Disability v Employability: The Unanswered Questions
Many of us who suffer due to Invisible Illnesses are often faced with the possibility of having to resign from our careers. This decision comes from months or years of working while in pain, declines in job performance, and an increase in absences. To add insult to illness, when you seek Disability Insurance from the state that you have worked for, paid taxes to, and funded the insurance benefits and monetary support for others, you are forced to PROVE that you are "disabled" enough to qualify for money that has been taken from your earnings for years. It is this Ignored but Controversial dilemma that sparked this post.
As I write this post, I am waiting to go before a judge. It has been 3 long years of appointments, tests, questionnaires, digging, and being denied 3 times. My savings, my car, my home, and retirement funds are gone, along with my ability to be employable in a career field. So then the question becomes, what is more important in determining who should be deemed eligible for Disability Benefits Protection through the state, the disabled, the employable, or both? Understand, that I realize that there is a Gray area to this topic. I know that there are some people who are truly disabled either physically or mentally, these individuals are not the subject focus of this piece. I am focused on people like me who were once functional, financially independent, and contributing members of their community. They paid their taxes, obeyed the law, went to work, but now they need help. Sadly, when you seek help, your integrity is put under a microscope. They want to know if you are TRULY sick. You go from doctor to doctor, being examined by people who have NO idea who you are, they don't know your history or your character. Yet, they are deemed fit to make an accurate, influential, medical, psychological, and legal determination about your condition. These decisions are made through black and white lenses from a singular focus. These professionals only look at the disability aspect, never considering whether or not you are employable.
Lets look at the difference and similarities of Disability and Employability. In any dictionary, Disability is defined as a condition either physical or mental that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities. Employability is defined as a person's capability for gaining and maintaining employment, which depends on the knowledge, skills, and abilities that they possess. For the purpose of this post, I will highlight the terms that prove that this conflict deserves further investigation and attention. Disability's definition says that ones' senses, movements, and activities have to be significantly impaired, to be considered disable. Employability's definition says that a person's capabilities and abilities in the areas of knowledge and skills have to be strong enough to gain and maintain employment, to be considered employable. If we are to consider these definitions as definitive classifications, then we have to look at the overlapping similarities. If I suffer from a conditions like, Endometriosis, which causes chronic and unpredictable pain that impedes my ability(movements and activities) to successfully and consistently meet the demands of my position and job requirements, am I employable? If I suffer due to Interstitial Cystitis and have to frequently use the restroom or be absent because of chronic pain(activities, abilities), am I employable? If I suffer due to Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, which impairs my ability to sit or stand(movements,capabilities) for any normal period of time with out extreme pain or pressure, am I employable?
These conditions and the majority of most Invisible Illnesses, significantly impact a person's knowledge, skills, and abilities, which according to definition makes them disabled and unemployable. So then, the question becomes. why is it so hard for people who were once employable by definition to receive support and assistance when they are no longer by definition employable but disabled? It is very safe to assume that if a once gainfully employed person becomes plagued by an illness that impairs, significantly and drastically their ability and capability to function in a career or job, these people are Unemployable and Disabled. Which means these people should be allowed to receive Insurance and Financial Benefits from the state that they funded from their many years of living life as a thriving and employable member or their community. So it would appear that another category should be added to the classification descriptions for use when the powers that be are deciding who should or should not receive benefits; The Disabled by the inability to be Employable. If those of us who suffer due to Invisible Illnesses that impact and impede their ability to function in a job or career are not given the advantages that our other disabled or impaired counterparts are given, then we are being further penalized and discriminated against because of something that is beyond our control. To me, that is a threat to my right to have my basic human needs acknowledged and honored.
As I write this post, I am waiting to go before a judge. It has been 3 long years of appointments, tests, questionnaires, digging, and being denied 3 times. My savings, my car, my home, and retirement funds are gone, along with my ability to be employable in a career field. So then the question becomes, what is more important in determining who should be deemed eligible for Disability Benefits Protection through the state, the disabled, the employable, or both? Understand, that I realize that there is a Gray area to this topic. I know that there are some people who are truly disabled either physically or mentally, these individuals are not the subject focus of this piece. I am focused on people like me who were once functional, financially independent, and contributing members of their community. They paid their taxes, obeyed the law, went to work, but now they need help. Sadly, when you seek help, your integrity is put under a microscope. They want to know if you are TRULY sick. You go from doctor to doctor, being examined by people who have NO idea who you are, they don't know your history or your character. Yet, they are deemed fit to make an accurate, influential, medical, psychological, and legal determination about your condition. These decisions are made through black and white lenses from a singular focus. These professionals only look at the disability aspect, never considering whether or not you are employable.
Lets look at the difference and similarities of Disability and Employability. In any dictionary, Disability is defined as a condition either physical or mental that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities. Employability is defined as a person's capability for gaining and maintaining employment, which depends on the knowledge, skills, and abilities that they possess. For the purpose of this post, I will highlight the terms that prove that this conflict deserves further investigation and attention. Disability's definition says that ones' senses, movements, and activities have to be significantly impaired, to be considered disable. Employability's definition says that a person's capabilities and abilities in the areas of knowledge and skills have to be strong enough to gain and maintain employment, to be considered employable. If we are to consider these definitions as definitive classifications, then we have to look at the overlapping similarities. If I suffer from a conditions like, Endometriosis, which causes chronic and unpredictable pain that impedes my ability(movements and activities) to successfully and consistently meet the demands of my position and job requirements, am I employable? If I suffer due to Interstitial Cystitis and have to frequently use the restroom or be absent because of chronic pain(activities, abilities), am I employable? If I suffer due to Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, which impairs my ability to sit or stand(movements,capabilities) for any normal period of time with out extreme pain or pressure, am I employable?
These conditions and the majority of most Invisible Illnesses, significantly impact a person's knowledge, skills, and abilities, which according to definition makes them disabled and unemployable. So then, the question becomes. why is it so hard for people who were once employable by definition to receive support and assistance when they are no longer by definition employable but disabled? It is very safe to assume that if a once gainfully employed person becomes plagued by an illness that impairs, significantly and drastically their ability and capability to function in a career or job, these people are Unemployable and Disabled. Which means these people should be allowed to receive Insurance and Financial Benefits from the state that they funded from their many years of living life as a thriving and employable member or their community. So it would appear that another category should be added to the classification descriptions for use when the powers that be are deciding who should or should not receive benefits; The Disabled by the inability to be Employable. If those of us who suffer due to Invisible Illnesses that impact and impede their ability to function in a job or career are not given the advantages that our other disabled or impaired counterparts are given, then we are being further penalized and discriminated against because of something that is beyond our control. To me, that is a threat to my right to have my basic human needs acknowledged and honored.
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