This commentary is by John May of Shelburne, a certified rehabilitation counselor.
It’s the age-old question hanging over every high school and college student’s head attending family gatherings this holiday season: “What do you want to do with your life?” or “Any job offers yet?”
It can feel daunting and stressful, but ultimately exciting to dream of the future. Like many young adults, I too answered these questions eagerly before making some professional missteps in my early 20s, leading me down a lifelong path of sobriety, and eventually to a career in rehabilitation counseling.
My daily commitment to recovery has been a core tenet of my development and has helped guide me through life, personally and professionally.
As a certified rehabilitation counselor, I’m lucky to have found a rewarding career that complemented my commitment to recovery. Since the pandemic reshaped modern workplaces, we’ve all become accustomed to the accommodations our coworkers need to work effectively. These can be as simple as reading glasses to see clearly, or flexible working hours to take care of children and elderly family members.
But here in Vermont, an outdated perception persists that disabled individuals don’t perform in the workplace as well as their able-bodied peers.
Like in the rest of the country, disabled Vermonters experience unequal access to job opportunities. The employment rate of disabled Vermonters sits at 34%, compared to 67% of those without disabilities. This gulf makes sense, considering how our society excludes disabled people, despite the fact that one in four Americans lives with some form of disability that affects the capacity to work.
I’ve built my career on helping disabled individuals thrive amid an often uncaring society — from offices that aren’t wheelchair accessible to employers who see their disability as a detriment, rather than as a unique lens through which they see the world. Certified rehabilitation counselors are the only counselors trained specifically to help individuals with disabilities attain meaningful employment and independent, self-sufficient lives.
Our profession has been around for more than a century, and we maintain a steadfast commitment to a stringent code of ethics. Rather than funneling disabled individuals toward vacant jobs, we lead with curiosity to uncover passions and find careers that get them closer to those passions. 43% of adults with a disability in Vermont make less than $25,000 a year — certified rehabilitation counselors connect disabled individuals with rewarding careers that offer upward mobility, rather than roles that are simply available.
As labor becomes more scarce as Vermont’s population ages, employers will start looking to people with disabilities to fill in the gaps. The trouble is, many employers don’t know how to accommodate their disabled employees. That’s the value of certified rehabilitation counselors — we work with employers who often know little about disability to find solutions and accommodations. We advocate for the worker while collaborating with the employer, helping employers gain motivated, skilled workers and employees achieve their full potential.
Certified rehabilitation counselors also help employers view disabled employees’ differences as strengths, creating a morale-building model for other employees who experience hardships. Just like non-disabled people, disabled individuals experience day-to-day life challenges: finding child care, accessing public transport, finding reasonable housing, chronic pain, and substance use. When these challenges intersect with maintaining full-time, meaningful work, disabled individuals feel alienated, a feeling I understand through my 35-year commitment to sobriety. We certified rehabilitation counselors work to lower these barriers to employment and set disabled individuals up for success.
Wherever people with disabilities are embracing opportunities for rewarding careers, you can likely find certified rehabilitation counselors. There are tons of ways these counselors employ their credentials to help the disabled community: vocational experts in litigation, HR professionals, return-to-work specialists, and even private practice.
This work has shown me the value that vocation has for disabled individuals. Everyone, regardless of ability, faces challenges throughout life. Addressing my substance use disorder head-on helped me find a career that allows me to serve others, while also developing the self-esteem and confidence that makes me a better vocational counselor and expert.
The same principle applies to anyone with a disability: contributing to a larger purpose helps build independence and a sense of accomplishment. The sooner we can understand that all people, regardless of physical, cognitive, or mental disability, experience challenges, the sooner we can share in all they have to offer.
Here in Vermont, it’s imperative that we broaden valuable, full-time job opportunities for disabled individuals and make workplaces welcoming, accommodating spaces upon hiring. If you’re an employer who wants to make your workplace more inclusive but doesn’t know where to start, consult with a certified rehabilitation counselor or hire one in a full-time role as part of your HR department. Any common-sense employer wants the benefit of a committed employee, even if their challenges are different from other people’s.
Now that Vermont has abolished policies that permit paying disabled individuals below minimum wage, it’s time we call upon our representatives to demand they work to do the same nationally. This way, when disabled individuals ask themselves, “What do I want to do with my life?” they’ll be entitled to the same opportunities to follow their passions as able-bodied people.
