Welp, it's been over two years since my last post and I don't even know where to begin explaining all that's happened in that time. I think I'll break it into a few parts so you're not reading a two year saga all at once. I'm considerate like that.
When I last checked in, I was trying to get my asinine boss to recognize my right to reasonable accommodation. I was an absolute wreck, eventually finding myself on anti-anxiety meds and seeing a new shrink to deal with the chaos. It was in his office that I first heard the word bipolar...in reference to myself, anyway. I didn't want to hear it. I had too many things to worry about without dealing with a new diagnosis.
In May of 2012, I began having trouble breathing and landed in the hospital with a pulmonary embolism. I missed a non-mandatory meeting while in the emergency room and my aforementioned asinine boss was PISSED. Did I mention the meeting was not mandatory? Ah, well...that was the beginning of the end.
Generally, when one has a pulmonary embolism, that person takes three months off work to recover. I took three weeks and you'd have thought I had told my boss to go eff himself while I took a fun vacation. Nevertheless, I worked my ass off when I got back to work, just like always. About a month after returning to work, I was called into the conference room with my boss, his boss and an representative from Human Resources. The a-hole had finally found a way to legally get rid of me.
I suppose I could have tried to sue, but Florida is a "right to work" state and winning would have been nearly impossible. I accepted my severance and packed up my things. I said goodbye to people I had worked with for eleven years, while a man who treated me worse than any employer I've ever had got to feel like he won. I, on the other hand, felt like a loser.
Well, that covers the first have of 2012. I'll write up the second half soon.
Showing posts with label advocates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advocates. Show all posts
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Letter
Last week, I submitted my request for accommodation and a letter from my therapist. So far, I haven't gotten a response. I sent everything to corporate in addition to giving it to my manager. I thought I'd post my letter here for posterity. I'm proud of what I've written and that I chose to stand up for myself.
To whom it may concern:
I am writing this letter to request a job accommodation, under provisions established by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. I have tried to explain my disability, but I still feel that I am not being taken seriously, possibly because I have such difficulty expressing myself in conversation and my anxiety makes me timid. This is not about resisting change or my “comfort zone”. It is entirely about me being able to continue to do the excellent job I do for "----" and for my customers that I have done for so long. My Rheumatoid Arthritis may one day go into remission, but Autism Spectrum Disorders, such as Asperger’s Syndrome, don’t go away. Quiet and solitude are not “preferences” for me. They are necessities as much as a wheelchair is to a person who cannot walk. I can’t “get used” to living without something that is necessary for me to function, particularly when attempting to do so causes me so much anxiety.
I have been with "----" since May of 2001, first as a temp and later as a full time employee. My official hire date was January 27, 2003, at which time I was told that I would be listed as “inside sales” under payroll because there was “no other job code available”. Over the last ten years, my job has involved 3rd party rentals of portalets and scaffolding, but it is primarily research, reporting and billing. I bill (customer) an average of $116,637.61 a week, deal directly with the (customer's) finance department regarding the creation of detailed reports and changes to billing codes. I also follow up with accounts receivable and resubmit unpaid invoice lines on a 90 day cycle. Throughout the week, I receive many calls and emails from customers requesting reports related to billing, charge codes, equipment types, etc. In August and September, much of my time is spent on (customer’s) fiscal year end. This is an enormous task, for which I spend the entire year preparing. My job requires a great deal of focus and concentration. Because I have always had my own office here, with a door I can close, that has never been a problem.
My health has been in decline for the last several years, in which time I have struggled with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Aortic Valve Insufficiency, Depression, Asperger’s Syndrome and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (for which I am in treatment) caused primarily by the sensory sensitivities related to AS. Each of these brings its own unique challenges, often compounded by the medications I am required to take as part of my treatment. I have never made a formal request for special accommodation because I have previously been allowed the space and quiet I need to function.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: A type of chronic arthritis that typically occurs in joints on both sides of the body (such as hands, wrists, or knees). This symmetry helps distinguish rheumatoid arthritis from other types of arthritis. In addition to affecting the joints, rheumatoid arthritis may also affect the skin, eyes, lungs, heart, blood, and nerves.
