- December 26, 2023
- Posted by: legaleseblogger
- Category: Related News
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Short Term and Long Term Disability Options for Degenerative Eye Disease
As a 33-year-old software developer with degenerative eye disease (Stargardt’s), I am finding that my vision impairment is heavily impacting my ability to work. I had initially hoped that I would be able to adapt with low vision using modern computers and tools, but I am now experiencing massive migraines when using screens. This has significantly reduced my productivity and made it difficult for me to perform as I once did.
I am actively seeking long-term solutions to accommodate my disability, but in the meantime, I am in need of short-term and long-term disability options. I have coverage through my employer’s disability insurance provider, Manulife, but I am unsure of how the process works and what my options are. Can I be on long-term disability indefinitely? What are the potential repercussions with my employer if I am unable to continue working in my current capacity?
I am feeling stressed, scared, and overwhelmed by this situation, and I am unsure of how to navigate it. I would greatly appreciate any guidance or advice on the disability options available to me and how to make the best decisions for my future.
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****** just grabbed a
My spouse became disabled and is on LTD essentially indefinitely. After two years of LTD, they were officially terminated from their job, but the LTD coverage will continue to pay them 70% of their salary until they are 65. When they were terminated, the insurance company required them to apply for CPP-Disability, and once the CPP-D payments started, the disability insurance payments were reduced by the corresponding amount. My spouse has to get their doctor to fill out forms every year stating that their disability hasnÔÇÖt improved, and they continue to be unable to work. I expect that to continue, but I donÔÇÖt see any reason why the LTD wonÔÇÖt continue until 65.
Edit: typo.
More than 20 years ago I worked with a software developer who was completely blind: he actually had his eyes removed because they were getting infected and bothering him.
He used a screen-reader that was optimized for reading C code, among other tools. I’m sure that technology has only gotten better with time.
Serious question: can you still read on something like an e-ink type of display (not LCD/OLED), like Kobo or Kindle?
I remember reading about someone that had issue using any type of monitor/TVs, he would develop migraines quickly if he did. Until he discovered it mostly originated from the backlighting. He built himself some kind of monitor that would rely on ambient light. It was barely usable, but it allowed him to do stuff.
It was a long time ago but today, there are better options. But they won’t be cheap. That’s why you might want to see if e-ink displays are still sustainable for you first. If they are, there are monitors with this type of screen technology: [https://www.amazon.com/DASUNG-25-3-Curved-Ink-Monitor/dp/B0CJVSDQ2Z/](https://www.amazon.com/DASUNG-25-3-Curved-Ink-Monitor/dp/B0CJVSDQ2Z/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=e-ink+monitor&qid=1703367618&sr=8-2) (see the review “Helps people with post-concussion and other vision issues”, this is absolutely true)
You need to know: these monitors have terrible refresh rate and pixel response time. They are completely unsuitable for anything besides text applications. And they only do grayscale for now. I know, it’s not ideal…. But it MAY allow you to keep working a bit longer, so I thought I would share this information. It may help, or not. Maybe you could even convince your employer to purchase one for you?
I wish you the best of luck.
Could you move in to more of a management / project planning roll? I know of a blind professional insurance broker and have heard of other blind professionals who use adaptive software tools and in some cases have an assistant who can see.
If you could lead a team of devs maybe that could work out?
I would suggest talking to a lawyer about this. Even if they charge you a couple grand it would be worth it. My cousin was hit by a car walking home from work. We got him a lawyer on contingency and found out thereÔÇÖs a process that has to be followed to ensure all his insurance would cover him. His auto insurance coverage him, the drivers insurance paid out, his ltd paid out etc. But it wasnÔÇÖt something we lay people would ever have known about. The different insurers had to be claimed in a certain way and in a certain order. The lawyers office handled all the forms etc so that he got everything that was coming to him and didnÔÇÖt get hosed by the insurance companies which sometimes happens.
Try assistive tech for people who are fully blind and don’t use screens at all. You might find it more efficient that trying to adapt to a screen with low vision.
I’m a programmer and I work with one who is completely blind and uses a screen reader. He’s extremely efficient, one of the best I know. It will take a lot of work to adapt and relearn things, but I can say with confidence that programming is a field where lack of sight does not disqualify you from achieving success.
Here’s a video (mostly talking) about how a blind developer uses Visual Studio. Notice how quickly he’s able to read through text, much faster than a regular person.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKISPePFrIs
Here’s a thread about another software engineer losing his vision reaching out for advice and the suggestions he god.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22918980
An old computer science professor of mine is blind and has been since birth. You may be able to contact him for help
https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/math-cs-stats/people/daniel-zingaro
https://www.danielzingaro.com/
Read your policy. Some employment policies cut out after 2 years. Other continue to age 65. So read your documents.
In general personally held policies are until age 65. A good reason for high earners to have their own policy.
Sorry to make a dumb assumption, can you use projector instead of screen?
Another consideration is to apply for the Federal accessibility teams (policy, testing, etc.). Might be a good match for the teams as they might look for people with previous background in comp sci.
I will send you a PM for a team you can reach out to, to learn more about options.
Yes there is LTD, it works as in, your doctor fills out a bunch of forms and Manulife will approve and pay you if meets the eligibility. You *will* fight them every steps of the way to get paid, at the start, in two years, etc…just be aware of that.
>Can someone be on LTD indefinitely?
Generally no.
>Wouldn’t my employer just fire me eventually?
Against the law to fire someone that has a disability.
