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From: Diana.Dawne@f432.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Diana Dawne)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Rehab and the blind
Message-ID: <16534@handicap.news>
Date: 28 Jun 91 14:46:09 GMT
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Index Number: 16534

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

>well i really think here in california, rehab is totally useless.  i

Dan, part of what you are saying is right.  Part of it isn't.  Let me
explain by telling another story.

Once upon a time ... when I was young, I went to college.  My family had
money, and I was sent to an exclusive university.  I did very well.  I
got a B. A. and two M.S. degrees and I lack about a year of one P.H.D.
and maybe a year and a half of another.  The future seemed bright.  I
had some good job offers when I graduated.  Everything was just great
until my cancer problem went completely out of control.  For a year or
so, I ran up the most amazing medical bills.  To be very honest, the
doctor said I was going to die anyway, and it would be a blessing to all
if ithappened sooner.  However, quite obviously, I didn't die.  However,
by the time I did recover, with the aid of physical therapy, speech
therapy, and a bunch of other stuff, my familyfelt they just didn't have
the money to spend to help me finish my education so I did what I
thought you should do when you had that kind of a problem I went to
Rehab.

Granted, I made a couple errors.  I thought that since I had come so
far, he department would need to know why I was unable to finish so I
took my medical records.  In these documents was a letter by my
physician stating he doubted I could live for more than two years.
Rehab refused to even let me open a case.

I was quite upset, so I went all the way to the director.  It is a
wonder I didn't die from his letter.  It said that because of the bad
prognosis, rehab would not help me.  He really made me feel very sad by
going on to say that to help a person such as me would be very lacking
in responsibility because if tax payers helped me, and then I up and
die, I have wasted the department's money.

You have no idea what a state I was in.  I had to be the most angery,
hurt, unhappy person there was.  If anyone pointed out to me that I was
at least alive, there would come this stream of unpleasantness about
what point was there to it all.

In time, I got tired of feeling sorry for myself, because to tell you
the truth, I was being cut out of life and I couldn't stand that.  No
one would hire me, so I got interested in community projects as a
volunteerOne of the places I worked for had an advocacy department and I
got to be good driends with the girl who ran it.  She helped all kinds
of people-- people having problems with Medi-Care and Medi-Cal, Social
Security appeal problems-- anybody in trouble called her.  When she
left, I was offered her job with the understandingI got a paralegal
certification.  I did this and for quite a while I have done very well.
I have only lost one case with an ALJ (Administrative Law Judge) and I
have done all kinds of other things.  It has really been fun, but I
wonder if I would have done it, if Rehab had helped me.  The fact they
turned me down made me search for another way, and I think I developed a
lot of character because of it. Today, I think rehab is a little more in
favor of the real underdog, and it is possible it wouldn't now happen
but who knows.  Maybe it would.

Some time ago however, I stopped taking Rehab cases.  here's why.  There
are a great number of people out there who really have taken rehab for a
ride.  example I know a young man who was able to get a Toshiba 1200
with speech card ETC.  This guy takes the bus to school and other than
the bus, always has axcess to electricity.  However, he talked an
organization into giving him the computer which I am not all that sure
he needs anyway.  He talked Rehab into buying an additional power
supply, an external batterycharger, an adapter so he can run the
computer off the cigarette lighter of his car, (this is a blind guy who
takes the bus) and I believe fouror five extra sets of batteries plus
software which he has traded back for other things that he wants.  Can
you sort of appreciate why there is a problem?

Another difficulty Counselors have is the approach clients make.  It is
"You folks owe me this."  More often then not, the things that are asked
for are so ungrounded in reality as to be laughable.  The problem is
then, that when someonecomes in with a realistic program and reasonable
needs, the Counselor has built up such a thick shell they just don't
hear.

I think it was Susan Goldfield who said something like if people would
only take what they need, the government would be better off.  I know
that is the way it is with Rehab, too.  I know there are people who have
not been helped and they really deserved the chance and there can be no
excusing that.  All I want to say is Rehab does have a side.  Not all
Rehab people are the bad guys.  They have helped a few people
 * EZ 1.30 *

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