Transformational Trauma and Healing: Asking for Accommodations Can Make It Better for Everyone

Join me in my conversation with Chrissy Nizer, MVA Administrator for the State of Maryland. Chrissy speaks with me about a young man who was struggling to pass his learner's knowledge test and how his mother's request for help allowed the organization to rethink how they approach things.

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Transcript

5:00 - Carrie Rickert Welcome, Chrissy. Thank you so much for being here today.

5:20 - Chrissy Nizer Thanks for having me.

5:22 - Carrie Rickert Absolutely. So before we get started, I thought our listeners might appreciate some context to how we got here. You and I have met once, I think, but my dad knows you well. He once upon a time occupied the administrative role that you're currently in. My dad loves talking about what an amazing job you're doing, and he is the main driver behind this particular episode. So recently he sent me an article from the Washington Post, and it was entitled, An Autistic Man Kept Failing Maryland's Driver's Test officials changed it.

6:04 - Carrie Rickert My dad knew that I would be interested in this for a bunch of different reasons. First, I have a son on the spectrum, and he has taken and failed that test. He has also taken and passed that test. Fortunately, it only took twice. But, you know, it was really hard for him to, like, just navigate that whole process. And I tried very hard to have help him navigate that. So he's now working, he's finished the classroom hours for driver's ed and now he's working through his driver's hours, which is also really challenging because he's very, very anxious about it.

6:49 - Carrie Rickert So my dad also knew that I'd be interested in talking to you about this because I speak on neurodiversity in the workplace as part of diversity, equity, and inclusion programming for different industries. So this article highlighting how your organization has accommodated someone who is neurodiverse feels so good to me.

7:14 - Chrissy Nizer Well, thank you so much. I have to say your dad was quite the leader of the NBA and his mark is still on the institution in so many ways. So I'm very proud of the fact that he was excited about this newest development.

7:28 - Carrie Rickert Oh, yeah, he definitely was. And seriously, Chrissy, I'm like, my dad, you should talk to Chrissy. Make sure you talk to Chrissy. So he loves what you are doing with the organization and he keeps a close eye and is just so happy and so proud of you. And so, you know, he knows you're doing a great job and now you know too, in case he hasn't told you.

7:57 - Chrissy Nizer Thank you. I'm very blessed to have many great mentors and I certainly include him as one of them.

8:02 - Carrie Rickert Awesome. I have found that people often need permission to ask for accommodations. And, you know, I'll give you an example. I was taking my kids to Universal Studios in Florida, and we were doing the whole Harry Potter thing because we had read all the Harry Potter books and all that good stuff. I remember being really stressed out about it because Simon is not a very good flyer and he also has a very hard time in lines. He loves rides though. And he loves like, I mean, he loved the Harry Potter books and I wanted him to get to experience this.

8:49 - Carrie Rickert And I was telling one of my friends and she's like, Have you gotten accommodations at the, you know, for the flight? Maybe you won't have to wait in line. And you can also ask at the amusement park. I'm like, really? That didn't even occur to me. Because they don't advertise things such as that because they don't want people taking advantage. Because with HIPAA and things like that, you can't really check and say, you know, like, yes, you get accommodations, you don't like if people ask, you get them.

9:31 - Carrie Rickert And that changed our experience so tremendously, like we had a wonderful time, because we didn't have to wait in line. And My son still doesn't like flying, but we've made it as easy as possible by making sure we do pre-boarding and things like that. As far as when he was taking his learners, even then it wouldn't have occurred to me to ask for accommodations. And I talk about accommodations. I talk to people in the workplace about how we should be making this common language, how if you need anything, we want to help you be successful in what you're pursuing.

10:26 - Carrie Rickert And I would imagine that everyone at MVA wants the people coming in, taking their learner's test, taking their driving test, you want them to be successful, right? 100%, 100%.

10:42 - Chrissy Nizer Yeah. And, um, you know, we had always done accommodations like, uh, on time tests, for example. Um, some people do better with printed out test, um, uh, orally reading the tests as opposed to, you know, the written test. So there was various flavors of accommodations that we offered. But I think to your point, one of the things we've done recently, because we are all appointments and we want that experience to be good when the customer comes, we, um, allow the customer to indicate if they need an accommodation.

