目次
– 【Yuki】First of all, What type of work are you involved with?
-【Yusuke】I’m currently working in the training gym.I work 5 days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays.I am in charge of converting contracts with individual customers who come to the gym into data and find out about companies that are business partners and so on.
I like sports, so I applied for my current company because I thought it would be fun to work.I has been worked there for 5 years.I am also entrusted with the education staff of my juniors, and I find it particularly rewarding when I feel the growth of them I have taught.
– You work related to what you like, and it looks fun! How did you get the job?
Basically, I went to public employment security office and looked for a job offer for people with disabilities and A workplace where you can work in a wheelchair.
I made it clear what I could and couldn’t do from the time I started looking for a job and searched for a job focusing on the condition, and then explained my situation properly at the interview.Even if I was not hired there, I thought that the company was not meant to be. So I challenged next.
– How did you describe your disability when you applied to the company?
-I explained to the company about what I can do and what I am not good at because of the characteristics of my disability .For example, in my case, I have paralysis in my left hand, so I told them specifically that I was not good at filing documents, holding heavy things, and using scissors.
From the company side, “If you were hired, what kind of work would you have tried in addition to your job?” and I was often asked about personality, such as how to spend my holidays.
– Were you able to start working smoothly after you were hired?
-Our company has contracts with companies that support employees with disabilities to create a comfortable working environment. They usually reside on a different floor, but if the staff with disabilities have any concerns about their jobs, if the staff asks to them, the personnel will talk to the company.
– That’s a good service! Do you feel comfortable working by using the service?
-It was the first time I knew about the service when I joined my current company.When something happens, it may be difficult to talk directly to your boss, but I feel that it is easy to work because they will intervene and consult with me.
– In fact I sometimes hear that when people with disability start working, they find out that the equipment in the company was not barrier-free. Did you have any concerns about that?
-It was described that there is a restroom for wheelchairs in the recruitment guidelines of the job offer issued by the company. But when the actual adoption is decided, the contracting company will check the equipment in advance.For example, they checked the lines from the actual work place to the wheelchair toilet, so I didn’t have any problems after joining the company.
I always checked my company’s facilities by myself when I went to the interview to see if there were any problems with my work.For example, I checked the area where I could see with my eyes to see if there were any steps at the entrance.
-The working environment is very good, isn’t it? Is there any other idea to work more comfortable for you?
-I think it’s very important to clarify in yourself what you can and can’t do.Tell my boss in advance what I can‘t do, and If I want to try a job that even if it’s not so easy because my disability, I ask my boss in advance “It takes about this much time for me to get it done, is that okay?”. I may take on a job just because I want to do it, and if I can’t do it in the end, I may cause trouble.
In addition, in order to proceed with the work, I go to work a little earlier than my colleagues and start work earlier, and further I think about the time allocation of my work so that I can finish at the same time as my colleagues.
–It’s a very good way to tell your boss how long it takes to work.
Having a disability can make you more patient and frustrated at work.What do you do at such a situation?
-If you work for a company, regardless of whether people with disability or not, I think there are lots of times worry about your work, environment and so on. You may not be able to your boss about your worries, but at least I try not to bend the point that I can’t compromise.I think there are times when you have to make your boss look good from other people’s perspectives.But if you don’t say clearly, otherwise your boss won’t get it.If you tell to your boss about it once but it doesn’t get through, I think it’s important to change your opinions into other words and try again.To that end, I think it is important to clarify the criteria for what you want to cherish on a daily basis.
“I always thought about how I can what I can’t do”
−【Yuki】You take care of your feelings not only when you looking a job, but also when you proceeding your job.
Then, could you tell me how you spend your childhood?
-【Yusuke】Since I was a child, I accepted the fact that I had a disability, so I didn’t have much time to blame myself or be pessimistic about why I’m a person with disability.
However,I’ve always been thinking about”How can I do what I can’t do?”For example, when I playing with friends, even if I can’t do the same as my friends, I hope it would be nice to change the way I can do it and spend a fun time with everyone.
