[HumanSer] Work Accommodation Concerns

Mon Jun 2 12:43:01 UTC 2025

Hi Aimee,
Thank you so much. I am so sorry that you had to go through that as well. I was planning to reach out to you and appreciate your willingness to speak.
I’ll be in touch and hope you have a great day!

Sincerely,
Sarah
Sent from the  iPhone of Sarah Meyer (Please forgive any dictation errors)

> On Jun 2, 2025, at 4:23 AM, Amy ruell <aruell at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
> Hi Sarah,
> So sorry you’re having these difficulties. I worked for a business organization which implemented an inaccessible database system and did nothing to provide accommodation other than to tell me that I could not do half of my job and deprive me of the opportunity to have access to the materials, I needed to professionally complete tasks. I don’t want to say much publicly here, as I went to court to fight this after making numerous attempts to request that they make their programs accessible. Happy to talk with you off-line if you like. Unfortunately, this is not something where legal presidents are clear. I believe you know how to get in touch with me. Please feel free to call.
> So sorry you are having these difficulties.
> Amy.
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Jun 1, 2025, at 11:11 PM, Sarah Meyer via HumanSer <humanser at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello,
>> 
>> I have been employed at a community mental health agency for 2 years now =
>> as
>> a therapist and it has been the most challenging experience of my life =
>> in
>> terms of not having effective reasonable accommodations to do my job. I =
>> will
>> try to keep this as brief as possible because it has become such a =
>> complex
>> situation but apologize in advance for the length. I will share some of =
>> the
>> major issues and my questions below. This is honestly a very vulnerable
>> message for me so I just ask for grace and some gentleness in responses.
>> 
>> =20
>> 
>> Problems:
>> 
>> *    Despite having discussions prior to my hire and ongoing advocacy
>> efforts, as well as reassurances from the agency for months that they =
>> were
>> prioritizing accessibility to the EMR because they recognized that our
>> work-arounds would not be sustainable/effective, I have never had access =
>> to
>> use any aspect of our EMR (NextGen) with JAWS or any other screen =
>> reading
>> options. I believe some of the issues are that NextGen is housed on a =
>> Remote
>> Desktop, but most notably that the agency has never used the latest =
>> version
>> of the EMR which NextGen has indicated would be most likely to be
>> compatible/accessible with JAWS because that is where their developers =
>> have
>> invested their efforts to meeting accessibility guidelines/requirements.
>> *    The agency has indicated JAWS scripting is too expensive. They never
>> engaged with me or VR when trying to reach out to explore if VR could =
>> help
>> with some of the cost.
>> *    I had to fight to get them to consider work-arounds for months
>> because they insisted they were "so close" to providing accessibility =
>> for me
>> to independently access NextGen. Eventually I got them to be willing to =
>> try
>> using Word templates for me to do documentation, which I then sent to my
>> supervisor and other leadership to upload into the database. The =
>> templates
>> have had a lot of accessibility barriers themselves, and it has been
>> challenging, to say the least, to acquire information from client charts =
>> in
>> accessible formats. Additionally, I can't access the calendar, =
>> scheduling
>> features, notifications of client arrivals, communication
>> intra-professionally with members of other teams involved in clients' =
>> care,
>> etc. Other staff indicated repeatedly that they knew our work-arounds =
>> were
>> short-term and not truly sustainable (for me, for them, for quality =
>> client
>> care).
>> *    I've proposed other options including Aira, Seeing AI on work cell,
>> installation of my own provided Kurzweil 1000 and Duxbury Braille
>> Translation software onto work laptop to try to make various materials =
>> more
>> accessible, and several other accommodations proposed. I also use a =
>> Focus 40
>> Braille Display which has had a lot of problems not pairing via =
>> Bluetooth. I
>> have requested permission to transfer documents via SD card between =
>> Focus
>> display and laptop but have never received a solid response though they =
>> have
>> previously been very hesitant to allow use of flash drives or anything =
>> that
>> could potentially cause concerns about privacy, which I understand from
>> their perspective. Wired connection with laptop works better, though =
>> still
>> has issues, and JAWS has had other issues as well.
>> *    The toll of chronic inaccessibility and having to work so much extra
>> to compensate for these barriers, which also apply to trainings and =
>> other
>> aspects of the job beyond the EMR accessibility barriers, have =
>> repeatedly
>> exacerbated symptoms of multiple other chronic health disabilities. I
>> eventually had to go on an extended medical leave last year. I =
>> continually
>> have tried advocating and have frequently received no response, =
>> inaccurate
>> follow-up, dismissiveness, and have faced an often hostile and =
>> intimidating
>> work environment when I have tried to speak up and advocate.
>> *    When I returned from my leave last Fall, I truly hoped there would
>> be improvements; however, the agency has actually doubled down and =
>> indicated