Aortic Valve Insufficiency: Also known as Aortic Valve Regurgitation; a problem with the aortic valve in which the aortic valve does not close as it should. With each heartbeat, some of the blood leaks back (regurgitates) through the aortic valve into the left ventricle. The body does not get enough blood, so the heart has to work harder to make up for it.
Anxiety Disorder: Anxiety Disorders affect about 40 million American adults age 18 years and older (about 18%) in a given year, causing them to be filled with fearfulness and uncertainty. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event (such as speaking in public or a first date), anxiety disorders last at least 6 months and can get worse if they are not treated. Anxiety disorders commonly occur along with other mental or physical illnesses.
Depression: According to the DSM-IV, a manual used to diagnose mental disorders, depression occurs when you have at least five of the following nine symptoms at the same time:
• A depressed mood during most of the day, particularly in the morning
• Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt almost every day
• Impaired concentration, indecisiveness
• Insomnia or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day
• Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities nearly every day
• Recurring thoughts of death or suicide (not just fearing death)
• A sense of restlessness -- known as psychomotor agitation -- or being slowed down -- retardation
• Significant weight loss or gain (a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month)
Asperger’s Syndrome: An Autism spectrum disorder; a neurological variation that occurs in about 1 in 150 people and is classified as a developmental disability. Symptoms include,
• Different sensory experiences. For example, heightened sensitivity to light, difficulty interpreting internal physical sensations, hearing loud sounds as soft and soft sounds as loud, or synesthesia.
• Non-standard ways of learning and approaching problem solving. For example, learning "difficult" tasks (e.g. calculus) before "simple" tasks (e.g. addition), difficulty with "executive functions," or being simultaneously gifted at tasks requiring fluid intelligence and intellectually disabled at tasks requiring verbal skills.
• Deeply focused thinking and passionate interests in specific subjects. "Narrow but deep," these "special interests" could be anything from mathematics to ballet, from doorknobs to physics, and from politics to bits of shiny paper.
• Atypical, sometimes repetitive, movement. This includes "stereotyped" and "self-stimulatory" behavior such as rocking or flapping, and also the difficulties with motor skills and motor planning associated with apraxia or dyspraxia.
• Need for consistency, routine, and order. For example, holidays may be experienced more with anxiety than pleasure, as they mean time off from school and the disruption of the usual order of things. People on the autistic spectrum may take great pleasure in organizing and arranging items.
• Difficulties in understanding and expressing language as used in typical communication, both verbal and non-verbal. This may manifest similarly to semantic-pragmatic language disorder. It's often because a young child does not seem to be developing language that a parent first seeks to have a child evaluated. As adults, people with an autism spectrum diagnosis often continue to struggle to use language to explain their emotions and internal state, and to articulate concepts (which is not to say they do not experience and understand these).
• Difficulties in understanding and expressing typical social interaction. For example, preferring parallel interaction, having delayed responses to social stimulus, or behaving in an "inappropriate" manner to the norms of a given social context (for example, not saying "hi" immediately after another person says "hi").
In some cases, ADHD medication may help patients with AS but, because of my Aortic Valve defect, I am unable to take those types of medications. My medications for RA cause my immune system to work less effectively, putting me at great risk for serious and sometimes life-threatening infections. I often must walk with the help of a cane, due to inflammation in my knees, hips, ankles and feet. My current office space is ideal, as I am close to the restroom and kitchen and away from distractions. I understand that it is the current management’s intent to move me from my office into the front area of the store. I was willing to compromise on a three walled cubicle and a binaural telephone headset that is rated to block out sound. When the headset that arrived only covered one ear, I had hoped that wearing an earplug in the other would make it workable. It did not. The headphone blocks NO noise from my ear and the combination of that AND having my door open makes the noise level and distractions unbearable. The one good thing I’ve found about the headset is that it aggravates my arthritis less when I have to answer the phone. I am grateful for this, as well as finally having a handicap parking space and a chair that does not exacerbate my joint pain, though I expressed that these items were not necessary, while accommodations for AS are. Without them, the stress compounds my anxiety and leaves my work and personal life severely limited. Both my depression and anxiety were showing improvement until the recent changes to my work accommodations. They have now both taken a sharp turn for the worse.
