ABOUT
Everyone deserves to be seen as the individual they are.
INTRODUCTION AND MISSION
Hello, thanks for your interest. My name is Lauren Davidson, and VisAble Individuals is my company. I'm an attorney with a background in Disability Law, and a special focus on Mental Disability Law. VisAble Individuals helps people with disabilities succeed in fulfilling their academic, professional, and personal goals.
BACKGROUND
Many people are familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA, which is still considered a piece of landmark legislation in the world of Disability Rights. First passed in 1990 and made effective in 1992, the ADA guaranteed that people with physical disabilities would have certain rights and protections that they are entitled to in education and employment. Mainly, the rights to privacy, nondiscrimination, and reasonable accommodations. Then, in 2008, the ADA Amendment Act, or the ADAAA, was passed in order to bring many of those same critical rights and protections to individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities—a more “legal” term for mental illnesses.
Both public and private schools receive federal funding, and are therefor covered by both the ADA and ADAAA. The Acts similarly apply to both public and private employers, however private employers with under 15 employees are exempt. Despite the provisions of the ADA and the ADAAA being available and enforceable for between 13-30 years now, many individuals whom the Acts were intended to help remain unaware of these rights and protections to which they are entitled.
OUR "WHY"
Requesting accommodations can be a daunting process, as can determining what types of accommodations will be considered "reasonable." This analysis is often straightforward for most physical disabilities, while mental illnesses present the unique challenge of being widely misunderstood by the general public. Often, more detailed explanations for the requested accommodation(s) with a clear “nexus” to the disability is required for accommodations based on mental rather than physical disabilities to be approved.
Strongly related to Accommodations are “Exemptions,” which can be either Medical or Religious/Philosophical. Prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020, Exemptions were a very niche area of law. A unique point of convergence between disability law, employment law, and constitutional law, Exemptions have always been and remain a cornerstone of the services offered at VisAble Individuals.
SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR NEEDS
VisAble Individuals, Inc. offers a number of products and services at different price points for individuals in all stages of their academic and professional journeys, as well as a wide variety of free resources. To learn more about each option, check out our Accommodations and Exemptions pages. Due to increased volume of requests, we have recently created a page solely dedicated to Covid-19 Exemptions. Please also visit our Free Resources and Blog pages, and don’t hesitate to reach out directly through our Contact page.
No one is in this alone, we are here to help.