The Voiceless Minority

Some people with disabilities require the assistance of a caregiver. Below are some questions you can ask during an interview. Interviewing a caregiver beforehand allows both you and that potential caregiver to get to know one another and see if the care they can provide can meet your needs.  Note, these are not the only questions you should ask during an interview; the questions below are a good place to begin if you are unsure of what you should ask. These questions were transcribed from one of Samantha's YouTube videos entitled "Top 10 Questions To Ask A Caregiver in 2021", which can be found on her YouTube channel called Being Sammy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPytfu95odc How many clients do you have? Ask this question right away because it will let you know how much time they have to dedicate to your needs. Sometimes, when they have too many clients, it can lead to schedule conflicts, double bookings, and even emotional stress for the caregiver, especially if tha...

  Luke Jackson (pictured above) has been working with Disability Advice and Welfare Network (DAWN) and Suffolk Law Centre on the Autism Education Leavers Passport. On October 14 th , lawmakers in Canada approved an educational passport, thanks to a University of Winchester graduate. The passport is geared toward helping young neurodivergent people transition from education to work. The 25-year-old, who graduated with a degree in Computer Aided Design in 2023, contributed to the content and design of the 35-page booklet. Luke drew from his experiences as a job seeker and the skills he learned at university. “I enjoyed what I learned at Winchester and the one-to-one tutoring I received,” said Luke, a volunteer with DAWN, where he is a website administrator. The booklet comes in response to the findings from the Office of National Statistics, which showed that almost 80% of autistic adults are not working and that they are the least likely disabled group to be in any employ...

In America, from an early age, we are conditioned to work and contribute to society; well, at least, most people are.  However, when you have a physical disability like Ms. Samantha Lebron does, you are often not expected to work full-time. Even though Ms. Lebron has a severe case of cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair, she has decided to go against the grain and become a full-time worker. Throughout the rest of this article, we will highlight a recent interview I conducted with Ms. Lebron, in which she discussed what it is like to work full-time with a physical disability. We will gain insight into Ms. Lebron’s everyday routine, and she and I will discuss topics ranging from society's expectations of people with disabilities and her thoughts on whether she thinks it is worth the extraeffort she has to do to work full-time.   J: Hello, Ms. Lebron. Thank you for answering the questions on this important topic of disability and full-time employment. Samantha Lebron: H...