{"id":2580,"date":"2018-07-23T18:14:54","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T18:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wi-bpdd.org\/?p=2580"},"modified":"2018-08-06T21:14:25","modified_gmt":"2018-08-06T21:14:25","slug":"whats-the-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wi-bpdd.org\/index.php\/2018\/07\/23\/whats-the-word\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s the Word- July 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

July 2018- Ashley Mathy<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Ashley<\/p>\n

Why employment is so important to me<\/em><\/p>\n

First let me introduce myself, I am Ashley Mathy and I have autism. \u00a0The reason why employment is so important to me is that I have personally struggled with finding a job that was a good fit for me and I have many friends that either cannot secure employment or have a job that is not a good fit. For me,\u00a0I was in a job at a fast food restaurant in Milwaukee that didn’t match my abilities and my anxiety took over. You see, working a job you don’t like can impact your mental health and overall performance on the job and worse yet when you don\u2019t have a job, depression can be a major issue.<\/p>\n

With the help of my mom and leaders at Headwaters and Nicolet College, I was able to gain my confidence back, take some college classes and secure employment at the college. \u00a0Today, I work for the Executive Director of the college who reports directly to the President.\u00a0 My job includes shredding, filing, labeling, sorting and when I am lucky I get to participate in speaking events.\u00a0 I love my job!\u00a0 When I am at work, I don\u2019t think about my autism because my coworkers don’t treat me like I have a disability. They treat me like everyone else in the office and that feels AMAZING!\u00a0 I want other people with disabilities to have this same feeling of being a person 1st and not defined by their disability. \u00a0In the past year, I have been advocating for employment by speaking and helping pass the Employment First bill.\u00a0 During my speaking, I make sure everyone understands that we all have barriers and challenges in life and that it’s important to find a job that matches our skills and abilities so that we can be successful.<\/p>\n

I believe everyone has strengths and abilities.\u00a0 We need to make every effort to search for the best job fit THEN work very hard at showing the world we can work just like everyone else. If you\u2019re like me, you like to spend money and getting a paycheck is the key to shopping for me!\u00a0 I get so excited when I realize its \u201cpayday\u201d and an opportunity to buy some more clothes.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, the reason why employment is so important to me is because I firmly believe EVERYONE with or without a disability deserves an opportunity to work in the community, earn a payroll check AND make a difference in this world.\u00a0 If every employer was more open to hiring people with special needs AND everyone with special needs made every effort to work in the community\u2026. the world would be a better place for all of us!\u00a0 Let\u2019s work together to make this happen!!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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