My situation can be accommodated with relative ease and little expense, meeting the definition of reasonable accommodation as required by law, without causing undue hardship, as I am already positioned in a small office with a closeable door and would only need to stay where I am and be allowed to keep the door closed as I have done before. Additionally, the "----" Employee Handbook lists “restructuring job duties” as a reasonable accommodation. As the job I actually do has never been that of an inside salesperson, the only restructuring necessary would be to allow me to continue to do the job I have done for so long in the manner that has always worked. Additionally, I have also offered to telecommute. Information about this from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is attached as are copies of the Accommodation and Compliance Series’ for Arthritis and Asperger’s Syndrome provided by the U.S. Department of Labor.
I am aware that I am often seen as unfriendly, though this is not the case. I have a great deal of fondness and respect for my co-workers. Sensitivity training for all staff would also be helpful, as it seems there is little to no understanding of my conditions. There have, in fact, been multiple situations in which jokes about my sensitivity to light, sound and need for personal space have been made. I am not without a sense of humor, but harassing a disabled employee is unacceptable.
I am and always have been a dedicated, hard-working member of the "----" team. I would like to resolve my situation and return to my previous performance level as soon as possible.
To whom it may concern:
I am writing this letter to request a job accommodation, under provisions established by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. I have tried to explain my disability, but I still feel that I am not being taken seriously, possibly because I have such difficulty expressing myself in conversation and my anxiety makes me timid. This is not about resisting change or my “comfort zone”. It is entirely about me being able to continue to do the excellent job I do for "----" and for my customers that I have done for so long. My Rheumatoid Arthritis may one day go into remission, but Autism Spectrum Disorders, such as Asperger’s Syndrome, don’t go away. Quiet and solitude are not “preferences” for me. They are necessities as much as a wheelchair is to a person who cannot walk. I can’t “get used” to living without something that is necessary for me to function, particularly when attempting to do so causes me so much anxiety.
I have been with "----" since May of 2001, first as a temp and later as a full time employee. My official hire date was January 27, 2003, at which time I was told that I would be listed as “inside sales” under payroll because there was “no other job code available”. Over the last ten years, my job has involved 3rd party rentals of portalets and scaffolding, but it is primarily research, reporting and billing. I bill (customer) an average of $116,637.61 a week, deal directly with the (customer's) finance department regarding the creation of detailed reports and changes to billing codes. I also follow up with accounts receivable and resubmit unpaid invoice lines on a 90 day cycle. Throughout the week, I receive many calls and emails from customers requesting reports related to billing, charge codes, equipment types, etc. In August and September, much of my time is spent on (customer’s) fiscal year end. This is an enormous task, for which I spend the entire year preparing. My job requires a great deal of focus and concentration. Because I have always had my own office here, with a door I can close, that has never been a problem.
My health has been in decline for the last several years, in which time I have struggled with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Aortic Valve Insufficiency, Depression, Asperger’s Syndrome and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (for which I am in treatment) caused primarily by the sensory sensitivities related to AS. Each of these brings its own unique challenges, often compounded by the medications I am required to take as part of my treatment. I have never made a formal request for special accommodation because I have previously been allowed the space and quiet I need to function.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: A type of chronic arthritis that typically occurs in joints on both sides of the body (such as hands, wrists, or knees). This symmetry helps distinguish rheumatoid arthritis from other types of arthritis. In addition to affecting the joints, rheumatoid arthritis may also affect the skin, eyes, lungs, heart, blood, and nerves.
Aortic Valve Insufficiency: Also known as Aortic Valve Regurgitation; a problem with the aortic valve in which the aortic valve does not close as it should. With each heartbeat, some of the blood leaks back (regurgitates) through the aortic valve into the left ventricle. The body does not get enough blood, so the heart has to work harder to make up for it.
Anxiety Disorder: Anxiety Disorders affect about 40 million American adults age 18 years and older (about 18%) in a given year, causing them to be filled with fearfulness and uncertainty. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event (such as speaking in public or a first date), anxiety disorders last at least 6 months and can get worse if they are not treated. Anxiety disorders commonly occur along with other mental or physical illnesses.
