AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT REQUEST 2018

 

Erica R. Crawford, PsyD

Licensed Psychologist  

 

 

3101 Joe Ramsey Blvd, Suite 103A, Greenville, Texas 75401 

Phone: 972-735-0445 Fax: 972-692-7861

DrCrawford@CrawfordPsychology.com   www.CrawfordPsychology.com                                                 

 

September 24, 2018

To Whom It May Concern:

Brian Happy Bryanson is a person with physical, neurocognitive, and mental health disabilities. He is currently able to maintain full-time employment with support and accommodations. Issues related to his medical disabilities are not addressed in this letter. Should they become a concern, please talk with Mr. Bryanson and his health care providers about needed accommodations. He is capable of being a selfadvocate. 

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. Title I of the ADA is designed to help people with disabilities access the same employment opportunities and benefits available to people without disabilities. Employers must provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants or employees. A reasonable accommodation is any modification or adjustment to a job or the work environment that will enable an applicant or employee with a disability to participate in the application process or to perform essential job functions.  

Due to some recent events at work, Mr. Bryanson sought out help for obtaining the appropriate accommodations to meet his mental health and neurocognitive needs at work. The following is a list of recommended accommodations based on my knowledge working with him, a review of an educational assessment completed in 2010, and a review of a neuropsychological evaluation completed in 2017. Mr. Bryanson is his own advocate and may change the accommodations, disregard them as unnecessary, or request other accommodations as needed based on his personal experiences and as there are changes at his place of employment. 

Mr. Bryanson’s physical, neurocognitive, and mental health issues primarily stim from the complex trauma he experienced throughout his childhood. His trauma resulted in many physical injuries, which continue to cause chronic pain. It is likely his neurocognitive deficits are a result of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI’s) obtained during the abuse. As a result of the abusive environment, he has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Despite the difficulties of his childhood, Mr. Bryanson has been able to overcome and manage most of his

PTSD symptoms, cope with the chronic pain, and has learned to accommodate his neurocognitive deficits.

He is able to maintain full-time employment and is successful in his career as a social worker. Psychosocially, his strengths include empathy and compassion. He has been a foster parent to many children, most of whom have maintained contact with him. He finds joy and fulfillment in his work and he is willing to devote the time and heart needed to succeed at his chosen career. Neurocognitively, he excels in his vocabulary knowledge, ability to organize information categorically, and general fund of information. 

Mr. Bryanson is able to read fluently and comprehend material at a typical level when provided enough time. As a result of his specific learning disability with an impairment in reading accuracy due to poor visual discrimination processing, he struggles with quickly interpreting the written symbols of language. This task is improved by being able to read, write, and type in capital letters. Without this accommodation, it takes him significantly longer to process the visual symbols in words. Mr. Bryanson’s reading comprehension abilities are significantly reduced when under time constraints or when frequently interrupted. 

•       Allow the use of all capital letters in notes, inter-office correspondence, and texts between staff members. 

•       Allow sufficient time to read all correspondence multiple times before expecting a response. Mr.

Bryanson may not respond immediately to emails or text when the material is lengthy or complex. 

•       If there is a time-constraint on the reply time, please provide Mr. Bryanson with this information. Work with Mr. Bryanson by providing materials which need a rapid response as soon as possible and allowing some flexibility in the response time. 

•       Mr. Bryanson currently works extended late hours to complete his case notes and office correspondence. This allows him to work in an uninterrupted environment at his own pace. Continue to allow Mr. Bryanson to work extended hours to complete his paperwork. Should the situation occur where this is not feasible or allowed, then he should be given a reduced caseload to meet the writing and reading expectations in a regular work day. 

Due to a specific learning disability with impairment in mathematics accuracy and fluency, Mr. Bryanson’s math accuracy skills are weak, and his math fluency skills are poor. This means he will need to use a calculator and be provided with sufficient time to recheck his calculations in order to maintain accuracy. 

•       Allow Mr. Bryanson to complete any calculations necessary for his job using a calculator. 

•       Allow Mr. Bryanson extended time and flexibility to complete any math calculations necessary for his job. 

Due to below average grip strength, Mr. Bryanson’s muscles in his hands and forearms will tire quickly, resulting in an increased likelihood of dropping even small items. 

•       Reduce hand-written correspondence and allow Mr. Bryanson to utilize electronic devices to provide written correspondence. 

•       Allow the use of a dictation speech to text device for notes and correspondence at Mr. Bryanson’s discretion. 

•       Allow him to record meetings for later review rather than writing or typing out notes of meetings or providing him with a copy of the meeting agenda and notes. 

Regarding short-term memory and attention skills, Mr. Bryanson displays some difficulty with initially encoding verbal information, though after giving him time to process the information, he can recall it accurately. While he can attend well to lengthy auditory tasks, such as listening to a client, he requires some time to process, problem solve, and utilize the information provided. He also struggles with attending to multiple tasks simultaneously, returning his attention to a task once interrupted, and ignoring unwanted extraneous auditory stimuli. 

•       Allow Mr. Bryanson to complete his case notes after his brain has been given time to process and encode the information, such as later in the evening of the same day. 

•       If Mr. Bryanson is expected to respond to a problem or concern, provide him with the information well in advance of the time when he is expected to respond. In other words, he should not be called into an office, provided information, and be expected to respond immediately. 

•       Allow Mr. Bryanson to complete work requiring him to read and/or write during a time and at a place where there are few auditory distractions and interruptions. 

•       Provide Mr. Bryanson with a place to meet and talk with clientele which has few auditory distractors or interruptions. 

Mr. Bryanson has a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) related to complex childhood trauma. Currently his symptoms are stable and managed at a level to not interfere with work performance and demands. As PTSD symptoms can be triggered by seemingly innocuous events, at any time, Mr. Bryanson may experience symptoms which interfere with his job. Should this occur, Mr. Bryanson will discuss his needs with his supervisor, and accommodations provided accordingly. 

Supervisors can also implement management techniques that support an inclusive workplace culture while simultaneously providing accommodations. Techniques that are important for all employees whether disabled or not include the following:

•       Provide positive praise and reinforcement.

•       Provide day-to-day guidance and feedback.

•       Develop clear expectations of responsibilities and the consequences of not meeting performance standards.

•       Schedule consistent meetings with employee to set goals and review progress.

•       Allow for open communication.

•       Establish written long-term and short-term goals.

•       Develop strategies to deal with conflict.

•       Develop a procedure to evaluate the effectiveness of an accommodation.

•       Educate all employees on their right to accommodations.

•       Provide sensitivity training to coworkers and supervisors.

•       Do not mandate that employees attend work related social functions.

•       Encourage all employees to move non-work-related conversations out of work areas.

It is the employee’s responsibility to be a self-advocate. This means he is expected to speak regularly with his supervisor about needs and accommodations based on his own current neurocognitive, physical, and mental health state. He is expected to alert his supervisor to conditions or situations, which are creating distress or conflict. He is expected to be flexible in understanding of the accommodations and his willingness to also meet the needs of the employer. 

 

Sincerely, 

 

Erica R. Crawford, PsyD

Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Texas

#36579

 

cc: Elisha Hollis, Attorney at Law