I am not working, mostly due to mental health issues and not CP. Although I do have limitations with the CP as regards to standing, walking, etc...I have been on SSDI off and on since I was 20. I had been getting SSI from 14-20. It has been a battle as far as working goes. I have been to college, I am very smart, with an above average IQ. I am trained to work in pharmacies and hospitals dispensing medications. I have held many jobs since age 20.The longest stint lasted a year, with the norm being 3 mos. Again, mostly due to mental health issues. I'd like to work (I think), but don't think I ever will be able.

Hi I am working and do have CP, the Cp has left me with a slight learning disability and due to the CP I believe to have ADD also.

I am limited to what I can do in a job, right now I work with three ladies in a small tuck shop where we serve coffee to the civil servents all day long...

I have always had a hard time getting a job and holding on to it but this job I have now I have had for 19 yrs.

I live in Toronto Ont. Canada

i have a job and i have cp and i work at a grocery store. Andy

i am 18 worked for a year in retail. good exsperence just wasnt for me working with the public

I worked as an assistant teacher to toddlers, then decided to go for my AAS degree to become teacher qualified. Getting ready to start my internship and I will be back at it. I am 23

ive had part time wrk, and am studying childcare atm, hopefully doing my foundation degree next year. not sure what to be yet though, dnt give up keep trying. theres alot of disability discrimination out there but its getting better. hope it all works out well

i have mild cp and have been working for about two and half years now . Although i had a horrible time trying to get a job i went on dozens of interviews and got turned down for no good reason .Even though employers say they are equal oppurtunity i strongly disagree!!!! have u tried going to an abled diabled program ??

I have not had problems getting jobs earlier in my life, yet now I am 49, and have Severe Spastic Cerebral Palsy which as I have gotten older has effected my mobility greatly. This has made it difficult to keep or find work. I live in Texas, and it has programs that help people get training, lifts, ramps, hearing aids- whatever a person needs help with so that they are able to work. They also work with employers in the community who hire people who have disabilities. In Texas, it is presently called- D. A. R. I know you have training, I have as well, as an X-ray Tech-yet that is not really applicable for me now in my life. Possibly there is simular help in the state where you live as well. If I can be of any help, just let me know.

Have a good day!
Pat

my big brother has cp. He works part time here in the uk for a company called talk back. he has gone from a shy boy that wouldnt read in front of his classs to now doing lectures on disbled peoples rights for upto 600 people! Keep at it all the best and never give up. My 10 yr old son has cp and i hope by bro will be the insperation he needs to go right to the top! all the best x

i started out training as a teacher. i taught at different magnet schools as a substitute before college graduation in spanish linguistics. then i went into the field of social work when i saw that many issues around teaching went deeper. at that time, my body was fatiguing easily and getting sore muscles and more spasms. so after 6 months, i couldn't go to visit people in hospital or home. so i quit for that and other reasons.

another big factor: i was extremely anxious and depressed normally. i went beyond beyond when not many medical personell were helpful past diagnostics. neither would they authorize me things like crutches until 2 doctors later, in another state. and it took 6 months to get a wheelchair, and two years for a motorized one...if i'm lucky. after living in 3 different states.

now i'm starting from home, taking online courses and trying to plan a business with my linguistics background. now i can control my own environment, since i can't stand perfumes or some soaps, even cleaners in many offices.

i live in a small city, the smallest in mass.

I work as a writer in Philadelphia. I've worked since my teen years. I think it's often easier to find jobs in big cities because there are just more opportunities. Keep applying for work. I don't know anyone with CP, but I know plenty of people who have gone on dozens of interviews before they got a job. The economy sucks. Just keep interviewing. I know you'll get a great job soon!

i have a pt job at home depot

I work at a bookstore now, but I used to be a concession stand worker/supervisor, a tech writer, and once even tried my hand as an assistant to a talent agent in Hollywood. That last one was a disaster. To be honest, I find career advancement difficult.

There is this notion that young people have to start at the bottom with menial work like filing and answering phones and affixing labels and other tasks that are heavy on the coordination and/or motor-skills. Also, fatigue is an issue for me, so jobs that require long hours are getting more and more difficult. I never know when, how, or if to tell am employer about my issues, but i have a really hard time excelling at menial, pay-your-dues type duties. I'm not sure how to get people to look past the fact that I can't affix labels or handwrite notes very straight, well, or fast, but that my mind is strong and able to do more complicated tasks. I think this is exacerbated by the fact that I look more or less normal, so people expect "easy" things to be easy and fast for me, too.

Has anyone else had problems like this? If so, how did you overcome them?

hi Pavabrava

I work in a tuck shop with two other ladies and it is an easy job and I tire easily also. I sometimes put in a 9 hour day and thats is very hard for me but I need the extra cash.

I am very limited in what I can do and have always had a hard time focusing, I tend to go off alot, how many of you cp survivers do this? I hope I am not alone

Steve, I have a BA and an MS ii Special Education. I have worked as a teacher. I do work(for the summer in a daycare) while I search for a teaching position. I have not gone on many interviews, NJ has changed cerification requirements... so I am updating my cert, but this is the toughest teaching job market I have been in EVER! Good Luck!