Networking Forum

First Jim, "Welcome Back"! Liz, "Much Thanks" for the supurb job of Facilitation during the Summer!

Having been involved in progressively senior management positions during my 28 year Employment History, as a person with a disability (PWD) there are any number of misgivings between the populations noted that need greater understanding, specifically:

--"It's expensive to hire a person with a disability". This is the most common statement I've come accross when discussing Employment Opportunities for PWD. In a tight economy, it is the easiest excuse for an employer to provide. Conversely, it's been an extremely rare situation when a candidate (PWD) has a direct, factual, concise response related to the position for which they are being interviewed. It is generally the comfortable PWD response to describe all the "Assistive Technology" available to aid in the job accommodation but, it is rare when this information can be translated into a direct impact on how it makes the candidate (PWD) work more efficiently or, what the AT will do to measurably addvalue to the individual and, ultimately the organization.

--A second common mishandled statement by both perspective employers and candidates (PWD),"Any accommodation provided will ultimately cost the organization". Again, it has been my experience the issue is erroneously framed by the employer as information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not justify the claim. It demonstrates, the perspective employer is, at best, working from anecdotal information without the benefit of documentation. PWD's also fumble this one as well. The candidate's response should focus on efficiency, effectiveness of their performance and, the actual cost to the organization. In many cases, accommodations made for employment (PWD) is less than $500. For smaller employers, there a myriad of sources to defray this cost to the point of non-existance. An excellent source for employer and candidate information on accommodations is the Job Accomodation Network, www.jan.wva.edu

--Finally, many organizations today have Diversity Programs that recruit pro-actively minorities including PWD. Their overall programs deliberately attempt to mirror the diversity of the culture in which the organization operates. Much time and resources are expended to make the Diversity Program successful yet, what is the comment most often heard from Executives administering these programs? Frustration that individuals don't seek them out! Websites such as www.diversityinc.org have list published each year on the "Top Recruiters" for all categories of minorities including PWD. Each week their Job Board and that of related organizations have positions from "A" to "Z" and encourage all qualified minorities to apply. Despite their actions, the percentage of PWD's hired each year remains small. Hmmmm. The discussion here should be focused on the PWD's working within the traditional realm of a Job Hunt vs. creativity, effective use of available resources and non-traditional sources of linkage to employers seeking to fill positions. When was the last time an individual viewing this post considered seeking out a Corporate listing on Facebook or similar site? The number of Corporate Recruiters on this and similar sites may be surprising.

What is the most important misunderstanding about disability employment that you would like to see addressed in a dialogue between job seekers with disabilities and employers?

The most important misunderstanding about disability employment is a lack of knowledge on the part of employers about how positively a person with a disability can impact their business. There is a perception on the part of people with disabilities that it is their disability which is holding them back from employment rather than looking at their skills and abilities to see how much ability they are bringing to the position. Employers hire ability and skills. From a problem solving perspective people with disabilities are in constant problem solving mode. We bring the highest level of creativity, adaptability and tenacity of anyone to our daily lives, our work and our relationships. I believe that employers think in a mindset that a person with a disability will be a burden rather than an asset without understanding the benefits of hiring someone with a disability who is fully qualified to perform the job. I believe that employers both at the HR and hiring manager level are under great stress today and they look at a disability as just another stressor. When they have a dialogue and understand that people with disabilities are capable of managing their lives, their jobs, their stresses and contribute to the growth and development of the company, when we reach the 100th monkey level with corporate America, the world will be transformed. For each of us who works and who attempts to assist others in their search, the ongoing issue of dialogue will be in each interview, in each interaction, in each time that we are out in the midst of the work a day world. It is important to remember that we are the transformers and that our abilities need a place to flourish, grow and develop.

Thank you Jim and James and Jake for your remarks and participation this summer. I appreciated your imput.

Barney and James have outlined many of the things employers don't know about disabilities but I think it comes down to attitude, attitude, attitude and accessibility.

