Choosing Work

Agreement about a direction can be difficult. Some families may be worried that work will be difficult or bring on more symptoms. They may want to protect you from disappointment. It may or may not be important to be “on the same page” as your family, but if it is, there are a few possibilities below.

To help your family come on board, you may want to talk with them more in detail about the work you have done to arrive at your work goal. Show them how you thought about what you want, and where your preferences come from. Talk with them about their willingness to support you as you try out work. If you talk to your family it could give you more experience, knowledge, connections, and skills. Invite family and friends to help in concrete ways.

If it has been a long time since you’ve worked, you may want to get support from family, friends, and professional supporters to help you “organize a variety of work experiences to help the individual figure out what [their] preferences might be” (Farkas).

For veterans, there is a four phase process of making employment choices through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The first three phases: assess, explore and plan may be most relevant to choosing (VA). A veteran may go back and forth to these phases before getting settled into one action plan through VA services.

For some people, starting their own business will make the most sense for work. Starting your own business takes some planning and a lot of support. Some people find SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, helpful in creating a business plan.

Once you have a business plan, if you have SSDI benefits (Social Security Disability Insurance), or work income (or property), you may be able to take advantage of a PASS Plan, which stands for Plan for Achieving Self-Support. PASS helps people to save up for things they need to become employed or to start a business, without jeopardizing their benefits.