Labor force participation: "Breaking down mental barriers is more important than auxiliary aids and services"

Ms. Winkler, you are a senior civil servant at the TU Dresden. What are your responsibilities in this capacity?

Anja Winkler: I am a member of the Working Group Services Disability and Studies (AG SBS), located in the Faculty of Computer Science at the Chair of Human-Computer Interaction. I have a master’s degree in education and have completed my training as an ISL (Independent Living Skills) peer counselor in November 2018. Since then I have been active as a peer-to-peer consultant who assists students, prospective students, and employees with disabilities, chronic and mental illness at TU Dresden.

Another one of my key responsibilities is the provision and coordination of accessible courses and learning materials for blind and visually impaired students. I am also a co-advisor and work with colleagues of the TU Dresden Guidance and Orientation System. That means I assist my colleagues in designing the tactile floor plans and maps that are featured in our buildings.

Braille transcriptions created by other departments usually pass by my desk for review. I also analyze the audio description for films made at the TU Dresden. I conduct internal and external training for my colleagues. My favorite area is audio-visual translation and workshops on accessible documents and websites.

Occasionally, I act as an advisor to external students. Students often have general questions about the types of auxiliary aids and services they can apply for and wonder about the services that are already available. Disability support services are another hot topic in addition to testing accommodations. I also assist students with their transition planning process to facilitate their post-school career goals.

What kind of workplace accommodations have been made to make your life easier?

Winkler: My workplace has technically already been in place since I simply transferred the assistive technology I already obtained while I worked in my previous job. I received direct financial aid, which means I own the auxiliary aids and services.

I got my first workplace accommodations in 2010 for my first position at a school. It consisted of my notebook computer since at least 20 percent of my job is out in the field. This also includes a 40 character Braille display, and an integrated book edge scanner, which has since been replaced by a camera system.

I use JAWS as a computer screen reader program, OpenBook for optical character recognition of written text, and a keyboard with a key location system, which was included in my notebook computer. I also have a personal assistant who has access to my PC but has his own monitor, mouse, and keyboard.

Soon we will add a hyper-pin Braille plate system to this setup, which has been approved by the Integration Office. I frequently work with graphic displays and TU Dresden colleagues have developed an accessible graphics workstation plus a collaborative drawing station with a personal attendant. We will feature the hyper-pin Braille plate system in both of these workstations in the future. I can then either draw something myself or my assistant draws something and I check whether the tactile graphics accurately convey the non-textual information.

Despite your accessible workplace accommodations, are there still obstacles you have to overcome?

Winkler: Sometimes I come across inaccessible graphics files or scans. If I am alone, I typically use my optical character recognition system to tackle the task. If my personal attendant is available and the character recognition software cannot assist, I ask him for help to overcome this obstacle.

My personal attendant primarily needs to accompany me when I go out in the field. Occasionally, I have site visits that are scheduled on short notice and my helper might not be at the office. Usually, I ask one of my colleagues to come with me instead. We typically find a solution.

What was your experience after college when you were ready to start your career?

Winkler: I didn’t like the months I was forced to spend at home after my graduation because nobody was willing to hire me. I faced one hurdle after another and tried to get help from a multitude of places but nobody was really able to offer assistance.

That’s when I hit the internet and did my own research by visiting the websites of cities, states, and communities. I already knew that I wanted to pursue a job in civil service. Of course, the benefit of that was that I was always invited for interviews – but quite often it was only because agencies are mandated to do so due to my disability. Unfortunately, that fact was obvious in many instances as I was often not even asked any subject-specific questions, even though I came prepared and was certainly qualified. During some interviews, the representative body for severely disabled employees was actually unfamiliar with the concept of personal assistance. I had many strange job interviews where employers were ill-prepared and unwilling to cultivate a mindset of inclusion.

What feedback do you get from your professional environment?

Winkler: Not once have people not taken me seriously at work – at least not here at the University. Everyone appreciates and values my expertise. I get asked many questions – sometimes questions I have never been asked before about things I have never done, but that I can definitely do. After all, I can actually prepare to answer these questions. (Laughs)

How does an accessible workplace help you live a self-determined life?

Winkler: I could not do my job without my auxiliary aids and services. But with them, I can do anything and am as competent and qualified as anyone else.

That being said, breaking down mental barriers is more important than any auxiliary aids and services. That’s because I have a legal right to receive these tools and could even file a complaint if I had to. But it would be far more helpful if people finally put their negative patterns of thinking, stereotypes and biases toward people with disabilities aside. I have no legal right to make them break down these mental barriers as it is up to each individual to do so. Inclusion starts with you and an open mind! I deserve the same respect and dignity as anyone else.