CHECKMATE! A Self-Advocate's Journey Through the World of Employment

Abstract

My first job, when I was 16 years old, was to translate help-wanted ads for the local Manpower, Inc. office into Spanish. I considered myself very fortunate to have been hired because (a) I would get to use the skills I was learning in class in real life and (b) I had a developmental disability—cerebral palsy—that excluded me from most of the other jobs I might have sought at that age. Many of my classmates were applying for and getting jobs at fast-food restaurants, nursing homes, and hometown factories. However, I was not. I could not do any kind of physical labor well enough to earn a living (or money for college)! What was I to do? Thankfully, Manpower believed I had power and gave me a chance and so did my first supervisor, Diana. She saw how my Spanish skills could help more people apply for jobs. I was thrilled with the work and the opportunity to do it, but something nagged in the back of my mind. I had to hustle and ‘‘catch as catch can’’ in the community when it came to finding a job, but the kids in my special education study hall seemed to be having an easier time of it. Why? I suppose I was a bit jealous, even though I did not want to work at McDonald’s— which some of them did. Ah, how naive I was! I did not know about job slots and placements yet. You see, I found out as an adult that my classmates in special ed were in work programs to help them transition into the labor force once they graduated. The jobs they had were specially designed so that they would occupy a slot at one place of employment, and when they left school, another special student would rise to fill their place. Once I discovered this, I was horrified. Were my fellow students interchangeable parts, interchangeable employees? I disagreed, but I guess the economic realities of my neighborhood, state, and country said otherwise. I suppose I should be grateful the slots are still there, in many cases, for the students who succeed me. Still, I do not believe this employment model is the way of the future. The next three jobs I obtained, all clerical positions through the Job Training Partnership Act, which was later called the Workforce Investment Act, were slots too.