EP 63: Different Circumstances, Same Potential: Pain Points of Disability and Employment

October 2nd

For Chris Anselmo, an unexpected health journey changed both his life and career. Today, Chris is a writer, rare disease advocate, and author of the Hello, Adversity newsletter. 

In this episode of the Pain Points Podcast, Maggie Shea sits down with Chris to discuss disability in the workplace, self-advocacy, accommodations, inclusive hiring, and what employers can do to remove barriers for talented people. 

When Life Takes an Unexpected Turn 

Shortly after graduating from Northeastern University in 2008, Chris began experiencing the progression of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B, a rare muscle disease that would significantly change his mobility. His experience ultimately influenced his career, leading him into healthcare, advocacy, and eventually writing. 

Through Hello, Adversity, Chris now shares practical lessons from his own experiences with uncertainty, resilience, mental health, and major life changes, helping others navigate situations they never expected to face. 

Navigating a Career With a Disability 

Chris has experienced job searching from several different perspectives. He has searched for work without an apparent disability, while trying to keep his changing physical circumstances private, and later chose to become much more open about his disability and the accommodations he might need. As his mobility changed, details that many candidates might overlook became important considerations, including travel requirements, remote or hybrid options, schedule flexibility, and physical accessibility. 

For Chris, these considerations are not about whether he can perform the job - he knows that he can do the job, and he would not apply for a position if he believed otherwise. The real question is whether unnecessary barriers will make doing that work more difficult. His philosophy has generally been not to remove himself from consideration simply because a job description includes something that might require a conversation. He would rather apply, explore the opportunity, and determine whether flexibility is possible. 

Relationships and networking have also become especially valuable. When possible, Chris prefers opportunities where he already knows someone at the organization or has some familiarity with its culture. Those connections can help him understand whether an employer truly values accessibility, flexibility, and inclusion before committing to the opportunity. 

There is an important lesson for employers in that experience. Candidates are evaluating companies just as companies are evaluating candidates. The way an organization communicates about accommodations and flexibility can influence whether a qualified person ever applies. Creating a more inclusive workplace begins long before someone's first day. 

Accommodations Are About Removing Barriers 

One of Chris's earliest experiences requesting an accommodation began with something remarkably simple: a laptop. As his muscle disease progressed, carrying the heavier laptop provided by his employer became increasingly difficult and created a potential fall risk. For months, Chris avoided asking for something different. Eventually, he explained his situation and requested a lighter laptop that would still allow him to perform all of his responsibilities. 

His employer approved the request and then went further by asking what else they could do to support him. They were willing to explore options such as flexible hours and working from home when needed. For Chris, the experience provided both practical support and an important lesson about advocating for himself. He had spent months worrying about making the request, only to discover that his employer was willing to work with him. 

That experience helped shape the way Chris thinks about accommodations today. An accommodation is not about providing an employee with an unfair advantage. It is about removing a barrier so that someone can focus on doing the job they were hired to do. Depending on the individual, that could mean different equipment, flexible start and end times, accessible travel arrangements, remote work options, or another relatively simple adjustment. 

Chris also emphasizes the value of communicating those needs early when someone feels comfortable doing so. He recognizes that not everyone has had positive experiences disclosing a disability, but in his own career, proactive conversations have often reduced stress and made planning easier for everyone involved. When employers normalize these conversations, employees can spend less energy worrying about logistics and more energy contributing to their work. 

Building Inclusion Into the Hiring Process 

Chris describes the employment landscape for people with disabilities as challenging because there are often multiple barriers. Those can include access to education, professional networks, transportation, benefits considerations, misconceptions about disability, and uncertainty about whether an employer will provide the flexibility someone needs. None of those factors reflect the talent or capability of the individual, but they can make finding the right opportunity more complicated. 

Employers can help remove some of those barriers by looking carefully at the way jobs are designed and advertised. Requirements around travel, relocation, schedules, or working in an office may be essential for some roles, but in other cases they may simply be language that has been carried forward from an old job description. If there is flexibility, organizations should consider making that clear instead of allowing qualified candidates to assume there is none. 

Creating an inclusive hiring process also means leaving room for conversation. A candidate may be fully capable of performing the essential responsibilities of a role while needing to approach one aspect differently. When employers focus on outcomes and essential job functions instead of automatically assuming there is only one way to perform the work, they can open opportunities to a broader group of talented people. 

The culture surrounding those conversations matters just as much as the written policies. Chris's positive experience with his former employer gave him greater confidence to advocate for himself later in his career and raised his expectations for future workplaces. Companies that consistently demonstrate flexibility, accessibility, and respect can become organizations people want to work for and recommend to others. 

Creating a Culture Where People Can Advocate for What They Need 

Chris has an equally important message for job seekers with disabilities: do not automatically talk yourself out of an opportunity because you may need an accommodation. Self-advocacy can be uncomfortable, particularly when someone worries that disclosing a disability or asking for flexibility might change how an employer views them. Chris understands that concern because he spent years navigating it himself. 

Over time, he has learned that asking for what he needs allows him to focus more fully on what he can contribute. Whether that means accessible travel, schedule flexibility, different equipment, or another adjustment, the goal is the same. Remove the barrier and allow the person to do their job. His experience also reinforces why employers should create environments where these conversations do not feel unusual or burdensome. 

That philosophy extends beyond people who currently identify as having a disability. Life circumstances can change unexpectedly. Employees may develop medical conditions, acquire disabilities, become caregivers, or experience other significant changes that affect how they work. Organizations that build flexibility and communication into their cultures are better prepared to support employees when those changes happen. 

At the center of Chris's message is a simple idea: disability does not erase capability. People with disabilities bring skills, experience, knowledge, perspective, and talent to workplaces across every industry. They may need to approach certain tasks differently or have specific barriers removed, but those differences do not define what they can accomplish. 

That same idea is reflected in Chris's work with Hello, Adversity. His life took a dramatically different direction than the one he expected when he graduated from college, but those experiences have given him a perspective he can now share with others facing uncertainty and change. His goal is not simply to tell people to be resilient. It is to take what he has learned and make those lessons practical for someone facing adversity of their own. 

Adversity may change someone's path, but it does not have to define their potential.