Depression: According to the DSM-IV, a manual used to diagnose mental disorders, depression occurs when you have at least five of the following nine symptoms at the same time:
• A depressed mood during most of the day, particularly in the morning
• Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt almost every day
• Impaired concentration, indecisiveness
• Insomnia or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day
• Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities nearly every day
• Recurring thoughts of death or suicide (not just fearing death)
• A sense of restlessness -- known as psychomotor agitation -- or being slowed down -- retardation
• Significant weight loss or gain (a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month)
Asperger’s Syndrome: An Autism spectrum disorder; a neurological variation that occurs in about 1 in 150 people and is classified as a developmental disability. Symptoms include,
• Different sensory experiences. For example, heightened sensitivity to light, difficulty interpreting internal physical sensations, hearing loud sounds as soft and soft sounds as loud, or synesthesia.
• Non-standard ways of learning and approaching problem solving. For example, learning "difficult" tasks (e.g. calculus) before "simple" tasks (e.g. addition), difficulty with "executive functions," or being simultaneously gifted at tasks requiring fluid intelligence and intellectually disabled at tasks requiring verbal skills.
• Deeply focused thinking and passionate interests in specific subjects. "Narrow but deep," these "special interests" could be anything from mathematics to ballet, from doorknobs to physics, and from politics to bits of shiny paper.
• Atypical, sometimes repetitive, movement. This includes "stereotyped" and "self-stimulatory" behavior such as rocking or flapping, and also the difficulties with motor skills and motor planning associated with apraxia or dyspraxia.
• Need for consistency, routine, and order. For example, holidays may be experienced more with anxiety than pleasure, as they mean time off from school and the disruption of the usual order of things. People on the autistic spectrum may take great pleasure in organizing and arranging items.
• Difficulties in understanding and expressing language as used in typical communication, both verbal and non-verbal. This may manifest similarly to semantic-pragmatic language disorder. It's often because a young child does not seem to be developing language that a parent first seeks to have a child evaluated. As adults, people with an autism spectrum diagnosis often continue to struggle to use language to explain their emotions and internal state, and to articulate concepts (which is not to say they do not experience and understand these).
• Difficulties in understanding and expressing typical social interaction. For example, preferring parallel interaction, having delayed responses to social stimulus, or behaving in an "inappropriate" manner to the norms of a given social context (for example, not saying "hi" immediately after another person says "hi").
In some cases, ADHD medication may help patients with AS but, because of my Aortic Valve defect, I am unable to take those types of medications. My medications for RA cause my immune system to work less effectively, putting me at great risk for serious and sometimes life-threatening infections. I often must walk with the help of a cane, due to inflammation in my knees, hips, ankles and feet. My current office space is ideal, as I am close to the restroom and kitchen and away from distractions. I understand that it is the current management’s intent to move me from my office into the front area of the store. I was willing to compromise on a three walled cubicle and a binaural telephone headset that is rated to block out sound. When the headset that arrived only covered one ear, I had hoped that wearing an earplug in the other would make it workable. It did not. The headphone blocks NO noise from my ear and the combination of that AND having my door open makes the noise level and distractions unbearable. The one good thing I’ve found about the headset is that it aggravates my arthritis less when I have to answer the phone. I am grateful for this, as well as finally having a handicap parking space and a chair that does not exacerbate my joint pain, though I expressed that these items were not necessary, while accommodations for AS are. Without them, the stress compounds my anxiety and leaves my work and personal life severely limited. Both my depression and anxiety were showing improvement until the recent changes to my work accommodations. They have now both taken a sharp turn for the worse.
My situation can be accommodated with relative ease and little expense, meeting the definition of reasonable accommodation as required by law, without causing undue hardship, as I am already positioned in a small office with a closeable door and would only need to stay where I am and be allowed to keep the door closed as I have done before. Additionally, the "----" Employee Handbook lists “restructuring job duties” as a reasonable accommodation. As the job I actually do has never been that of an inside salesperson, the only restructuring necessary would be to allow me to continue to do the job I have done for so long in the manner that has always worked. Additionally, I have also offered to telecommute. Information about this from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is attached as are copies of the Accommodation and Compliance Series’ for Arthritis and Asperger’s Syndrome provided by the U.S. Department of Labor.
