Rant #1,422: Job Action

My allergies are haywire today. I can barely see what I am typing.

I have a full day of work in front of me, and I am looking at several hours before my eyes get back to some semblance of normalcy, so today is a good day to really Rant and Rave, so be prepared.

My son is 19 years old. He is normal in every way, other than the fact that he has a learning disability and ADD.

These are minor items to some people, I would imagine, but to him, they are major obstacles to overcome.

He is out of work. I just read that more than 15 percent of the disabled population is out of work, and like most unemployment statistics, the number is probably five to 10 percent higher, once you count people who are off the unemployment rolls or those, like my son, who aren't counted yet.

He is ready, willing and able to work. He can do just about anything, with guidance, which will be provided by the agency that supposedly overlooks his well being. They will provide a job coach when he gets employed, and that person will see to it that my son understands what he has to do and does it the right way.

This kid has done everything he can do to find a job. He has made out applications, both physically and online, he has gone to places looking for work, he has gone to job fairs, and he has come up with nothing.

So what does he do? He sits at home on the computer all day, speaking to people he should not be speaking to, he causes commotions at home, and he is not only depressed, but he is depressing myself and my wife, both of whom have run out of ways to get him out of the house and help him become a viable member of society.

Again, we do not blame him for his plight. This guy has done everything to look for a job, and I mean everything.

He is currently in a program to help him become employed. He has been in the program for a while, has had the requisite interviews, but still, he is weeks away from starting anything, and it is part time to boot.

As part of this program, he probably will not start work until June at the earliest.

Right now, he has been out of work for eight months.

With my wife and my few contacts, nothing has led to employment.

My son is a good kid, and he so wants to work that it hurts when I know all he is doing is sitting home and doing next to nothing.

I don't even know who to blame anymore, if there even is any blame to assign to anyone or any agency.

I had to fight to get him into various federal programs, because it is very difficult for a white male kid from a middle class family to qualify for these programs, and no, I am not crying crocodile tears about this.

When you have an administration that bends over backwards for illegal aliens, but forgets about its own disabled populace, you know that you are going to run into brick walls, and that is what I did in trying to get him the aid that he needs and deserves.

But that being said, it took months, and he now has what he needs, but the waiting game is unbelieveable for these things, and that is what we do; my wife and I wait, and we hope for the best.

But we are out of ideas. We have tried to keep him going with whatever wherewithall we have available, but it is very difficult to constantly motivate someone who is not in school and out of work for the period of time he has been in this situation.

He is on the computer all day--that is, when he gets up, at between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. each day--and he doesn't go to sleep until one or two in the morning, but we have found that the time isn't totally wasted, and it does have some benefits.

His vocabulary has improved, his interest in his world has improved. I do see a dramatic change from when he was in school. Certainly, his four years of high school were very disappointing, because I don't think he progressed at all under that structured educational environment.

And coming at the beginning of Common Core, he doesn't even have a diploma to show he did what he had to do to graduate. He only has a certificate to show how hard he worked during those four years, just as hard, if not harder, than those who moved onto college.

So in conclusion, I hvae a 19 year old son who wants to work, but cannot because no one will give him a chance.

Any ideas? I would appreciate anything you have to say.

My wife and I are at our wits end, and I think my son is, too.