I have long documented bipolar disorder. I am very stable & have an amazing career. I definitely have special needs though. I work remote with a flexible schedule. Sometimes I rest during the day between batches of work. I have 20 years experience. It’s easier to do that now.
I know I’m protected by ADA and have the right to accommodations, but I am nervous disclosing to NCARB my diagnosis with a doctor’s letter. I’m afraid it will flag me, and I could possibly be denied a license. Is that totally irrational? I’ve been told to not tell NCARB anything, but fuck stigma. I’m smart and talented. I owe it to myself to get licensed.
Aren't you equally protected from retaliation? Honestly F* NCARB. If you feel you need accommodation, esp after demonstrating that you have decades of doing this in the real world, then force them to. If they retaliate, sue them. Destroy NCARB for all of us. They have no friends here or anywhere.
honestly, that’s what someone I trust told me. If they deny or discriminate, it’s lawsuit time.
I am damn proud of myself. I worked on about 60 million dollars worth of projects in the past two years. I’ve become an expert in large scale, complex healthcare projects. I’m a fucking unicorn & I’m proud of it. I hope to get my license and freely speak to students about breaking down stigma and achieving anything, even with a serious mental disability.
I don’t know you, but Im proud of you too! I have close family members with severe mental illnesses, and have struggled myself with depression and anxiety…it’s tough.
It is tough, but I’m living proof. It’s so important for me to get licensed because I want to speak to students about it. That it’s ok to struggle and there are pathways for neurodivergent architects. Also, I’d like to have more conversations with architects about creating mentally healthy work environments. I love healthcare design because I consider how people feel in our
first.
I'd be far more willing to disclose that to NCARB than to an employer ... NCARB has very little perceived reason to discriminant against you, nor do the licensing boards. Assuming your accommodations are reasonable, it doesn't seem like they would have any real reason to say no, let alone retaliate.
I am a type 1 diabetic. While this condition is NOTHING like what you have to deal with artsygirl I do need special accommodations.
I explained my condition to NCARB and they instructed the testing centers to allow me various concessions while testing. They included: being allowed to brink my blood sugar meter with me, keep food with me, have extra time between portions of the exams, and have the test timer be stopped if my blood sugar went out of whack.
I understand that mental health is still a very taboo subject in the US and it can carry unjust stigma with it. I also understand that being a diabetic and being bipolar are vastly different. I will say that I think you should tell NCARB about your condition as I believe that they will work with you to accommodate your condition. If they don't , then sue the crap out of them.
It’s funny, because I often compare bipolar to diabetes. Both are illnesses that are dependent on medication to be well and function. When I was first diagnosed my doctors used the analogy. Why stigmatize a brain disorder? It’s an organ just like the kidneys. We don’t stigmatize kidneys. Anyway, great response!
The question to ask NCARB is if the doctor's letter or anything else disclosing your medical condition goes into your Council Record (the thing that gets sent out to the state boards). I suspect the answer is no.
If you don't have a criminal record and have no history of violating architectural practice regulations somewhere, there's no reason for a state board to deny granting you a license after you pass the ARE.
Yet…imagine having a horrific episode while working for a large firm. When I returned to work I was paid much less than before. Since then I’m completely sober, work on my health daily (really work), have an annazing medical/support team and I have a remote job out of my state making twice as much money. The point of this story is there are two mindsets. Sick or healing. If I stuck around believing what was available to me locally in the profession, I’d continue to believe I was not worthy of equitable pay for my talents & skills. I’m still a little concerned about getting licensed in my state & sometimes consider changing my jurisdiction to the state my firm is in. I’m stubborn though and part of me wants to prove everyone wrong and keep my state jurisdiction,
I am in a similar boat - choosing either sick or healing. like advice above, confirm whether they put the letter in the file or not, but then I'd say go take a test or a few and see how it goes. You know what tools you have to manage yourself every day and the testing environment is just like anything else - sending support. You'll do fine
Accommodations from NCARB for exams - mental health
I have long documented bipolar disorder. I am very stable & have an amazing career. I definitely have special needs though. I work remote with a flexible schedule. Sometimes I rest during the day between batches of work. I have 20 years experience. It’s easier to do that now.