At that time, I mainly used a walker called PC Walker. During break time and after school I used to play ball and tag in the gym with my friends. I used to be an active. Especially when I was in the upper grades of elementary school and junior high school, I belonged to the basketball club, so I always ran around.
When I run around with a PC walker, the basketball hit it, so I dribbled while stationary on the spot or passed the ball to my friends.I was playing that I could do even if I don’t move. This is also a good experience that I enjoyed with my friends by changing to the way I can.
Challenge overseas by encountering a wheelchair basketball.
-【Yusuke】I entered a special needs school for the first time in high school.Actually, I wanted to go to a school in my hometown, but because of I was playing basketball all the time, I failed the exam to the school I wanted to go.
There was no basketball club at the special needs school, but I met wheelchair basketball and belonged to a local wheelchair basketball team.The position is a guard, and I was allowed to play in the game a little bit.At that time, there was a national sports festival in my hometown, and my team was the only team in the prefecture. Because of the reason,I also had the valuable experience of being able to participate in the sports festival.
At that time, I also liked English and wanted to go abroad, so when I was in third year of high school, I participated in training to have a cultural exchange with people with disabilities in Hawaii and learn about barrier-free.The experience was more exciting than I imagined.I wanted to learn more English and foreign studies, so after graduating from high school, I decided to try to participate in an individual training and applied for it.
In order to participate in the training, I had to pass the screening of documents and interviews in English. So I went to English conversation school and practiced interviews by speaking English.In the training, I wanted to learn about the professional wheelchair basketball that was enthusiastic in overseas, and while experiencing wheelchair basketball overseas, I also wanted to know the difference between overseas professional teams and Japanese teams. Further after back to Japan I would like to introduce wheelchairs basketball in overseas to Japan.In the end, I didn’t pass the exam, but it was a very good experience.
-【Yuki】You’ve been challenged a lot of things.Have you continued playing wheelchair basketball after that?
-【Yusuke】Yes.I like basketball even after Even if I became a member of society. I often go to see professional basketball games on holidays.I support the local team, go to see the opening match by myself, and enjoy watching the game on weekends without any other plans.
In addition to basketball, I’m also addicted to making a song on my computer called Digital audio workstation, which I started recently.In fact, I used to do a little band activity and was in charge of vocals and harmonica.We also performed live two or three times, so it was a good time to have fun.
Don’t give up because of my disability, I’ll try
-【Yuki】It seems that your private is also very fulfilling. What was it good to do to achieve what you wanted to do?
-【Yusuke】 I think it’s important to try anything.I don’t think I can’t do something because of my disability, or whether it will come true or not. If I want to do it, I’ll try it. By trying, you find out many things. For example, “how was the result?” ,”How did you feel?” and ” What are the difficult things to do?” and so on, and then you know how to try next.
When I try, I find it difficult for me. In those cases, I may ask people.I used to think it was embarrassing to ask people, so I couldn’t ask people well.Recently, I’ve been able to think that it would be good if I ask someone instead of me to do it.
Some goals in my life
-【Yuki】Do you have any goals or things you would like to achieve in the future?
-【Yusuke】I’m preparing to start a business with my wife now.But I don’t want to be too profitable or rich.I think it’s best that we can continue to have fun doing it.I think if we have fun, we can make similar friends around us.It would be nice if we could create such a place where everyone can get together and make a place and time for everyone to enjoy, without asking for anything in return.
– Finally, please say a word to the people who are looking at this site.
-I think that there are still a lot of young people in the person who sees this site.I think that it is good to try anything that is interested in for now because you can open up your future from now on.Everyone may stumble, and it doesn’t mean that it7s wrong.Even if you stumble, there are definitely people around you who will listen to you, for example friends, parents, and so on.You just ask such people to listen your worried, and disappear unexpectedly.So stop once and talk to someone.
Even if the person who listened to you gives you advice, it is not necessarily absolute.you have to think that there is such a way of thinking, and it is better to move on to the next step based on the advice that you think is good for you.So don’t be afraid to try anything interested in even if that is small.
