For employees requesting ADA accommodations · Interactive process
You’ve got the JAN letter. Rehearse what happens when they say “we need everyone in the office for team culture.”
The accommodation request is drafted. You still don’t know what you’ll say when HR frames it as special treatment.
Your doctor confirmed you need a modified schedule and a quieter workspace to perform essential duties. You sent HR a reasonable accommodation request citing the ADA. Tuesday’s interactive-process meeting is on the calendar. What you can’t picture is sitting across from your manager while they say “everyone else is in three days a week — I can’t make an exception” and HR asks for full medical records before discussing options. Kommi puts you in that room first — with a manager and HR rep who push back the way real employers do — so Tuesday isn’t your first take.
The template isn’t the hard part.
AskJAN has sample request letters. Every employment blog repeats the same advice: focus on job functions, propose specific accommodations, document everything. You have the letter. What you don’t have is muscle memory for when your manager guilt-trips you about team fairness, HR delays with documentation requests, or someone offers a token fix — “use the break room when it’s loud” — instead of what actually lets you do your job.
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What’s at stake
A mishandled accommodation meeting can trigger performance scrutiny, forced disclosure of medical history, or a denial that starts a months-long EEOC process — while you’re still trying to work through a flare.
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Why you hesitate
You don’t want to be “the difficult one.” You keep rehearsing your request in your head but skip the part where you apologize for needing help or overshare symptoms when they push back.
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What templates can’t do
Sample letters tell you what to ask for. They can’t simulate your manager going quiet, then offering a lesser accommodation before you’ve explored alternatives together.
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What a lawyer costs
An employment attorney runs $250–450/hr. You need to practice Tuesday’s meeting — tonight, tomorrow morning, once more before you walk in — not a legal memo you can’t deliver under pressure.
Sample roleplay · 3 minutes
“Everyone else is in three days a week. I can’t make an exception.”
You’re Jordan. You’ve stated your functional limitations and proposed two remote days plus a flexible start. Now your manager and HR push back.
You (Jordan)
“I’m requesting two remote days and a 10 a.m. start as reasonable accommodations under the ADA. Open-office noise and early commutes during flares prevent me from meeting deadlines on the analytics reports — which are essential functions in my role.”
Your manager
“Jordan, I hear you, but we just rolled out a three-day in-office policy for the whole team. Everyone else is here. I can’t make an exception — it sends the wrong message about fairness. Can you use headphones and the quiet room we set up last quarter?”
HR
“Before we explore schedule changes, we’ll need complete medical records from your provider — not just a note. Our policy requires full documentation before we can consider anything beyond the quiet room.”
Your move
- → Redirect to job functions: tie each request to a specific essential duty
- → Hold the interactive process: ask what alternatives they’ve considered before denying
- → Set documentation boundaries: offer functional-limitation letter, not full records
Each choice changes how your manager and HR respond. The conversation gets uncomfortable. You practice stating your needs without apologizing for your disability — or catching yourself when you’re about to accept the quiet room because you don’t want to seem difficult.
Then the coach reads you back to yourself.
Not an ADA statute summary. Not a list of tactics from an r/ADHD thread. One observation about what you did, one adjustment for next time, one sentence you can carry into Tuesday’s meeting.
Sample coach debrief
“You tied your request to essential job functions clearly — strong opening. When your manager cited team fairness and HR demanded full medical records, you immediately said ‘sorry, I didn’t mean to cause trouble’ and agreed to try the quiet room for 30 days. That signals you’ll accept token fixes under pressure.
Try next time: Pause after the documentation request. Say: ‘I’m happy to provide a functional-limitations letter from my provider. Can we continue exploring schedule options while that’s processed?’
Carry into Tuesday: “I’m not asking for preference — I’m asking for accommodations that let me perform the essential functions we’ve both identified. What alternatives have you considered besides the quiet room?”
Questions before your accommodation meeting
- Is this legal advice or a substitute for an employment attorney?
- No. Kommi helps you rehearse the conversation — how you sound when pushed back on, whether you overshare or cave too fast. For legal strategy on denials or EEOC filings, consult an attorney. For practicing Tuesday’s tone before you walk in, Kommi fills the gap templates leave.
- I already have an AskJAN template. Why practice?
- Templates tell you what to request. They don’t prepare you for the moment your manager frames it as unfair to the team, HR delays with documentation demands, or someone offers a lesser fix you’re tempted to accept just to end the meeting. Kommi is where you hear yourself respond under pressure.
- How is this different from hybrid-work negotiation?
- Hybrid RTO pages cover preference and commute. This page is tuned for ADA interactive-process meetings — when you have a documented disability, legal protections apply, and the stakes include job retention and avoiding forced medical disclosure.
- Is $11.99/mo worth it for one accommodation meeting?
- Mishandling an interactive-process meeting can cost your job or months of stress. One hour with an employment attorney costs more than a year of Kommi. You also get unlimited sessions across every scenario we ship: salary talks, performance reviews, medical bills, and more.
$11.99 a month.
A coach with a calendar runs two hundred dollars an hour. Kommi runs roughly forty cents a day — and is awake when you can't sleep, which is when most of these conversations are actually being rehearsed anyway.
We don't have a free tier, a team plan, or a premium upsell. One price, no pricing page riddle. If we add tiers later, we'll do it because users asked — not because a growth deck did.
About forty cents a day.
- Two free sessions before billing starts
- Then $11.99 a month — about forty cents a day
- Unlimited sessions — any conversation you can describe
- A coaching read after every session, and your progress over time
- Cancel in two taps; 7-day refund if you change your mind
One conversation you’d have talked yourself out of is worth years of this. Or just sleep better on Wednesday. Either way.
Run your first rehearsal — free →US only at launch. We'll get to the rest of the world.
The conversation is on Thursday. Begin tonight.
Three minutes. Two free. 7-day money back after that.