for jaws with your rehab counselor, since each state's
rules are a bit different there.  One way to approach the employer if the
topic comes up is to say that you'll need screen-reading software to use
with the computer, but there are funding sources that may be available for
that.  That way the employer doesn't feel like they'll have to make that
expense totally on its own.  Hope this helps.  Once again, I hope your
interview goes well.  Please keep us informed on how things go.
Best,
T.J.


-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Morgayne Mulkern
via BlindLaw
Sent: Saturday, April 24, 2021 10:09 AM
To: BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
Cc: Morgayne Mulkern <morgaynemulkern at gmail.com>
Subject: [blindLaw] Disclosure Blindness and Accommodations

Hi everyone,

 

Happy Saturday!

This girl needs advice! I have a job interview coming up for a paralegal
position at a small corporate financial investment firm this Monday. The
position would be 2 months with the possibility of extension.

 

I just wanted to ask others who are blind or visually impaired whether or
not you disclose your blindness in interviews? Why or why not? How do you go
about doing so if you do choose to disclose?

 

Also, do you ask the company to pay for Jaws and other accommodations, or do
you ask the state agency if they can, or how do you handle this? The
Massachusetts commission for the blind has provided Jaws software at my past
jobs before, but I'm not sure if they would be willing to do so where the
position is temporary....

 

I have not interviewed for a job that was not in government before, so these
are some new concerns.

 

Thank you.

 

 

Best,

Morgayne Mulkern

(774)826-7428

morgaynemulkern at gmail.com

_______________________________________________
BlindLaw mailing list
BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
BlindLaw:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/tmeloy83%40icloud.com