After working in multiple Fortune 500 companies, Suzanne Robitaille, 33, decided to move from the fast-paced,  fast-track corporate environment of New York City into a freelance-based lifestyle.  It’s been four months and she’s loving it.  

When asked how she likes being her own boss, Suzanne laughed.  

“Wow, that’s not how I think of it at all!  Being on my own is the way I can make the biggest impact on myself and others.  I need to do what I’m doing now.  It makes me feel good—like I’m making a difference.”

Hearing for the First Time
Born in Danvers, Massachusetts, Suzanne lost hearing in both ears when she was four due to spinal meningitis.  She moved to New York City in 2000 to make a name for herself as a journalist.  She quickly discovered how to make her employers comfortable with her disability by taking night shifts so as to avoid the phone, or educating her bosses on the true meaning of the ADA.

Suzanne received a cochlear implant in 2003.  By 2005, her implant had vastly opened up her job opportunities in one big way: she was able to use the telephone.   

Working Independently
From Suzanne’s perspective, working independently is a great way for people with disabilities to earn an income and build a career.  There’s usually no immediate pressure to disclose a disability when working alone. Suzanne’s advice is to become so skilled at your job that if and when you need to disclose a disability, it will be an insignificant occasion.

However, Suzanne says, it may be necessary to disclose immediately if accommodations must be made. “I know I have limitations.  I can’t do conference calls or talk to people in loud environments.  So I have to make requests and sometimes people don’t want to accommodate.”  This potential of rejection pushes Suzanne to be as qualified as she can be in her field.  

Disclosing a Disability in the Office
“Disclosing a disability to a potential employer is huge.  To do it right away feels like laying all your cards out on the table.”  Suzanne doesn’t recommend disclosing immediately.  She feels that the best way to disclose is to put it in the context of the accommodation you might need.  Creating an open line of communication with HR or the manager is key.  “If you frame it in the context that, yes, you may have a disability, but you just need specific technology to get past it, then it’s not a big deal.” It’s also important to shop around for companies that will understand your needs and accommodate you if necessary. Suzanne lists Google, IBM, and Pepsi, to name a few.

Suzanne has another method of avoiding rejection based on her disability: assistive technology.  She advises others to invest all the money they can into assistive technology.  “It will help you work faster and stronger and even the playing field a bit.”

Love Affair with Assistive Technology
Suzanne first fell in love with assistive technology (AT) when she started her second New York City job at Businessweek Online.  She was originally hired to cover stock market reports, but was soon asked if she wanted to write a weekly column on assistive technology.  

“I’ve always had people helping me—sign language interpreters, note-takers, etc.—never technology.  It struck me how much independence I could gain through technology.”  

Writing about AT was a way for Suzanne to help people with disabilities gain independence.  She is fascinated by the way assistive technology can be as simple as a mainstream product used in a special way, but still have a big impact.  “Technology has changed my life,” Suzanne states.

Ablebody Website
Abledbody (http://www.abledbody.com) is a project that Suzanne is working on to expand her audience for assistive technology freelance writing.  “A lot of my articles get lost in cyberspace.  Abledbody is a one-stop place for people to learn and share what they know about assistive technology.  We can all learn from each other.  Assistive technology is such an enabler.”

Suzanne is also working on an Assistive Technology book due sometime in 2009.  Her first book project as a contributor, Reading Lips and Other Ways to Overcome a Disability [Apprentice House, August 2008] came out in 2008.

Suzanne’s blog can be found at: http://profoundlyyours.blogspot.com/.  She invites anyone with a question about freelancing or assistive technology to contact her there.