I know I’m protected by ADA and have the right to accommodations, but I am nervous disclosing to NCARB my diagnosis with a doctor’s letter. I’m afraid it will flag me, and I could possibly be denied a license. Is that totally irrational? I’ve been told to not tell NCARB anything, but fuck stigma. I’m smart and talented. I owe it to myself to get licensed.
Thoughts? Advice?
Aren't you equally protected from retaliation? Honestly F* NCARB. If you feel you need accommodation, esp after demonstrating that you have decades of doing this in the real world, then force them to. If they retaliate, sue them. Destroy NCARB for all of us. They have no friends here or anywhere.
honestly, that’s what someone I trust told me. If they deny or discriminate, it’s lawsuit time.
I am damn proud of myself. I worked on about 60 million dollars worth of projects in the past two years. I’ve become an expert in large scale, complex healthcare projects. I’m a fucking unicorn & I’m proud of it. I hope to get my license and freely speak to students about breaking down stigma and achieving anything, even with a serious mental disability.
I don’t know you, but Im proud of you too! I have close family members with severe mental illnesses, and have struggled myself with depression and anxiety…it’s tough.
It is tough, but I’m living proof. It’s so important for me to get licensed because I want to speak to students about it. That it’s ok to struggle and there are pathways for neurodivergent architects. Also, I’d like to have more conversations with architects about creating mentally healthy work environments. I love healthcare design because I consider how people feel in our
first.
I'd be far more willing to disclose that to NCARB than to an employer ... NCARB has very little perceived reason to discriminant against you, nor do the licensing boards. Assuming your accommodations are reasonable, it doesn't seem like they would have any real reason to say no, let alone retaliate.
Best of luck!
I am a type 1 diabetic. While this condition is NOTHING like what you have to deal with artsygirl I do need special accommodations.
I explained my condition to NCARB and they instructed the testing centers to allow me various concessions while testing. They included: being allowed to brink my blood sugar meter with me, keep food with me, have extra time between portions of the exams, and have the test timer be stopped if my blood sugar went out of whack.
I understand that mental health is still a very taboo subject in the US and it can carry unjust stigma with it. I also understand that being a diabetic and being bipolar are vastly different. I will say that I think you should tell NCARB about your condition as I believe that they will work with you to accommodate your condition. If they don't , then sue the crap out of them.
Good luck, you've got this!
It’s funny, because I often compare bipolar to diabetes. Both are illnesses that are dependent on medication to be well and function. When I was first diagnosed my doctors used the analogy. Why stigmatize a brain disorder? It’s an organ just like the kidneys. We don’t stigmatize kidneys. Anyway, great response!
I'm glad I could be somewhat helpful with this!
The question to ask NCARB is if the doctor's letter or anything else disclosing your medical condition goes into your Council Record (the thing that gets sent out to the state boards). I suspect the answer is no.
If you don't have a criminal record and have no history of violating architectural practice regulations somewhere, there's no reason for a state board to deny granting you a license after you pass the ARE.
I had to provide a doctors letter about my diabetes. That didn't go in my NCARB record.
Thank goodness it's not a crime to be sick... yet.
Yet…imagine having a horrific episode while working for a large firm. When I returned to work I was paid much less than before. Since then I’m completely sober, work on my health daily (really work), have an annazing medical/support team and I have a remote job out of my state making twice as much money. The point of this story is there are two mindsets. Sick or healing. If I stuck around believing what was available to me locally in the profession, I’d continue to believe I was not worthy of equitable pay for my talents & skills. I’m still a little concerned about getting licensed in my state & sometimes consider changing my jurisdiction to the state my firm is in. I’m stubborn though and part of me wants to prove everyone wrong and keep my state jurisdiction,
I am in a similar boat - choosing either sick or healing. like advice above, confirm whether they put the letter in the file or not, but then I'd say go take a test or a few and see how it goes. You know what tools you have to manage yourself every day and the testing environment is just like anything else - sending support. You'll do fine
Good luck artsygirl!! It sounds like your experience and knowledge make you an excellent candidate and I hope you succeed.
Thank you!
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