Did You Know?

Did you know that this month has so much more going on that Halloween and football?  October is National Disability Awareness Month.  For the entire month, various organizations work to educate the public about the issues facing individuals with disabilities.


It has been twenty years since the Americans with Disabilities Act has been passed, and believe it or not there are still barriers that must be overcome.  Many of the barriers that exist wouldn't necessarily cross the minds of most employers who have yet to explore applicants who may need accommodations.  But just for reference, we are talking about: accessible buildings (can you believe that not all public buildings are fully accessible?), non-negotiable essential job duties--employers unwilling to modify or redistribute some of the tasks for a certain job, inability to modify office space and equipment to compliment the needs to each employee, and corporate culture.

The reason I think that it is important to touch upon this topic is just to:

• bring light to the topic
• educate my readers on the different types of barriers
• offer a new outlook on the stigmas that exist

Most people in society think of disabilities as the physical result of some form of trauma or developmental difficulty, but clearly there are so many other forms that remain to be seen-at least at first glance. For example,  a visually impaired individual would need accommodations to improve their viewing ability on the job such as magnifiers or large print or perhaps a simple software program that allows the employee to dictate and listen to emails.   Aside from visual impairments: mental illness, learning disabilities, and hearing loss or difficulty can also impact the company environment. 

What the issue tends to be is that employers are nervous about hiring individuals who disclose their disability because of their own perceptions and worries.  How much will I have to spend to provide these accommodations?  What are the liabilities that come along with hiring this person?  How much attention will I have to give to this employee to make sure that they are doing their job correctly?  Many of these concerns stem from a simple lack of education about the various disabilities that exist, and the only way to change that is to advocate and inform.

I am attaching an article about paralyzed veterans to shed light on the growing population of citizens who will need accommodations and should be given the same opportunities now as they had before they served our country-"Here today, gone tomorrow" rings true in this case in more ways than one.  I find it fascinating that we have to develop programming within our military to improve the chance of a positive vocational outcome for these veterans.  The article is more of just a "for your information" article that sheds a positive light on their efforts to improve our economy.

All Americans deserve the right to work and contribute to this country.  Could part of the unemployment crisis could be due to the fact that many employers are unwilling to consider or inadvertently dismissing qualified applicants?  Think it over.

Article:
Vocational Programming For Veterans