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INVISIBLE DISABILITIES Joyful gathering welcomes Navy vet Genoa couple reunited after 4th deployment By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Clinton Rosette Middle School eighth grade language arts teacher Treveda Redmond talks about how she learned to ask for and accept help from her church and school family when she was recovering from her double mastectomy in December 2013 on Wednesday in her classroom at the school. Redmond was diagnosed with stage zero breast cancer in October 2013, which is rarely diagnosed so early. Her cancer cells presented as a skin rash. She is now cancer free.
Some DeKalb County workers struggle with unseen disorders By ANDREA AZZO
Prevalence of disabilities
aazzo@shawmedia.com DeKALB – DeKalb resident Kristin Maldonado finds comfort in knowing her manager at Michaels in DeKalb struggles with the same autoimmune disorder as she does. Maldonado was diagnosed with Hashimoto thyroiditis when she was 12 years old. Now 29, the disorder that attacks her thyroid has affected her energy levels. She regularly has to monitor her thyroid-stimulating hormone levels with blood tests, is prone to depression and has plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the foot. Her store manager at Michaels, Shannon Carpenter, also has Hashimoto thyroiditis. “She completely understands,” Maldonado said. “Some other people don’t understand and think it’s normal to be tired, but when you’re tired all the time and can’t do normal activities because your feet hurt, all I want to do is sleep all day.” Not every employee has the same luxury of confiding in their bosses about their disabilities. An article recently published in the journal, Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, found many employees struggle with disclosing their invisible disabilities, which are conditions not immediately no-
Estimates from the American Community Survey and Survey of Income and Program Participation show an average of 13.4 percent of adults ages 21 to 64 have a disability. An estimated 6.8 percent of the American workforce reported having a disability in 2010. These estimates may be lower because of people’s reluctance to report disabilities.
Redmond works in her classroom Wednesday in preparation for the beginning of the school year. Redmond will start her first full year teaching after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis in October. ticeable. The article states disclosing an invisible disability can affect the employee’s chances of getting a promotion as well as their social relationships and the overall health of the employee. Northern Illinois University psychology professor Alecia Santuzzi was the lead author in the article. Santuzzi worked with Purdue University psychology professor Deborah Rupp to raise attention to the issue and to point out how current legislation might not be sensitive to those with invisible disabilities. “Research suggests concealing stigmatizing information
does weigh down on cognitive resources,” Santuzzi said. “Mental energy that one could be devoting to being a better worker is somewhat distracted or challenged because part of their attention is on managing that information and making sure there aren’t any leaks.” While the article does not call on specific legislation to change, it does cite the challenges of some already in place. An amendment of the Americans With Disabilities Act requires employers to provide accommodations for the
See DISABILITIES, page A6
Source: Invisible Disabilities: Unique Challenges for Employees and Organizations
GENOA – Before Cody Noren was deployed to Afghanistan, his family had a going away party to celebrate all the holidays and anniversaries he was going to miss. After a nearly six-month deployment with the Navy, Chief Petty Officer Noren returned to Genoa on Thursday to a much different celebration. The 29-year-old New York native served as an investigator for the Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435 at Camp Sabalu-Harrison outside of the Bagram military base in Afghanistan. “When you deploy, the world you left stops,” Noren said. “There’s so much going on over there. To have to get used to things, I realize I’m here, but it’s still surreal.” As he was deployed earlier this year, the United States was starting to wind down its military presence in Afghanistan. Asked in April if he wanted to go home early as opposed to November as he was scheduled, he gave the Navy a definitive “yes.”
“You kind of build [the reunion] up in your head. Nothing compared to how it actually felt.” Megan Noren on seeing her husband, Cody, for the first time after his six-month deployment to Afghanistan
On the Web For more photos of the party, visit Daily-Chronicle.com.
See NAVY VET, page A6
Examples of invisible disabilities n Cancer n Depression n Anxiety n Autism n Diabetes n Epilepsy n Autoimmune disorders
Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Voice your opinion Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Would you hesitate to tell your employer about an invisible disability? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
American Legion Riders Post 337 Director Ray Gentilcore thanks U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Cody Noren for his service Thursday during his surprise welcome home party in Genoa.
Obama announces authorization of airstrikes in Iraq By JULIE PACE and ROBERT BURNS The Associated Press WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama authorized U.S. airstrikes in northern Iraq Thursday night, warning they would be launched if needed to defend Americans from advancing Islamic militants and protect civilians under siege.
His announcement threatened a renewal of U.S. military involvement in the country’s long sectarian war. In a televised late-night statement from the White House, Obama said American military planes already had carried out airdrops of humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of Iraqi religious minorities surrounded by mil-
itants and desperately in need of food and water. “ T o d a y America is coming to help,” he declared. The ann o u n c e m e n t s Barack r e f l e c t e d t h e Obama deepest American engagement in Iraq since
U.S. troops withdrew in late 2011 after nearly a decade of war. Obama, who made his remarks in a steady and somber tone, has staked much of his legacy as president on ending what he has called the “dumb war” in Iraq. Obama said the humanitarian airdrops were made at the request of the Iraqi government. The food and wa-
ter supplies were delivered to the tens of thousands of Yazidis trapped on a mountain without food and water. The Yazidis, who follow an ancient religion with ties to Zoroastrianism, fled their homes after the Islamic State group issued an ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay a religious fine, flee their homes or face death. Mindful of the public’s
aversion to another lengthy war, Obama acknowledged that the prospect of a new round of U.S. military action would be a cause for concern among many Americans. He vowed anew not to put American combat troops back on the ground in Iraq and said there was no U.S. military solution
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A3 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
See IRAQ, page A6
Weather A2, 5-6 A7 B1-4
Advice Comics Classified
C4 C5 C6-8
High:
78
Low:
62