11:12 - Chrissy Nizer When they come to the MBA. When they indicate that, it goes to our Fair Practices team, and they take a look at it and help determine what the appropriate accommodation is based on the issue, and then communicate that to the branch manager. So when the customer comes, it's not the surprise of, how should we handle this? What exactly is the accommodation? That's all been worked out in advance. And I think that's been a really good step forward to try to make it a better experience for everybody.

11:41 - Carrie Rickert Yeah, I absolutely agree because I think it is often so hard for people who are navigating their diversity challenges to also navigate asking for help and pointing out blatantly, like, I have some issues, can you help me? And yet everyone would have a more successful experience if they were okay doing that and people were okay accepting that. So it sounds like it is becoming more common language for motor vehicles to talk about accommodations and make that something that is completely acceptable and judgment-free.

12:42 - Chrissy Nizer Exactly right. I mean, certainly the Moore administration is really focused on equity and leaving no one behind. Right. What does that look like, And that means meeting people where they are. And certainly we've always said at MBA, we serve every resident of the state of Maryland, regardless of socioeconomic impact or level, regardless of language, regardless of where they are in life. And so. It really is incumbent upon us to make sure we've got those tools and resources and understanding.

13:11 - Chrissy Nizer I mean, frankly, when we deployed plain language, it just wasn't something that we had a lot of education on. So we worked with the Developmental Disability Council and they connected us with an expert and they trained our team and what plain language is. And I'm really grateful for that, frankly, because To your point, it not only helps people that may have some language disabilities, but it helps everybody. There's various reading levels out there. You don't know what challenges are there.

13:41 - Chrissy Nizer And so I'm really excited about that.

13:43 - Carrie Rickert Yeah, absolutely. That is so great. So let's talk about plain language a little bit, because that is what the accommodation, the change in the test was for this particular young man. Now, is that a permanent change? Because plain language is helpful for everybody.

14:07 - Carrie Rickert Or was that a an accommodation for him specifically?

14:12 - Chrissy Nizer Originally, it was accommodation for him specifically. So what happened was he had taken the test. I didn't count the number of times, but I definitely know it was over 20. And his mother, who, like many folks, young people who have various challenges, was really an advocate. And she was on the board of the Developmental Disabilities Council, and their executive director reached out to me and said, you know,

14:38 - Chrissy Nizer We really need to talk about this and figure out is there a different way to do it. So we actually translated the test working with this language expert into plain language. He still had a challenge with it. And then we realized we had to change the manual too, right? It's not enough to test somebody one way.

14:56 - Chrissy Nizer You have to change the way they learn the information too, so it all comes together. And so ultimately he did pass the test and we were certainly excited.

15:07 - Chrissy Nizer About him passing, but we realized to your point that this was not just a 1 person solution. This was really something that we needed to do for all Maryland residents. So we went about translating all the test questions because we had only done a limited pool for his. Benefit.

15:25 - Chrissy Nizer But we went about translating everything translating the manual fully into plain language and it is now out there on our website and the version of the test that anybody takes is in plain language and that includes the additional. Languages that we offer because we do offer additional languages to take the law test or the knowledge test in.

15:47 - Chrissy Nizer We base them all on plain language with the idea that it benefits everybody to just speak a little more simply, not use jargon and terminology that government agencies tend to use, to be frank with you. So we want to be accessible.

16:03 - Carrie Rickert Well, so it's so interesting because my I had to retake my whole driver's test because I was in a car accident and had a traumatic brain injury. And when you have a traumatic brain injury, people don't just give you your license, let you keep on going. You have to retest for everything. And so I sat for the learner's test again, and I promise you, Chrissy, that I'm reading these questions and I'm like, I totally remember these. They're worded exactly the same as they were when I was 16.

16:47 - Carrie Rickert There were two editions. One was blood alcohol. And texting. Everything else was exactly the same. And I'm like, wow, this hasn't been updated really in a long time. So, you know, I think that, wow, what an opportunity this ended up being. Because not only are you rewriting the test so it is more in language that people speak every day. But it also gives you an opportunity just to look at it and go, okay, yeah, maybe some of that's changed a little bit, right?

17:31 - Chrissy Nizer Definitely. We read some of the questions and I could see how somebody would get confused, right? And you have like a double negative. Then are we trying to trick people or are we just trying to make sure they know the rules of the road? We should just be trying to make sure they know the rules of the road. And so a lot of that got changed, obviously. Consistency of verbs and making sure we're not putting extra things in the sentence that distract all those things that we learned about.

