RE: Job search woes

[Guest guest]

wearing headphones is very likley to be a reasonable accomodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 and a reasonable adjustment under the Disability discrimination act 1995 in the UK. The provision and/or use of equipment to enable someone to work is a reasonable request to make of an employer. You have rights to negotiate this at work but have to recognise yourself as a disabled person/person with a disabilityto be protected under the legislation. (In the UK the disability movement favours the political term 'disbled people') Many people do not want to be precieved as 'disabled people' and yet the link with autism and the effects of the condidition on us on our daily lives, are likely to make us eligible for protection from disability discrimination at work. It isnt so much having the condidtion that makes us 'disabled people' but the barriers we expereince at work, i.e. people's behaviour and

attitudes to us that can be unlawful and discriminatory. So you can get active about requesting reasonable accomodations or adjustments at work following a successful interview or whilst at work if you care to. Or get some advice from disability organisations about reasonable accomodations at work and how to negotiate them. I Had this problem too, people thought I was being rude and didnt want to mix but better understood when I 'came out' as a disabled person and understood once the condition had been named and made the adjustments more readily, besides I would have sued them if they didn't. best wishes DiannePia Levensteins wrote: At my job I am allowed to wear headphones. I am in accounts payable andwould die without them. People have to tap me on the shoulder to getmy attention but tough!! Too bad!! I am also 50 and don't care!!I cannot believe they would fire you for wearing headphones!!Ridiculous. It is hard to start trying to explain to someone becauseright away you sound like a trouble maker...."does not get along well with others!!" type of thing....keep looking. You will find someonewho understands!!! To: Soundsensitivity From: mcnab.christineDate: Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:44:05 +0000Subject: Job search woes Hi everyone,I'm been suffering from 4S since I was in my early teens and I am now in my mid 50's. It's been getting worse instead of better :(I am now trying to find a new job after quitting my last one a few months ago. I am a bookkeeper and my problem is I can't stand to hear other people typing on keyboards, mouse clicking or someone eating or chewing gum. I have been coping by wearing headphones and having my own office but I can't always when I am interviewing if I will have my own office or if I can wear headphones.I found a job but was fired after 3 days because I was wearing headphones. I tried to explain about 4S, my manager was sympathetic but the owner was not.Does anyone have any suggestions on how I should approach the subject of wearing headphones and why I need to? Trying to explain 4S to other people is next to

impossible - they look at me like I'm crazy.HELP! Need to know the score, the latest news, or you need your Hotmail®-get your "fix". Check it out.