Interviewing the disabled person is just like interviewing anyone. Can you do the job? Are you qualified? I have been on many interviews and have been offered most of the positions for which I have interviewed. That is not to say interviewing is an easy thing to ace? However, keeping the job is a much bigger task.
I have also had some uncomfortable moments that really could only make me laugh. For example, on my very first interview for a real job in 1977, I went through the entire interview, nerves and inexperience abounding, when the executive interviewing me suddenly asked me the strangest question. He asked, "How do you go to the bathroom?" to which I immediately replied, "Well, you know how you do it?...Well, I sit" At which point, he got a little embarrassed and I laughed. I got the job!
At the orientation for my last job 14 years ago, there were two hispanic women, two black women and me (I am a white woman with spina bifida). One of these women said to me, "You realize why we got this job don't you--quotas. I said, "It doesn't matter how I got my foot in the door. What matters is what I do from this point forward."
I am not so worried about how I am interviewed as much as how I respond to the interviewer. We all know that people get uncomfortable with anyone or anything that is not "normal" to them--the disabled are not excluded from this. We, by virtue or curse of our disabilities, do not corner the market on non-judgemental attitudes. We also have our prejudgements. Education is my top priority when it comes to the general public. I find that with patience, compassion for the person who is unaware, and a little humor many obstacles may be overcome.
We cannot control what the world dishes out, but we can control how we handle it. Anger and Frustration begets Anger and Frustration. So, my best advice is to cool out! Treat people the way you wish to be treated. Give them respect and respect will be returned in kind. In the event that someone is unkind, remember they do not have the ability to walk in your shoes if you don't tell them what size you wear. In other words, let them see you, show them where to look!
