hidden disabilities

Thanks to Concord Academy in Memphis, for hosting this event on March 22, 2012. This slidedeck has a lot of updated statistics on postsecondary and workforce participation by young adults with disabilities. Please reference the note pane view for this PPT presentation, as it contains narrative linking the slides together.

Delegates came to Istanbul representing 6 continents & 65 countries in order to establish the World Disability Union and a global Congress addressing Universal Design. They left as friends, relatives and colleagues dedicated to our motto "WE KNOW NO BARRIERS!" httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4XaXA1B2hs

Within the last few months, media outlets are beginning to report that some aspects of the national economic picture are beginning to experience relative improvements in the stock market, major employers beginning to hire, businesses planning capital investments, and general business confidence in the future as slightly more optimistic. While this economic news is welcomed,  it should be viewed from the stark reality that  government budgets at every municipal level have for years continously cut back on direct services, supports, and funding for people with disabilities. This, in turn, has had a considerable negative impact on neighborhood and community capacity-building efforts to enhance the employment, social inclusion, and self-sufficiency of PwD. Some recognizable impacts of these cutbacks can be seen through data analysis from sources such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics   (BLS) monthly reports.  At the end of April 2011,the BLN documented the TOTAL (part/full time) reported employment rate for young adults with disabilities ages 16-19 at 12.1 % (11.6% March 2011) compared to 24.9 % (24.7% March 2011) for same-aged youth with no disabilities. Young adults with disabilities ages 20-24 had an employment rate of 29.4%  (31.4 % for March 2011). The employment rate for young adults ages 20-24 with no disabilities was 61.3 percent for April 2011 (61.0% for March 2011).  As appalling as these statisitcs seem, Senator Tom Harkin's (D-IA) recent keynote address at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Corporate Disability ...

This post shares information about exciting new adult-based employment programming and evidence-based practices using Life Coaching for individuals with Asperger Syndrome/high functioning autism/NVLD and related conditions. Earlier this month, I visited with Marcia Scheiner, CEO & President of The Asperger Syndrome Training & Employment Partnership (ASTEP), a new organization formally launched in mid-February, dedicated to building long-term employment opportunities for those with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Scheiner says it is the nation’s only organization focused on creating employer demand for this segment of those diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). About 80 percent of the more than 1 million Americans with an ASD are under the age of 20 and over the next 10 years the U.S. will experience a large influx of educated and skilled job seekers who have Asperger's Syndrome. While adults with more significant manifestations of ASD are not ready (or the world or work is not ready for them) for competitive employment, ASTEP seeks to work with programs who have college capable/graduates with this condition and major corporations and large businesses offering entry-level career opportunities such as payroll accountant, IT specialists, etc. Scheiner and ASTEP believe that there are and will be many adults at the higher ...

One of my previous articles summarized practices shared at the recent US BLN conference in Chicago featuring some corporations effectively using Disability Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to develop Global Diversity strategies and how this tied in to the October National Disability Employment Awareness month. Although officially there is no national disability employer month, the title of this post uses a slight play on words designed to bring attention to those businesses that realize the world is changing with respect to disability and have boldly embedded this dynamic into their global diversity & inclusion strategies on a daily basis. Rather than turn away or look at regulatory loopholes to avoid embracing the OPPRORTUNITY to be a leader, some companies have thoughtfully positioned themselves to coordinate, integrate, and put aside perceived biases about disability in order to engage their entire workforce in building a corporate workplace that enriches them all. In addition to having established ERGs and Board-level engagement with US BLN, Ernst & Young (EY) and IBM are showing the way with sustainable, best practices that builds the necessary business confidence in growing their highly skilled workforces of people with disabilities. Specifically, I want to talk about two key inter-related areas these companies exemplify: safety/trust in workplace disclosure and providing creative job ...

This year's holiday celebrations cap a recent flurry of summer activities aimed at improving meaningful employment options and outcomes for PwD. Some signs of encouragement In July, the nation celebrated the 20 year anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), one of the most significant pieces of civil rights legislation passed in the history of this country. ADA Title II & Title III (accessibility to public transportation and public accommodations) regulations are to be published in a week. In addition, President Obama signed an Executive Order on July 26 that will help transform the disability employment landscape within the Federal Government.  It calls on all Federal departments and agencies to increase the numbers of people with disabilities hired and to improve retention and return-to-work of Federal employees with disabilities.  This will hopefully reverse the trend of the last 20 years that has seen a steady decline in Federal employment for people with disabilities. If accomplished, it will achieve stated White House commitments from every administration since the Clinton Presidency towards a goal of having 100,000 Federal workers with disabilities in the government workforce. In August,  The U.S. Department of Labor  announced a solicitation for grant applications ...