17:58 - Chrissy Nizer Or incredibly helpful, I think, for everybody, because, you know, I think there was a time when it was more about, let's make it as hard as possible. So, um, you know, people, Have a Challenge. To get. Through.

18:07 - Carrie Rickert Right? Cause. It's. Like Reading people out.

18:11 - Chrissy Nizer And we want to make sure people know the rules of the road. Certainly safety is near and dear to my heart. But at the same time, it's not about a reading test. And that's how I explain it to our team, right? We're not testing their reading knowledge. We're testing their knowledge of the content, which is being able to drive. And I'm really learning to drive because it's the first step in the process and certainly not the last.

18:33 - Carrie Rickert Absolutely. Well, it's funny because when my son was taking it, and this was before the changes, so he was doing the practice tests online, right? And he memorized everything. So his challenge when he went in was that he just didn't know what the expectation was. And so when he sat down and like, I wasn't near him and like, you know, like all of those things, he kind of freaked out and then ended up failing it. And he was so upset. And I'm like, but now you know how it goes, right? Now, you know, it's fine.

19:19 - Carrie Rickert Like, we'll come back next week, and you can do it again. And I remember we went to the Easton office, because we live on the Eastern Shore. And we went to that office. And The woman who checked him in said, oh, this is your second time taking the test. And he said, yeah. And she goes, I know you've got it this time. I have faith in you. And it made such a difference to his confidence level. He went over there and like five minutes later, he's like, I'm done. And I'm like, because you passed?

20:02 - Carrie Rickert Yeah, because I'm like sitting out in the other room. Right? Right. And he like just gave me a big thumbs up. But that,

20:05 - Chrissy Nizer You don't want to ask,

20:15 - Carrie Rickert So, you know, I think that's important. To acknowledge as well is that part of the reason he was able to manage that is because your staff was equipped in speaking with him and could see how anxious he was about it and say, you know what, you've got this. You'll be fine. Everything's going to be great. And that was that extra little, like, mom telling him that means nothing at all, right? Like, he needed to hear that from somebody who really didn't know him that well. Like, you can do this.

21:01 - Chrissy Nizer It does make a huge difference. Yeah. And we tell our employees that all the time, not just for the knowledge test, but the driving test, because, you know, there's a great fear about what that entails. And some of our examiners in the past have been known to be pretty stern right now when you show any emotion or Be biased in any way and I certainly understand and respect that but what we've talked about is and showing a little bit of kindness and Compassion at the beginning of the test it can make all the difference in the world just to know You know, we're not gonna put any more barriers in your way than we need to we're just gonna make sure you know how to do this and and And I love that they said, you got this.

21:40 - Chrissy Nizer I have confidence in you. That's wonderful.

21:42 - Carrie Rickert It was so great. And so he hasn't done the driving test yet. But I remember when I took the driving test when I was 16 and then I had to take it again. And when I took it when I was 16, I was a nervous wreck. My dad was the motor vehicle administrator at the time. And I'm like,

22:07 - Chrissy Nizer I'm not sure at all, right? No pressure.

22:10 - Carrie Rickert I was a nervous wreck and the instructor, the guy doing the test was super strict and like, now you need to do this or you didn't do that right. And I finished, I passed and I burst into tears. And then he was like, I don't know what to do, you know, but the second time that I took it, it was totally different. Like, I mean, now granted the guy who was testing me was maybe half my age, like he was maybe 25. And so a little, a little more than half my age, but, um, You know, and but he was like, okay, you're going to be fine on this.

23:03 - Carrie Rickert Let's, let's go ahead and get going. And he was conversational and nice and set me at ease. Which, you know, I mean, I had had a major injury, I was nervous about having to do this again. I knew I could drive, but like being tested on it and then things changed since I was 16, like the things that you're required to do and, you know, the backup cameras really help. So, you know, it makes me glad that there are all of these things that are available now for my kids as they start to drive that, you know, we didn't have.

23:52 - Carrie Rickert But I remember the difference there, you know, like the guy who's just no nonsense, like, we're going to get this done. And, you know, like, I don't care if you pass or fail. And then the other guy was like, you're going to do great. Really, let's just relax about it. It's not a big deal. Like just made me feel capable. And as somebody who suffered a traumatic brain injury, feeling capable was really important to me. And I know that that's one of the like sticking points for my son with driving is that he doesn't always feel capable.

