Ashland — The office has helped thousands to work and live better lives, although it remains relatively unknown to many who could benefit from its assistance.

“We’ve been around for a while and people don’t seem to know about us,” said Teresa Shortridge, a vocational rehabilitation and communication specialist with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. Shortridge specializes in helping people with hearing loss find ways to retain jobs or find employment.

“We work with anyone who has physical or mental conditions which prevent them from being able to work,” Shortridge said, explaining her expertise is working with people dealing with hearing loss.

“A lot of my clients are working, but the hearing loss is interfering with their job,” she said.

Hearing loss is something Shortridge has personal experience with. She worked for the Boyd County School District for 14 years helping children with speech challenges before she suffered a dramatic hearing loss and required a cochlear implant to help her understand what people were trying to tell her.

“I was really frustrated,” she recalled. “I had all this training and I couldn’t work. I was a candidate for the implant in 2000. Then I came to work for Vocational Rehab two years later and I’ve been here six years.

“My experience really helps me with those clients who have hearing loss. It’s a very rewarding job, There is never a dull day around here. Just this morning I worked with someone who has anxiety problems, another who is learning disabled and one who is hearing impaired.”

Regardless of the physical or mental challenge, the office’s staff members have several potential solutions as well as new technology to help clients overcome obstacles.

“We have so much new technology that can help people,” Shortridge said, citing amplified telephones, light-flashing alarms, devices designed to allow for better hearing in a crowded room or noisy situation. “We have people doing all kinds of jobs — from fast food to physicians’ assistants.”

Shortridge said the first thing she and other staff members do with a new client is establish goals.

“We try to come up with something they can do with their disability and we often do vocational testing to help determine what their interests are,” she said. “People may not know what their abilities are. They’re often more used to being told what they can’t do.”

Once interests and abilities are determined, Shortridge said the goal is to help each person “get to the highest level they can,” professionally, using different training programs and even college courses to accomplish the task.

“Actually this is our busiest time of the year because we’re getting people ready for college and vocational schools,” Shortridge said, patting a thick stack of folders on her desk. She said many clients pursue vocations such as welding, auto mechanics and cosmetology.

Others, she said, may require “supported employment” depending on their capabilities and interests.

“We offer individualized service and plans for services and we stay with each client until they have been working for 90 days,” she said, emphasizing “everybody does not need the same kinds of things.”

The staff is also prepared to work with those who suspect they have a disability but haven’t been diagnosed.

“For people who suspect they have an undiagnosed disability, such as a learning disability or mental condition, we can tell them what they need — such as a hearing test — and we can look at their insurance and arrange for testing,” she said, explaining insurance will often pay for a hearing test but may not cover the cost of a hearing aid.

Shortridge advises those interested in vocational rehabilitation services in Boyd, Greenup or Carter counties to call for an appointment.

“We want to get them to the right person,” Shortridge said, noting the office works in cooperation with many other agencies, including the employment office it shares a building with. “The goal is for us to be a one-stop shop.”

There are similar vocational rehabilitation offices serving each county in the state, she said. For more information, call (606) 920-9338 or visit http://ovr.ky.gov.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.