Around the
Water Cooler

Pros and Cons of a Job for an AAC User

by Faye Warren

Faye Warren is a journalist who has her own home in Orlando, Florida. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and English from St. Andrew Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, North Carolina. She has written many articles for various speech-language pathologists and teachers. Currently, Ms. Warren is writing a biography about her life to encourage people to live to the fullest.

Have you often wonder what are challenges of the good verses the bad in a job environment if you have a disability? For this month’s column, I’ve been asked to write on the pros and cons of having a job as an individual with severe physical disabilities who uses AAC.  I was a Program Assistant at a nearby university working in the assistive technology demonstration lab from August 2006 thru August 2007. I was employed on a one year grant graciously given to the university from a company that develops and manufactures assistive communication devices.  When the original recipient of the grant position was unable to accept it, the university searched for an AAC user living in the Orlando area to fill the position. The grant had been written for skills that the original recipient possessed. My significant physical disabilities and background were very different from those of this individual

I had been waiting two years for a job after graduating from college with a degree in Creative Writing and Journalism.  Little did I know that I was in for the most fascinating journey of my life! I had thought that going five hundred miles away from home to attend six years of college and dealing with all the attendant care I needed was challenging. College was a roller coaster worth riding!

Before I started working at the university, I worked with my Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Counselor to get the assistive technology equipment needed to work independently.  It took at least four months to get the equipment, because my VR Counselor had 150 cases on her workload.  Nevertheless, people such as my VR Counselor are doing the best that they can at servicing us.  The knowledge I gained over a two year period on how to deal with Vocational Rehabilitation was a valuable lesson.  The lesson is that when dealing with Vocational Rehabilitation services, be as patient as possible, but persistently, yet courteously, ask them how they are doing to remind them that you are patiently waiting for them.  If you continually harass them, they may not help you, or may turn your case over to another counselor.  In my case, I had three counselors before I found the proper VR Counselor to serve me and my special needs. 

In my opinion, every young adult with physical disabilities has the right to a VR Counselor who will be the proper fit for him or her. It may take time to find the right one for some of us, but will be worth it in the end.  My mother and I did not realize initially that Vocational Rehabilitation Services are not like negotiating an IEP in a public school program. VR is a very complex system with many guidelines and regulations that must be adhered to before processing orders for the equipment that the individual with disabilities needs for them to work in a business environment.  After that, the client is assigned to a job search coach who assists the client in finding an appropriate job. A VR counselor has an extremely large caseload of clients to service. They have to prioritize every case to be fair. However, it is up to the client to continually call or email reminders asking where they stand in the process.  

Once the equipment came in, I was ready to work at the university.  VR paid for three months of on the job training and for the Infrared Sensor Box, which provided wireless communication between my Pathfinder AAC device and my PC. The university bought a Dell computer and printer plus a special computer table for my office.  On the fifth of August 2006, my mother and my personal care attendant went to meet my supervisor and set my office up.  My mother, who knows how to set up the PRC IRR box and wiring, and the Information Technology Services person for the university worked together on interfacing the computers. Within a couple of hours, my computer work station was up and running. The university passwords for log on and all other computer related setups were ready by the end of the first day.  My supervisor did some job training with me over the next few weeks.

My personal care attendant was required to stay close by to assist me on the job site, because the original job description required some tasks only someone with the use of their hands could perform. For the lunch hour and personal care needs, I needed assistance. In addition, my office was on the second floor of the building. The university did not want the liability of what could happen to me if I was alone in the office area and a fire or other emergency occurred.

At first, the supervisor modified my work load to make it easier on me.  My duties were entering data into a database, plan special events, assist with team speech evaluations, and demonstrate various communication devices in the lab. In addition, I maintained equipment like communication devices and software for all the devices in the AAC Lab. My supervisor trained me for two weeks on how to input items into a database. She also trained my attendant and me regarding how to maintain the equipment.

My assistant and I were a team at first.  I gave her the assignments that I could not do physically.  She did all of the blackboards, organized the lab, packed and unpacked boxes full of communication devices, switches and computer software. She made telephone calls for me to the companies from which the communication devices came, while I entered inventory for all new computers, communication devices, software, switches, and so on into my computer one by one.  In addition, I kept records of the time and date on which each piece of equipment arrived, or the time and date that we borrowed equipment from companies, or loaned it out to people throughout the state. Furthermore, I met with clients to encourage them to use their communication devices.

As part of my position, I gave presentations to the classes of the professor who was in charge of the AAC lab, but who was not my direct supervisor at work. She is an excellent professor with a passion for promoting the use of AAC devices and training professionals in this field. Speaking to the professor’s graduate and undergraduate classes was my favorite part of my job. I gave presentations on my school years using AAC for academics and social activities as well as how I use my AAC device in everyday life situations.   Another positive experience related to work was that we planned a surprise birthday luncheon for each coworker to celebrate and thank each one for their work throughout that year. The looks on the faces of co-workers who had been surprised always delighted and amused me. I also mentored children and adults who use communication devices to encourage them to use it for clear communication and to be understood properly. We played games to encourage the clients to use their communication devices when participating. Having fun and playing games with children with speech impairments is the best strategy to introduce the communication devices and real language to them. There were speech language pathology students that I consulted with who were seeking information on AAC devices or wanted advice on particular clients. Working with the students and clients was the highlight of my job. By the end of the grant year, it was clear to me that I am a people person!

Unfortunately, I had many difficulties with my attendants after my first attendant began to have family problems. She had been with me for the first five months of my job. My next four attendants, all in the sixth through eighth months of my one year grant position, were unreliabl. Some also had personal problems, which interfered with their job performance. By May, the ninth month of my grant job, I finally hired an outstanding attendant who stayed with me until the end of the grant and is still my daytime attendant. In addition, I had to miss quite a few days from work due to being sick during the seventh and eighth months of the one-year grant period. Therefore, it affected my job performance during that time. By this time, my job responsibilities had increased also.

I confided in my supervisor about what was happening to me. I strongly regret telling her the truth. In my opinion, I thought I was being dishonest if I did not tell her what was going on with me, but I was wrong.  For some people, it is very difficult to keep a professional relationship and not cross the line with a supervisor or an employee or even, a client.  It is a part of human nature to get involved with those we spend most of the day with. This was true especially for me, who did not have any experience working in an office setting with a supervisor I had to work with closely.  When a supervisor asks you about your personal information, you do not have to give it out and should stay very professional no matter what.

Nevertheless, I learned how to manage my time wisely, keep a schedule, manage a database, and finally finished out my grant successfully.  In the end, I was so honored that the university gave me this wonderful opportunity. I learned so much.  Now I know what kind of a job I need without it requiring an attendant to assist me in doing the job. Currently, I am self-employed as a consultant, giving educational and motivational speeches. Also, I am honored to mentor students with communication devices as well as consulting with parents, teachers, and school administrators on strategies to motivate students to use their AAC devices academically, socially and in activities of daily living.

Basically, many people have had a job that either they aren’t good at or is not appropriate for them before they find the job that they are suitable for and lets their excellence shine.  It takes time for both those with and without disabilities to find the right job.  Life is a mystery.  We never know what we are getting ourselves into unless we try it.  I am very grateful for the grant opportunity given to me, because it helped me to mature as a professional and realize my strengths for the next job.

“Life is a mystery. 

We never know what we are getting ourselves into unless we try it.”.