Who Needs to Know?

The NYT has a brief article today - I'm Ill, but Who Really Needs to Know?
- which touches on the questions we have each asked regarding telling others about our MS, or any other chronic illness for that matter.

The article itself is part book review - Richard Cohen's 'Strong at the Broken Places' - and part employee advice regarding Americans with Disabilities Act. An excerpt...

"An excellent resource for workers facing this choice, she said, is the Job Accommodation Network, a service of the federal Department of Labor. Most questions on its site, she said, come from workers, not management, and “they are looking for suggestions on how to do adjust their work without bringing it to the attention of their bosses,” she said. They buy themselves custom footstools and wrist-rests, and sneak off to restrooms to take medications. To hide their condition on the worst days, they call in sick, giving a reason other than their chronic illness."

As we've discussed here before - Who do you tell, when do you tell, and why do you tell others you have MS? - the choice is a personal one and one which needs not be rushed.

So if you are in a position to consider the pros/cons of disclosing your disabilities, the Job Accommodation Network has a wealth of information.

Go check it out and see if the Americans with Disabilities Act offers the protection you need for your situation.