In his new book And Dignity for All-how to create a world without rankism, Robert Fuller stresses that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, from the CEO down to the entry level employee, cleaners and janitorial can do this.

The management must examine his/her attitudes towards persons with disabilities and disability itself. Is there a systemic attitude about disability, that pwds are lesser than? That pwds might disrupt office workplace and other workers? That pwds might frighten away potential customers or office colleagues?

Then workplace attitudes must be examined. Are employees uncomfortable having pwds around? What myths do they believe about pwds which may or may not be true? Will workplace colleagues resent service animals or adaptive devices the pwd uses and think of them as a frill ?

Then finally the pwd's attitude must be examined by him/herself. Does he/she have a low self-esteem or a positive high one? Is he/she able to sell her/himself on his/her ability to do the job as a professional or will he/she just do the minimum to get by? Does he/she have a " victim mentality" about himself/herself thinking everyone is against him/her?

I was in a computer course with a woman who had developmental delays and although they weren't terribly severe, she accused everyone throughout the course of being against her. For me as a former special ed teacher she had the most vitrol. I later found out she had had a horrible experience with a special ed teacher in her high school who was unkind and rude and demeaning to her as were the other students and administration she encountered. Her experience taught her that other people weren't going to be nice to her so she went on the offensive to have the best defense.

So pwds check your own attitudes towards work, towards people as well. Are you carrying a giant chip on your shoulder that may hold you back?

Do you know exactly what adaptive devices you will need, where to access them , what programs can help the employer pay for them or partially pay for them? This is your responsibility before you go in to be interviewed, be prepared to answer whatever questions , offensive or otherwise , are thrown your way without "attitude" but in a calm , courteous manner. Even if you think the employer and hr person and other members of the panel are out to lunch and are arrogant and rude. The first 30 seconds make or break your interview. Be courteous and professional .

Thank you once again Liz for your work this summer. I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the discussion. To that end, I thoroughly enjoy participating in and look forward to each new discussion in these forums. I think another issue here is government support. Specifically, it seems to me that most voc/rehab agencies are poorly-run and underfunded. This is definitely the case here in Illinois and has been for quite some time. A second, perhaps interrelated, part of that is the misguided thinking between the two consumer organizations of the blind in the US. I'm referring to the American Council of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind, and if I offend anyone with my comments here I apologize. However, these two groups have been separated now since the late 50's to early 60's and one would think that they'd of gotten over their differences by now. Let me give just a few examples. First off I'd like to discuss orientation&mobility. It is a given fact that prior to starting work at a new place--or school or anything else for that matter--a person has to familiarize himself/herself with the surroundings. This is true of impaired and non-impaired people alike. For people who are visually-impaired this means working with a qualified orientation&mobility instructor, one who knows how to map out routes to get somewhere and then transfer that information to their students. It is not practical for someone with a visual impairment to start work at a new place without prior instruction in this area, simply because said person will constantly need to rely on coworkers to show him/her the way. The same thing applies at a new school. I went through many different schools throughout my formal education, and I was always familiarized with the classrooms), drinking fountains, and bathrooms for example, prior to the start of school. The same is true for adaptive technology. VR counselors need to be honest and up front with their consumers and tell them about every available option. One size does not fit all. One consumer may prefer JAWS over Window-Eyes or the other way around, and agency funding needs to be appropriately dealt with to reflect each individual situation. But that's why we're seeing more and more free and at times open-source software take shape. Likewise, another consumer may prefer a guide dog over the white cane, and so on and so forth. Each individual situation is different, and it is very nonproductive to think otherwise. These agencies need to be staffed with qualified employees who are not bogged down with huge caseloads, and the turn-over rate among agencies needs to be decreased. Here's hoping that our next President and his administration--be that John McCain or Barack Obama--will see to it to deal with this growing situation and do so appropriately and effectively. The American Council of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind will hopefully come to terms with each other at last.