Section IV: Successfully Navigating Your Chosen Path

As a person with a disability who has a career in the arts, you need to be continually aware of issues that will affect your long-term success. Whether you have chosen a career as a performer, artist, writer, arts administrator, music librarian, or architect, this section provides resources and advice that can help you. It addresses the following questions:

• How will being an episodic earner affect me?
• How do SSI, SSDI, Medicare, and Medicaid work?
• What are work incentives, and how can I use them to my advantage?
• What is a reasonable accommodation, and how do I get one?
• What is the Americans with Disabilities Act, and how does it help me?
• Where do I learn about resources that will educate my employer about disability and accommodation issues?
• What are copyrights and trademarks?
• How do I get my work copyrighted or trademarked?

Chapter 10: Basic Benefit Issues for Artists with Disabilities

A. The Episodic Earner

B. Health Insurance

C. Social Security: Understanding SSI and SSDI

D. Understanding Work Incentives

E. Work Incentives That Apply to Both SSI and SSDI Recipients

F. Work Incentives for SSDI Recipients Only

G. Work Incentives for SSI Recipients Only

H. A Closer Look at PASS

I. The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 And You (TWWIAA)

J. Understanding Medicare

K. Understanding Medicaid

Chapter 11: Working with your Employer

A. Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

B. Accommodations for Work

C. Resources to Educate Your New Employer