24:40 - Carrie Rickert He's actually a fine driver. He's just very nervous, you know, so like, like, he follows the rules to the letter. But he's nervous. So knowing that you have people there at your facilities who can speak to him in such a way that will put him at ease takes so much weight off of my shoulders as his mother. Like that's phenomenal.

25:18 - Chrissy Nizer Yeah. We talk about premier customer service, but really it is about how we make the customer feel at the end of the day. You know, I talk to the team a lot about it's great to have these nice new it systems and appointments and all of this, but what a folks remember after they leave our office, your story is a perfect example. You know, maybe a few years since you took your first driving test, but you remember that instructor.

25:44 - Chrissy Nizer And you remember the second instructor and the difference between the two. And that's what we always try to focus on. It's about how you make the customer feel that at the end of the day, they're going to remember. When I get those praise letters, when I get those letters that maybe aren't as satisfied, it's all about that compassion or lack thereof that the employee shows. It's really important that we put ourselves in the other person's shoes as we were all taught at a very young age, right?

26:12 - Chrissy Nizer And try to meet people where they are, which is why I love the story of the young man who, you know, just by his mother raising the issue to us made such a difference for everybody in the state. Right. And it was one of those things that it just opened our eyes to.

26:28 - Chrissy Nizer Something that wasn't on our radar. It wasn't that we. Wanted to make things more challenging for people, but there just wasn't the awareness of the issue at that level.

26:39 - Carrie Rickert And I think that that is, is one of the lessons, right? Like, and, and not just for you as an administrator, but for people who have family members or have challenges themselves, that asking for what you need and advocating for yourself or your loved one is actually okay. And I think that, you know, a generation or two back, it wasn't okay. And, you know, that was a sign of weakness. And we didn't ever want to put anyone out because it was a terrible experience going to MBA. Anyway, you know, like that was always the thing, right?

27:37 - Carrie Rickert Like, oh, I've got to wait in line forever, right? And I know my dad fought really hard against that one. So, but, you know, like it wasn't something that you felt comfortable that people a couple of generations back,

27:57 - Carrie Rickert Even just my parents' generation, didn't feel comfortable asking for accommodations because it wasn't accepted as something that is normal and that what the goal should be is helping people be successful.

28:19 - Chrissy Nizer Exactly right and I, I just want to encourage everybody, you know, it's not only appropriate, it's, it's helpful, frankly, because, you know, sometimes we do certainly try to be aware of all these things, but, you know, it's sometimes doesn't rise to the right level, or we don't understand the full impact. And so sometimes an individual story can make. Such a huge difference. We just deployed American Sign Language with our law test enhancement in October, where we did the plain language.

28:49 - Chrissy Nizer And I love that too, because, you know, in the past, a customer had to coordinate with an individual who could sign. And obviously that can be a schedule challenge, right, for both the customer and getting that translator. And so the idea that, no, you just make an appointment like anybody else and come in and you can see the question signed to you on the screen. But really that's just a start because after we had that conversation, then we started talking to people in the community and they said, well, not everybody does sign language and there's the hard of hearing issues, right?

29:26 - Chrissy Nizer And so there's a whole spectrum just like there is with everything, frankly. And so.

29:32 - Chrissy Nizer It's a start and it's better than it was before, but these are issues that we'll continue to try to ensure the accessibility is where it needs to be.

29:40 - Carrie Rickert Right. So if someone comes in and they need help navigating the office, navigating what they need to do, the process for things, what should they do?

29:56 - Chrissy Nizer When you make an appointment, we encourage you to let us know ahead of time if you need a specific accommodation. And that is not just for the law test. I know we've talked a lot about that in the driving test.

30:08 - Chrissy Nizer Certainly those are ones we think about, but maybe you just need an accommodation to complete your driver license renewal, or you've got a titling transaction and you need some assistance, whatever that looks like, Don't hesitate to let us know that. Right in the appointment, when you're making it, you're choosing your location, there's an ability to indicate that you need that accommodation. As soon as you make that appointment, it immediately goes to our fair practices team.

30:34 - Chrissy Nizer They will reach out to you likely by email or by phone and have a conversation with you to make sure that whatever accommodation that we're providing is truly meeting your needs. And then they will coordinate in advance with the management team at the branch with the goal of really making that a seamless experience when you do arrive and have whatever you need in place at that point.

30:58 - Carrie Rickert That's awesome. I, you know, like it. It makes my heart happy to know that there are organizations out there that are really taking this to heart and you know, and are taking the mindset of, we want everyone to be as successful as possible in what they're doing. And if we can help with that, let's do that. So, you know, like that's just, it just makes my heart very happy.

