3 Questions Under 3 Minutes with Jennifer Thornton

Intro with a clock counting down from 3 minutes to zero super fast. Voice over a man says Three questions under 3 minutes.

Female voice over: Welcome to this episode of 3 Questions Under 3 Minutes with Jennifer Thornton. What do you wish everybody knew about Disability Determination Services? 

Thornton: I really wish that people knew that most people are actually approved on their first try, and that is because they meet or equal the listings, which are some very, very stringent rules that Social Security applies or they meet what we call the med voca or medical vocational roles. And that is based on their age and their what they can do versus what they have done. So somebody who is older, who has done all manual labor and now can't stand for 2 hours, that person is going to get approved, more so that somebody who is like 20 doing the same thing.

Thornton: So that and then the other part of that is that the people who get approved on the first time are the ones who have filled out all their forms, their activities of daily living, their work histories, they're returning phone calls, and they're taking part in the process.

Video of ducks in a pond splashing around cleaning themselves. One ruffles his feathers that it looks like he has a mohawk. An arrow appears on screen and the words mohawk duck point at the duck. 

Then the video cuts to grass and another arrow appears and the word Turtle appears to focus the users on the somewhat hidden turtle. 

Female voice over: Well, what's your favorite part about DDS?

Thornton: My favorite part about the DDS is that my...so my kids were actually born prematurely. My oldest weighed a pound and a half. She was born 15 weeks early. My youngest was 2 pounds, 2 ounces. She was born 13 weeks early. And they're now 26 and 27. And they're taller than me. They're fine. But the fact that I can help the people who are in the same boat that I was in 26 or 27 years ago makes me feel really good.

Female voice over: Now, I understand you have a second job. 

Thornton: I do. 

Female voice over: I hear you're an Uber driver. 

Thornton: I am. 

Female voice over: Tell me about it. 

Thornton: I have been driving for about eight and a half years. And what started out as just needing some extra money to travel, because I really like to travel really turned into. I really enjoy helping people get home when they should be driving. But also, I really love helping people who say they lost their vision and so they can't drive themselves. And so I really enjoy being able to help them maintain some kind of independence. 

Female voice over: Thank you

Thornton: Welcome.

Male voice over: 3 questions under 3 minutes

Logo, Oklahoma Rehabilitation Services