[humanser] Hi all, Fwd: To disclose or not disclose on internship apps

Fri Nov 20 22:08:43 UTC 2015

Hi Kaiti,

I believe that unless it is absolutely necessary you should not
disclose your disability to the employer until at least the interview
process.
I am currently going through a similar process of finding and applying
to internships and the places I am applying to have to be aware that I
am blind so that they can be sure I will fit in their residential
setting (ie. with adolescents that are violent Etc.) and I have a
guide dog so the location would have to be willing/able to accomodate
my dog. The organizations I am applying to are private organizations
and so far Onyx and I are good; I have an interview in February on
site that lasts a couple of days (they need to know about my
disability as well if some children have fears of animals or severe
allergies). Another reason they need to know is because I will be
staying on thier campus and I want to be sure they have a place I can
take Onyx when she needs to go out.
I am applying to a couple of other ogranizations as well (both
residental) and I believe it is a courtesy that I tell them about my
service dog and so far, all organizations are okay with me bringing
Onyx.
I also have had to make organizations aware of my blindness because
some of them require hand-written applications and well, I am unable
to do that. So far I have not come across any problems with this.
Not to say I will not...I am very new to being out of school and just
barely finishing my BA degree but I hope this helps in some way.
If anyone has tips for me as well in this area, I would appreciate
them too. I am in a similar place and any help that we can get is
great!
Glad to be on the list,
Christina

On 11/20/15, Michael Abell via humanser <humanser at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello,
> 	One way to avoid JAWS jabber is to route your JAWS through a USB
> headset. This would allow JAWS to continue to provide valuable information
> while you carry on. You could tell the interviewer that you are using the
> headset to provide focus for the conversation.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lisa
> Irving
> via humanser
> Sent: Friday, November 20, 2015 11:39 AM
> To: 'Human Services Division Mailing List'
> Cc: Lisa Irving
> Subject: Re: [humanser] Hi all, Fwd: To disclose or not disclose on
> internship apps
>
> Kaitie,
>
> What would it take for you to have your laptop in front of you; to take
> notes. If this is viable then the interviewer will likely hear JAWS/Window
> Eyes jabbering. Would you consider inviting the interviewer to check out
> some of the NFB U-Tube videos? I am reluctant to say it is sometimes a bit
> of a challenge to guide folks to think outside the box. I know that you can
> make this work. You are talented, spunky and compassionate.
>
> Lisa Irving
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti
> Shelton via humanser
> Sent: Friday, November 20, 2015 4:47 AM
> To: Human Services Division Mailing List
> Cc: Kaiti Shelton
> Subject: Re: [humanser] Hi all, Fwd: To disclose or not disclose on
> internship apps
>
> Hello,
>
> Skype is an audio/video calling platform so video is included, but my
> concern is that I would lose out on the ability to directly demonstrate my
> skills in this area.  I will have to at least mention the blindness durring
> the interview because the person will probably wonder why I'm not making
> eye
> contact, and we should discuss it at that point as well, but I just feel
> like it will be so much more limiting.  Anyone could see me being competent
> on the interview and just write it off; unfortunately, I don't have the
> money to fly or greyhound to all these places to interview in-person.
> Thankfully a lot are in the Chicago area, so it is possible I could make a
> tour through Chicago or something and hit several places as I go before
> returning to Ohio, but that would have to happen under ver specific
> circumstances as you can only have four applications active at a time
> according to the rules set up by our national organization.
>
> On 11/20/15, Lisa Irving via humanser <humanser at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Kaitie,
>>
>> I'm not familiar with skype interviews. I wonder, is there a way to
>> include a U-Tube video of you doing what you do best; live the life
>> you want because blindness is not what defines you, that is, show off
>> your talents and your abilities at the same time on a selfie
>> commercial via U-Tube. This suggestion is coming from someone who
>> considers herself technology inhibited. Lol.
>>
>> Lisa Irving
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti
>> Shelton via humanser
>> Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2015 8:53 PM
>> To: humanser at nfbnet.org
>> Cc: Kaiti Shelton
>> Subject: Re: [humanser] Hi all, Fwd: To disclose or not disclose on
>> internship apps
>>
>> Hi all (take 2).
>>
>> First, I apologize for the nearly blank message preceding this one;
>> sometimes when I hit enter in my web-based email client, it thinks I
>> want to send the email rather than continue writing.  Anyway, I sent
>> the message forwarded in that original email to a list of blind music
>> therapists to try to get a direct response, but I still haven't heard
>> back and fear the list may be completely dormant.  Unfortunately there
>> is nothing out there for students in the field my age, and everyone
>> I've talked to on there is significantly older and nearing/already in
>> retirement age.  I hope to see if I can locate some other blind music
>> therapy students to create a new group for idea-sharing and questions
>> like this, but as I start applying for internships in January I need
>> the answer to this question relatively soon.
>> I'd appreciate any input on this tricky topic.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> On 11/19/15, Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> From: Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com>
>>> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2015 01:21:24 -0500
>>> Subject: To disclose or not disclose on internship apps
>>> To: musictherapistswithvisualimpairments
>>> <musictherapistswithvisualimpairments at yahoogroups.com>
>>>
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>> I can start applying for national roster internship sites in January.
>>> I've already combed through the entire list and picked out the 18
>>> that sounded the most appealing to me.  I even categorized them into
> tiers.
>>> I know I can have four applications out at a time, so they're in
>>> batches of four according to the level of preference I have for the
>>> sites.
>>>
>>> My big question concerns whether or not I should disclose my
>>> blindness on internship applications.  I know the standard practice
>>> is to not disclose information before the interview, but I'm
>>> wondering how solid that advice is given the field we are in and the
>>> nature of interviews now.  A lot of my older classmates participated
>>> in skype interviews/auditions rather than ones on-site, which could
>>> give me a disadvantage.  Sure, I could explain over skype how I do
>>> things and show the internship director some of my adaptive equipment
>>> if that issue arises, but it would not be as effective as doing it in
> person.
>>> They won't have an opportunity to observe me using a cane
>>> competently, or see me taking notes and referencing them from my
>>> notetaker.  I'm sure my professors might have some input here, but I
>>> am also sure that they would encourage me to seek out other sources
>>> for this information as I am their first blind student.  I don't want
>>> to be discounted before I have a shot at an interview, but could
>>> being upfront avoid possible pitfalls in the interview process if the
>>> internship director knows a little of what to expect?  Also, if the
>>> internship directly relates to my experiences should I disclose it
>>> then to show I have a possible edge in making empathetic connections
>>> with clients over a student music therapist who does not have prior
>>> experience with blindness, assistive technology, etc?  Thanks,
>>>
>>> --
>>> Kaiti Shelton
>>> University of Dayton-Music Therapy
>>> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present Secretary,
>>> The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division
>>> 2015-2016
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Kaiti Shelton
>>> University of Dayton-Music Therapy
>>> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present Secretary,
>>> The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division
>>> 2015-2016
>>>
>>> "You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Kaiti Shelton
>> University of Dayton-Music Therapy
>> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present Secretary,
>> The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division
>> 2015-2016
>>
>> "You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"
>>
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>
>
> --
> Kaiti Shelton
> University of Dayton-Music Therapy
> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present Secretary, The
> National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division 2015-2016
>
> "You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"
>
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