>> that the supposedly temporary work-arounds, which failed miserably =
>> before,
>> are now the ongoing "accommodation system." They have come up with some =
>> new
>> methods for notifying me of client arrivals, and there has been some
>> improvement in support staff notifying me of scheduled client =
>> appointments
>> and cancellations, but this has been inconsistent. The client =
>> documentation
>> I've requested to prepare for sessions and help with pre-filling my
>> templates has at times been missing crucial information, not provided, =
>> and
>> is filled with accessibility problems in their efforts to convert
>> inaccessible PDFs into Word files. The templates I am using for =
>> completing
>> documentation are still in process of being revised for accessibility =
>> and
>> the burden has been placed on me to provide written narratives of the =
>> issues
>> so they can "fix them". Until recently, leadership would not meet with =
>> me,
>> and this has been inconsistent.
>> *    I've requested having a visual assistant and have yet to receive a
>> response.
>> *    The agency has been through significant transitions with "merging"
>> under a larger umbrella parent company which has also caused a lot of
>> confusion and worsened miscommunications. I also have had issues with
>> getting clear, accurate, timely, accessible information and =
>> determinations
>> of my leave time accommodation requests to manage my other health =
>> concerns,
>> especially during the transition to new leave management entities. I was
>> allowed to work remotely in the past when seeing clients, and during the
>> training refresher/catching up upon my return to work, but I was =
>> recently
>> informed that I am only allowed to conduct client sessions from the =
>> office
>> and only when team leader coverage, support staff, and crisis staff are =
>> on
>> site. (Never mind that many other staff are working hybrid due to =
>> limited
>> office space, work modified schedules including seeing clients past 5PM,
>> etc.).
>> *    I have been told I've been provided all the necessary accommodations
>> to fulfill the essential functions of my job, despite my and my medical
>> providers' statements that this is not accurate. I have received =
>> corrective
>> action notices/statements and discussions which place all the
>> blame/responsibility on me for problems with note timeliness, session =
>> length
>> (running over on time), running late to sessions, etc., without
>> acknowledgement of how the accessibility barriers play a significant =
>> role.
>> *    I am burned out but I care so much about my clients and believe I
>> have unique assets and skills to support them and the mission of the =
>> agency,
>> plus I am not fully licensed and need the supervision (I am close to =
>> being
>> able to apply for full LMHC licensure which would open more options).
>> 
>> =20
>> 
>> Questions:
>> 
>> *    I know several folks here have shared about work-arounds to
>> compensate for inaccessibility; I am wondering where you draw the line,
>> especially in community mental health where the service delivery and
>> documentation expectations/demands are so high and able-bodied staff =
>> even
>> say they struggle to keep up with all of the expectations? I have never =
>> been
>> able to reach a full case load and service delivery because of the
>> accessibility barriers and how much I've struggled to keep up as a =
>> result.
>> It's hard to not internalize and beat myself up for not being able to =
>> put in
>> all of the extra time and energy to compensate, especially because of =
>> the
>> toll this has taken on my own physical and mental health.
>> *    If you have worked in a community mental health or otherwise
>> fast-paced, high demand setting, and had either very limited or no =
>> access to
>> the EMR, how did you keep up with service delivery and note timeliness
>> standards? How much work-life balance has been realistic? I understand =
>> this
>> can vary for each person. What accommodations have been non-negotiables =
>> for
>> you?
>> 
>> =20
>> 
>> There's unfortunately more but I have already shared quite a lot here.
>> Please feel free to ask questions if you need additional clarification. =
>> I
>> readily admit I do have areas I am constantly needing to improve in,
>> especially when it comes to time management and being more concise (I do
>> have ADHD which I am still learning to navigate and again I know there =
>> is
>> overlap with the impact of my other chronic health disabilities; I was =
>> so
>> much better at pushing past my limits in school and college/grad school =
>> but
>> chronic override of self-care is never sustainable).
>> 
>> Thanks in advance for taking the time to read and share any feedback.
>> 
>> =20
>> 
>> Sincerely,
>> 
>> Sarah
>> 
>> =20
>> 
>> Sarah K. Meyer, MA, LMHCA (she/her)
>> 
>> (317) 402-6632
>> 
>> <mailto:Sarah.meyer55 at gmail.com> Sarah.meyer55 at gmail.com
>> 
>> =20
>> 
>> "Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the =
>> overcoming
>> of it. My optimism, then, does not rest on the absence of evil, but on a
>> glad belief in the preponderance of good and a willing effort always to
>> cooperate with the good, that it may prevail." =AF Helen Keller
>> 
>> =20
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> HumanSer mailing list
>> HumanSer at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/humanser_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for HumanSer:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/humanser_nfbnet.org/aruell%40comcast.net
> 