I am aware that I am often seen as unfriendly, though this is not the case. I have a great deal of fondness and respect for my co-workers. Sensitivity training for all staff would also be helpful, as it seems there is little to no understanding of my conditions. There have, in fact, been multiple situations in which jokes about my sensitivity to light, sound and need for personal space have been made. I am not without a sense of humor, but harassing a disabled employee is unacceptable.
I am and always have been a dedicated, hard-working member of the "----" team. I would like to resolve my situation and return to my previous performance level as soon as possible.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Attempting to Self-Advocate
I’ve contacted a disability rights group with the following message:
“I have Asperger's Sydrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have worked the same job for 10 years and new management is taking away the things that allow me to be productive and not excessively stressed. For example, I have always had my own office with a door I can close. The combination of that and foam earplugs allow me to block out noise. The closed door also blocks distractions from my field of vision. My office is being taken away and the compromises offered have not been given. I was offered a headset that was to block out sound, but one that blocks out none was purchased. I have repeatedly expressed my need to stay where I am and am told that I have no choice in the matter. As part of the "transistion" my manager has insisted I start leaving my office door open, which led to a meltdown due to the endless noise. The only things they have followed through with is to get me a chair that is more supportive and to put in a handicap parking sign. Human Resources at my company is supporting the manager.
My manager has also made jokes about Asperger's Syndrome, including pretending to lunge at me because of my personal space issues and to laugh at my sensitivity to light. He has also told me more than once regarding the stress that the noise and chaos of being out of my office causes me that I will "get used to it." I attempted to explain that Autism isn't something you can get used to, but he does not listen. I have never had to worry about seeking advocacy or requesting accommodations before, as every previous manager has worked with me.”
The headset I was promised is not at all what I was told to expect. It only covers one ear and, even wearing a foam earplug in the uncovered ear, blocks out NO noise. I was told to keep my office door open starting this past Monday and it was excruciating. I had a massive meltdown by 1:00 PM the first day. What’s even worse is that the loudest of our employees is on vacation this week. I don’t know what I’ll do when he gets back. I absolutely cannot work like this. It’s not like I’m even asking for new accommodations. I’m simply asking them not to take away the ones I’ve had for ten years!
“I have Asperger's Sydrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have worked the same job for 10 years and new management is taking away the things that allow me to be productive and not excessively stressed. For example, I have always had my own office with a door I can close. The combination of that and foam earplugs allow me to block out noise. The closed door also blocks distractions from my field of vision. My office is being taken away and the compromises offered have not been given. I was offered a headset that was to block out sound, but one that blocks out none was purchased. I have repeatedly expressed my need to stay where I am and am told that I have no choice in the matter. As part of the "transistion" my manager has insisted I start leaving my office door open, which led to a meltdown due to the endless noise. The only things they have followed through with is to get me a chair that is more supportive and to put in a handicap parking sign. Human Resources at my company is supporting the manager.
My manager has also made jokes about Asperger's Syndrome, including pretending to lunge at me because of my personal space issues and to laugh at my sensitivity to light. He has also told me more than once regarding the stress that the noise and chaos of being out of my office causes me that I will "get used to it." I attempted to explain that Autism isn't something you can get used to, but he does not listen. I have never had to worry about seeking advocacy or requesting accommodations before, as every previous manager has worked with me.”
The headset I was promised is not at all what I was told to expect. It only covers one ear and, even wearing a foam earplug in the uncovered ear, blocks out NO noise. I was told to keep my office door open starting this past Monday and it was excruciating. I had a massive meltdown by 1:00 PM the first day. What’s even worse is that the loudest of our employees is on vacation this week. I don’t know what I’ll do when he gets back. I absolutely cannot work like this. It’s not like I’m even asking for new accommodations. I’m simply asking them not to take away the ones I’ve had for ten years!
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