By Lori Hopper, LIFESPAN Job Development Specialist

During the 2018 National ADA Symposium, the atmosphere and attendees enlightened my own perspective into the world of people with disabilities different than my own. There were more sessions that I wanted to attend than time allowed. Due to being employed as an employment specialist, my focus was jobs and helping people with disabilities obtain and maintain employment.

Photo of CART captioning at the National ADA Symposium reading, “We don’t want people only hired; we want people retained. [Applause]"In years past, it has been difficult for anyone to find a job they loved and nearly impossible for those with a disability to do the same. It has been my passion for the past six and-a-half years to help those who wanted to enter the workforce to be able to become employed and move toward independence. Attending the Title I session brought new insight into understanding the rights of those who need assistance in applying for work, interviewing, decisions of disclosure and accommodations needed to succeed in the workplace. For myself, understanding the documentation process of requesting and obtaining an accommodation was vitally important. This along with access to the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) toolkit will enhance my ability to more fully serve those that are seeking employment and finding it difficult without assistance.

I look forward to the next ADA Symposium and hope that I can attend to continue to broaden my knowledge and understanding of ways to assist and advocate for all of us.

Lori Hopper,
LIFESPAN
Job Development Specialist
Certified Employment Support Professional
Certified Peer Support Specialist
623 Rockford Rd.
Dobson, NC 27017
(336) 374-4466 Office
(336) 374-4467 Fax
(336) 325-7223 Cell
[email protected]
www.lifespanservices.org