Regarding LTD, you would have to look at your benefits booklet. In my experience (contract writer for another insurance company), there could be a limit of 2 or 5 years on LTD overall, or it can be 2 years of you being unable to do your current job and after that, any job (offhand I don’t remember the exact wording even though I look at it 100x a day). You would also need to go on EI sick benefits first if you don’t have short term coverage at work.
Are there other roles you could transition to?
Depending on the LTD policy itÔÇÖs possible that in order to receive the benefits the first 2 years after the date of disability (the day you stop working) you have to prove (through medical records) that you canÔÇÖt do your actual job. At the two year anniversary, you may have to prove that you canÔÇÖt do any job for which you are suited by education and experience.
If you have not yet, go to your family doctor to report your difficulties at work. This will be very important and help the LTD insurance carrier to make the right decision and approve the benefits.
A friend of a friend of mine is fully blind (from birth) and is a developer; he uses a screenreader and is still extremely effective and productive with his work.
And I’m sure the tech around this stuff is only going to get better in general, especially with AI tools. It might be a bit of a tough transition, but I think with a little re-invention of your day-to-day process, you can continue to work as a developer!
Yah disability isn’t the answer. Regardless of what disability you apply for, none of them are comparable to a working wage. Retraining is a better route to go and because it’s for a medical reason, it’s likely you will be able to have your program paid for
This may be a far out there expensive test, but have you tried a meta headset using the desktop view? IÔÇÖm not sure how your diseases effects 3D, so it may work for you.
Hey might be blunt but if screens are giving you health problems then the only solution is to reduce drastically screens. Even in a manager role you will have to stare at screens constantly
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That might mean making a career switch, sitting in front of computers is not only profession
You can speak to the benefits administrator to go through understanding your LTD plan. With many plans, your position is held for 2 to 3 years while you are off receiving treatment. A case manager will drive you insane trying every possible thing in the world to get you back to work.
If, in the end, you are considered permanently disabled, your LTD plan will have some form of ongoing payment. Speak with your plan administrator and they will share the percentage with you.
Here is my tip as a likely to be taken out by disability before retirement, when you find out how much of your income is covered, say 65%, get your monthly budget at or below that for fixed/necessary expenses
There are Braille “displays”. I’m not familiar with your disease but from relatives losing sight, I’d learn Braille ASAP.
There are a ton of adaptive technologies that allow the blind to code
LTD can vary, check your insurance policy
You could try switching languages.
Color Forth for example.
Unrelated directly to finance, but there are absolutely options and you may be able to continue your existing career, or at least something within the software development realm if your current job doesnÔÇÖt completely align.
I work managing a team for a school board. We support many blind and low vision students in the k-12 panel for our board. Software development is actually incredibly popular with our secondary students, and if it something you enjoy you could still likely pursue.
Regarding accommodations you may need – The biggest equipment and software providers weÔÇÖve worked with are HT consulting and Frontier computing (within Ontario).
For example, many of our students with declining vision start with Freedom ScientificÔÇÖs Fusion, which is a combo of Zoomtext and Jaws. Zoomtext does magnification. Jaws does screen reading. An alternative option for screen reading If cost is a concern is NVDA. I actually keep it installed on my device to keep an eye on accessibility. Most blind students I have had the privilege of meeting use keyboard shortcuts 100% for navigation, and disable touchpads of laptops and skip mice.
Every one of the policies are different, If like my policy I was on Short term for a year (Wages paid by the company) then transitioned to LTD (I would have contact with a representative about once every two months (this went on until LTD hit the 2 year mark). After the 2 year mark I had to go in for testing to see if I was able to do “ANY” job (Equivalent wage) at this point I also had to apply for CPPD. Since they could not find a job that could accept my disabilities I remain on LTD minus the amount of cppd. Check how your plan works with your HR group ours we could pay extra to up benefits from the 50% we had to 100% or 100% + COL, kind of wish I had taken the COL also with todays rising costs but I had never been sick a day in my life and never thought I would need it…. Good Luck
ThereÔÇÖs a fully blind dev I believe at Microsoft who I saw at ignite a couple years ago. Might be worth tracking him down and seeing if he has any advice on tools or just to discuss how he went through it.
https://news.microsoft.com/apac/features/saqib-shaikh-on-technology-and-inclusion-creating-an-ai-future-with-possibilities-for-all/
Look into ozone therapy 10 pass and try Lactoferrin for eyes as well.
One of the best developers I know is blind. He uses the Apple ecosystem and apparently the accessibility tooling is excellent.
I am sorry man. Good luck. I hope everything work outs for you. This reminded me how important is the accessibility.
There was a fully blind programmer at a company I used to work at. He used a synthesizer to speak code to him. It was unintelligible to anyone but him. He was very efficient. This was 25 years ago.
not sure about the financial stuff, but you should look up Lucas Radaelli. He is blind and a software engineer at google. Might serve as inspiration on your future prospects, there is a lot of hope.
I think you might benefit from speaking to an occupational therapist specializing in blindness before considering quitting work altogether. They know all the new technology that might help you.
*quitting, not doing
Molly Burke has interviewed a whole lot of blind people working successfully! Highly recommend checking out her youtube channel, if you haven’t already.
OP, I donÔÇÖt have what you have but my computer screens and phone use to give me debilitating migraines where IÔÇÖd have to go to bed early and shut all the curtains (I almost considered wearing sunglasses inside it was so bad).
I later learned of yellow light and it was day and night for me, I changed my screens to legit the yellowest it could be and I donÔÇÖt ever have them anymore.
Software sales?