Rehabilitative Services Commission slow. All comments welcom

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Here is the situation,

Around either July or August of last year I began the process to apply for help from my state Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation Services Commission to seek extra training in order to obtain a clerical administrative position with the civil service either at the city or state level. I knew that the process was going to be a long affair but it is now January and my individual case worker has not even sent off the necessary paperwork to the proper vocational services coach.

Here in this part of the country the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation works in conjunction with vocational services in order to determine what would be the best thing to do for the individual who is either having problems on the job or would like to move on.

Now I have been declared eligible to receive services as of November 20, 2013. The Commission says that I have been determined to be [b]Most Significantly Disabled. They are saying that my disability limits me in interpersonal skills, work skills and self direction in employment outcome. In the letter it also states that in addition to counseling and guidance that they expect I will also need Job Development and Placement as well as On the Job Supports. An excellent determination on their behalf in my opinion.

They also said that in order for me to obtain employment utilizing their services I have to seek Mental Health Counseling. I have no problems with that at all.


The hardest thing for me to deal with is the fact that it takes so long for them to accomplish the tasks that they have to accomplish......It causes me frustration, fear and depression. Also I have thought of suicide in my head when I am at work thinking about what will happen to me if they, 'drop the ball' on their end. But if they do I'm not so sure that the reasons for it would be completely the fault of the Commission itself. Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome.

When I signed up with vocrehab, I was also frustrated with the pace of their operation. It took months for my counselor to even send for my health records. Then I found out that the counselors had a large caseload.

Vocrehab was mostly worthless for me but now I wonder if it was because I wasn't placed in the most disabled category. All I got was a $75 transportation check each month (to help me travel for job searches and interviews) and a coach who critiqued my resumé and cover letters (which I already knew how to write) and gave me a bit of advice about which industries I should try to work in. I was hoping for a placement because I am crap an interviews and didn't expect to pass that stage by myself.

Please stay with us just as a human being on this planet. And also please stay with as one more person on the Spectrum.

And yes, it is lousy that they are so slow moving. I will try and think of some ideas.

PS I am correct in assuming that you have a job now but it's a bad job and you are essentially trapped?

I worked as a job coach in another state about ten years ago. I took it sincerely and worked in a steady fashion. Generally, it was a positive program from what I observed even though the agency itself was only so-so.

Okay, if we as a community of people on the Asperger's-Autism Spectrum ever develop our own social services, we've got to be honest with people. If we're swamped, we pretty much have to tell people that first thing right off the bat when they call. And we can also recruit volunteers.

With this State Voc Rehab Services, they're a bureaucracy of course they are. Some of the employees have a bureaucratic mindset, others try to help. Try and cut the individual employees some slack if you can. You certainly can send a brief, polite email and follow up with a phone call several days later. If you happen to explode in talking with them, well, it's not too strategic, not likely to help your cause. But even if you do, wait a couple of weeks, then begin again with the polite phone call. It's more strategic not to explode.

From Herb Cohen's book You Can Negotiate Anything (which is a catchy title but not strictly true!), I got the idea that often good negotiation is precisely having someone else negotiate on your behalf or with you. I mean, mayors and governors do this all the time. And, I went with a friend when he spoke with a housing lady. She was polite, and she accepted my presence there. In fact, I think my being there increased the odds that she would be on her best behavior.