31:34 - Chrissy Nizer Well, you know, we take seriously the idea that the services that we provide are really, we call it the connection to life's opportunities, right? Your driver certainly to get to work or to your family and friends, all the things you need to do. But even when there's ID cards, often they're for medical services, right? Or to get benefits.

31:53 - Chrissy Nizer That's critical. And then for some people, the vehicle is the most expensive thing they own. And so that title and that registration are so critical. So we encourage our entire team to think about it that way, that these are really things that are so important to our customers. And so making sure that they're getting access to that service in an accessible way and having a good experience regardless of where they come from is so, so important. In fact, as we talk about the plain language, that's something we've now translated our rookie driver handbook, which you're familiar with.

32:31 - Chrissy Nizer I'm sure with your son, where you go through kind of the different driving experiences. So we've got that done and eventually our goal is really to do the whole website. That's a pretty big undertaking, but that's really our goal. And what I appreciate about the Developmental Disability Council is they really trained our team. They gave us an expert, which we had to pay a little bit of money for, but he helped train them so that they now can go forward and do this work themselves. So that's really exciting as we continue to try to make things more understandable, demystify the MBA, to your point, it's always been this fear about going there.

33:06 - Chrissy Nizer We don't want people to feel that way. We want them to understand what they need, feel confident when they come in. They don't come in very often, so we want it to be a good experience when you do. Or online, we want that experience to be accessible as well.

33:20 - Carrie Rickert Great, that's great. So, you know, What other accommodations do you have available or do people routinely ask for?

33:33 - Chrissy Nizer So we are working and hope to have deployed by early next year some additional languages on the knowledge test or law test. So what we did is we took the census data after it came out last time and really started to just think about Okay, what other languages can we add? So we'll be up to... 17 different languages, including American Sign Language from a language perspective. All the manuals will be translated as well. Only English and Spanish are printed, but everything else is available online, so we picked the languages that are most commonly spoken, and those will be available, again, with the idea that let's meet people where they are.

34:19 - Chrissy Nizer Maybe they've just immigrated to the country. Maybe they're just more comfortable. They're nervous about taking tests and their native language is more comfortable for them. So excited. That'll be happening early next year. So looking forward to that.

34:31 - Carrie Rickert Yeah,

34:31 - Carrie Rickert That's great. Great. So, Chrissy, what, you know, if there's a takeaway for our listeners, what would that be?

34:45 - Chrissy Nizer One thing that I really encourage the listeners to do, we have what we call a MyMBA account. And sometimes customers think, well, I've done transactions with MBA online before. I already have one, but it is fairly new. It's been since 2021. So if you haven't been to our website and done online transactions since then, I'd encourage you to go there. It provides great access to all your MBA-related business, your driver's license, ID card, your vehicle, and everything related to it.

35:16 - Chrissy Nizer So letters we send you, due dates that are there, everything is right at your fingertips. So that 24-7 access to your information, I think, is something that is really what customers want today from a convenience standpoint and accessibility standpoint. It's also through there that you go in and make your appointments, and you ask for those accommodations, you ask for what you need. I would really encourage customers, if you run into issues, let us know so we can make it better.

35:47 - Chrissy Nizer We always say that every interaction with a customer is an opportunity to learn. Maybe it's just something we didn't think about before,

35:54 - Chrissy Nizer Right? How can we make this a simpler process? So I don't see it as a bad thing, even when we get an email that maybe a customer You know, I'd prefer it be a positive experience, but if there is an issue, let us know about it so we can help make it better.

36:08 - Carrie Rickert Awesome. Thank you so much for your time and energy today. This was a great conversation. I love all the things that you are doing to make something that could be quite challenging a better process. Even if it's still hard, it feels more compassionate.

36:29 - Chrissy Nizer Exactly. And I just have to say our employees do such a great job every day. It's not an easy job delivering that premier customer service, but they do such wonderful things as you've recounted with the stories, even you have personally. So just always like,

36:43 - Chrissy Nizer Always like to get them. They are a great team. We've got great management and great team members there, but I always love to give our employees a shout out because they certainly deserve it for what they do every day.

36:44 - Carrie Rickert Right on.

36:54 - Carrie Rickert Awesome. Thank you so much, Chrissy.

36:57 - Chrissy Nizer Thank you.