Purpose: A rally dedicated to updating public perceptions and attitudes towards the capabilities of People with Disabilities. Where: Arizona State Capitol Mall, 1700 West Washington, Phoenix, Arizona When: October 28, 2010, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Opportunities: A slate of local and nationally known speakers from grassroots, business, and government will: Celebrate the transformative power of achieving the American right to decent work and fair treatment. Build “Disability Confident” employers by making an effective business case for the advantages of working with this diverse workforce. Share the potential of harnessing the largest and most underserved American minority through voter registration, market-specific branding, and innovative product/service creation. Bring public attention to the lifespan issues of adults with disabilities associated with work, health care, housing, and community connectedness. Move us forward as a more just community that transcends the fears, stigmas and exclusion of relatives, neighbors, and people who have a disability into creating an inclusive society with them as citizens of equal standing. Connect your social media/organization sites to the EmployAbility links below and post news from your community to ours that support or promote efforts to improve employment for people with disabilities. On the day of the event, host & post your  live local YouTube, ...

Hope for a new day of equal opportunity In January, 2009, The U.S. House of Representatives showed overwhelming bipartisan support for the American’s with Disabilities Amendments Act by a vote 405-17 approving the measure. Political ideology did not trump Congress being on the right side of this vote.  Many in the business community supported this expansion of civil rights protections, which no doubt helped clear it for passage. As this bill is enacted in the workplace, it now expands the protection focus towards what constitutes discrimination rather than what constitutes disability. ADAA is a reminder that “disability in the workplace” is an intentionally broad standard, rather than a high threshold standard (retirement laws, healthcare benefits). In general, this new standard of disability is viewed favorably by most observers, as it drives legislative language intended to open up employment by removing overly restrictive judicial definitions of disability. The Act considers that is in the best interests of the common good to include such a broad definition as it allows otherwise qualified individuals to speed their entry into employment and reduce the level of governmental benefits. This is especially pertinent for the Boomer generation with its own onset of age-related disabilities and the impending entitlement drain ...

There are now many more adults with disabilities under the age of 35 (comprehensive special education was created through P.L. 94-142 in 1975) who are better prepared for inclusion into higher education, postsecondary, and employment settings. They also have higher expectations of themselves and their chances for success as a result of being the recipients of support they received for their various conditions. Within overall global education reform strategies, how is the U.S. addressing their prospects-both during the educational journey and in finding fulfilling careers afterwards? This post takes a quick look at what  can start being done to facilitate greater inclusion and successful outcomes for adults with hidden disabilities in higher education and postsecondary settings. Getting organized: Interagency & Intergovernmental coordination A recent report from the GAO found that while higher education participation among students identified as having a disability is up to 11% of total enrollment, there is a lack of coordination among the federal agencies, knowledge among college faculty of best practices, uncertainty of the legal obligations to offer reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities, and the consequences for everyone if accommodations are denied. Of particular concern, according to this report is how to appropriately assist, teach, and support students who are veterans with TBI/PTSD, ...

For more than 25 years, national attention has focused on improving the supposed sad state of education and workforce preparation in America. The initial stated intention was to ensure equal learning opportunities for students, professionalize teaching, raise standards, and produce a pre-eminent “world class” educational system. Concerted efforts that brought attention to an apparent overall national educational decline really began with the 1983 release of A Nation at Risk. International achievement data from the Organization of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) as well as our own data showed the US as ranking #1 internationally in both academic achievement and college graduates into throughout 1980’s. Some observers reading the  “A Nation at Risk” report could be excused for believing that the decline and fall or our educational system began with the advent of school integration with racial minorities, the disabled, women, and limited English proficiency students. When reading these reports today, one is able to see that the seeds of private school vouchers, tuition tax credits, school choice/free market solutions vis-à-vis Charter Management Organizations and the obsession with student achievement equated with exit exams/high stakes testing were all firmly planted