[Karla M Wooten]

Vocational Rehabilitation also provides educational sponsorship along with rehabilitation and employment services for individuals with disabilities. This can include assistance with mobility devices such as walkers and wheelchairs, vehicle modifications, etc. Every state has a Vocational Rehabilitation office.

[Karla M Wooten]

I am a vocational evaluator and rehabilitation consultant and I work with people with disabilities. My son, Josh also has FA. When he was 16 (he is 25 yrs old now) he told me he wanted a job. He was very unsteady but walking at the time and we went to TJ Maxx, it was close to our home and their parent company has great hiring practices for people with disabilities in Florida. We asked to speak to the manager directly and he interviewed Josh. He was amazing and discussed with us all the job options in the store. He decided to put Josh at the Jewelry counter because it was surrounded on four sides by a counter so he could hold on  to something to balance and he could have a stool to sit when it wasn’t busy. The merchandiose was light so he didn’t have to worry about dropping a big glass bowl. They even let him bring his service dog! Soon customers were asking for Josh and Boulder 🙂 It was perfect! His second job was as a receptionist and greeter at the local gym where he could sit and just had to scan cards, look up membership numbers, and answer a phone on occasion. These were great first time jobs. He now has his Accounting degree and works full time in Human Resources at a large company.

In my experience the best way to get a job is by asking for the manager directly and/or networking with family and friends to find positions through people they know. If you can get in front of someone who has decision making power and show them how motivated you are, most times they will do their best to find a spot and accommodate.