Here Here!
I completely agree. I am a paraplegic working as a rehab. counselor for the
blind and visually impaired. Another key is it takes one to know one.
People with disabilities experience life from a different angle..... the
same but different. We are individuals who happen to have disabilities and
we each have things to offer, because we are people. The disability is only
a part of us, not the deciding factor. We have to take the initiative to go
out and produce.  It can be an uphill road, and I as a rehab. counselor try
to level the playing field, and educating employers as to the
productivity/capabilities of the blind and visually impaired can be very
difficult. But the best placements are when they have experienced
productive employees and they don't look at the applicant as a blind
person, but as someone who is qualified for the job.

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> From: Peter Seymour <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: edu: survey finds no change in disabled employment
> Date: Saturday, August 01, 1998 11:10 PM
>
> Maybe one of the best things that disabled people can do is pretend that
> the negative statistics don't exist. I mean, what if we naively goabout
> our lives and go on job interviews. You may not get the job, but the
> interviewer may admire your pluck. And maybe when the third or fourth
> disabled shows up for an interview, that interviewer will get the idea
> that we're not anomalies. We're ... Peter, Kelley, Kathy, Bill, etc. and
> we've got something to offer them. In a sense, our presence will make
> people more comfortable with us, while we'll demonstrate that we're here
> to stay.
>
> When any one of us performs with excellence at our jobs, or shows up at
an
> interview with a positive attitude, we're actually laying the
> psychological groundwork for some other disabled person to be looked upon
> favorably. We can create a positive prejudice for each other.
>
> Peter Seymour
>
>
>