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

Ericka dotwriter1 at gmail.com
Fri Nov 20 22:30:03 UTC 2015 

To add to Justin's PS, is there any chance disabled student services could be of assistance? Some of them are more supportive about job placement issues I understand than others.

Ericka Short
"Friends are like flowers in the garden of life"

Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 20, 2015, at 8:43 AM, justin williams via humanser <humanser at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Ps, If this is an internship, isn't your school supposed to hel you in the
> process?  This is for graduation right?  You are a student, and they know
> about your disability.  I would also ask your professors, or at least  make
> them aware of the possible difficulty.  They may not know the answer, but
> they should be aware of possible discrimination in the field against one of
> their students.
> Justin
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti
> Shelton via humanser
> Sent: Friday, November 20, 2015 7:47 AM
> To: Human Services Division Mailing List <humanser at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com>
> 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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