MARCH 2009
Hello.
Welcome to this issue of
inclusionRX
our medicinal concoction of
insights, information,
tools, and resources designed
to cure ailing and impoverished workplaces by
increasing the opportunities
for people with
disabilities to participate equitably in
the workforce.
(We do our best to provide accurate and current
information; but please check with the sources for
validation of the information we have provided.)
PLEASE FORWARD THIS NEWSLETTER TO
INTERESTED FRIENDS & ASSOCIATES.
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Welcome
to our March 2009 Issue...
Welcome to the first issue of our
newsletter under its new name, inclusionRX. We have
been publishing this electronic newsletter for the past
eight years under the name “Disability Network”. For a while
now we’ve been feeling the need for a facelift – a name that
more closely reflects the nature and purpose of this effort.
inclusionRX is what we finally settled on. With specific
attention on people with disabilities, our focus has always
been on enhancing workforce inclusion. We believe that
workforces and workplaces that don’t equitably include
people with disabilities are impoverished and ailing. In a
real way, through an array of insights, information, tools,
and resources, this newsletter is a monthly dose of our
prescription for ending the needless exclusion of people
with disabilities and bringing wellness and wholeness to our
workplaces.
Call it serendipitous, but this issue
contains two elements which showed up on our radar this past
month and are particularly in concert with our new name.
Both offer a clear vision of a world that is more inclusive
of people with disabilities and we are thrilled to be able
to share them with our readers.
One is a rap video. Yes, a rap video…
and a Lebanese one at that! If foreign language rap music
isn’t your cup of tea, don’t let that stop you from viewing
“Difference is Normal”. You will seldom encounter
such a positive and progressive perspective on the
“naturalness” of disabilities, the normalness of
differences, and the rightful inclusion of people with
disabilities in our communities.
The second is our Guest Article –
My Spin: True Inclusion by Gary Karp. A long-time
friend of ours, Gary is a gifted writer and speaker on
disability issues. Earlier this month, at a Town Hall
meeting with President Obama in Los Angeles, Gary had the
opportunity to address a question to the President. (Okay,
it was more of a statement which he asked to President to
concur on.) I was so struck by the content of Gary’s
question/statement that I barely heard the President’s
response:
 “I'm
Gary Karp, and Mr. President, thank God for you. Sir, my
question regards the true renaissance that's happening with
people with disabilities. They are an emerging population --
millions of people who are more mobile, more educated, more
healthy, more empowered by technology, and with more
potential than ever before in history. But they are still
trapped in very, very old social models that see them in
terms of tragedy and charity and need and care. And the
modern population of people with disabilities simply does
not fit that model.
And as your plan succeeds and you generate these jobs, and
as baby boomers retire, we're going to need every single
person of capacity to work that we can. And that must
include many, many, many thousands, if not millions, of
people with disabilities.
So - I see you nodding your head, so my first question is,
do you subscribe to what I'm saying, and next of all, can
you talk about how your disability agenda will release this
emerging potential that's currently wasted and untapped?”
In hearing this, I was struck by how
concisely Gary described the “modern population” of people
with disabilities and its disconnect with our prevailing
“old social models” – models that, we know, exclude and
inhibit people with disabilities from workforce opportunity.
His assertion that we need “every single person of capacity”
to be in our workforces rang like a church bell and
resonated deep within me. That notion is at the very heart
of our argument for full economic inclusion and
productivity.
When I contacted Gary to ask if I could
include his remarks in this issue, he not only agreed, but
generously offered his recently-penned article, My
Spin:True Inclusion, as well. As I read it, it is a call
for collective action – for people with and without
disabilities to accept responsibility for the current state
of affairs and to work responsibly towards the changes we
need.
I hope you enjoy this month’s dose of
inclusionRX!
~ Rob McInnes
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GUEST
ARTICLE: My Spin: True Inclusion
By Gary Karp
 It’s
the dream of the disability movement, our nearly Utopian
vision of a world that sees our abilities over our
limitations: We all live and work (if we can) in our own
communities, insurance and public policy invests in our
health and independence, and we aren’t seen through a purely
medical lens.
The dream is still a
long way off in a society that interprets our desire for
inclusion as a demand for favored treatment. In the societal
mindthink, disability means “suffering,” so the mainstream
view is we want compensation for our pain and loss. We have
“special needs.” The ADA is a consolation prize rather than
protection of our basic civil rights. Inclusion means giving
us what we don’t deserve, and costs a fortune.
Poppycock. Inclusion
means leveling the field, making policy that fosters
potential, and getting the right to risk, to try and fail,
and be held to the same standards -- once given the same
opportunities --as everyone else. It’s a wise and ethical
investment, not an expense.
This is the truth
that society needs to grasp. But even some people with
disabilities have yet to take it to heart.
Once I was in a long
line at the post office during the holidays (waiting my
turn, wanting not to play into the idea that I expect
special treatment for my paralysis). Suddenly a woman riding
a scooter comes tooling in and guns it straight to a
just-opened window.
Someone in line
yelled out, “You can’t take cuts just because you have a
disability!”
Scooter-Lady angrily
yelled back, “Yes I can. The ADA entitles me!”
Sorry, lady, but the
ADA does not entitle you to cuts in line. It entitles you to
get in the door and receive equal service. You played
squarely into the very stereotypes that are the real source
of our suffering.
For instance: People
with disabilities are angry. “Hey, I’d be angry if it was
me,” I often hear from nondisabled people who don’t know
better. Society entitles us to anger -- then refuses us work
for fear we’ll be difficult and unleash a landslide of
management hassles and EEOC complaints. Scooter-Lady played
the Angry Cripple to a T.
The stereotype
continues: People with disabilities expect special treatment
-- expensive wheelchairs, modified homes, health insurance
for their pre-existing conditions, longer rehab stays, more
slack at work, and trick technologies.
I totally get
Scooter-Lady’s anger and sense of entitlement. I live in the
same world where having a disability is an experience of
being unfairly and regularly ripped off. But there’s a
difference between appropriate feelings and the choices we
make in our public behavior. Scooter-Lady blew huge holes in
the progress we are undeniably making toward appropriate
inclusion. There are more of her ilk out there, feeding
society the very ammunition that reinforces these beliefs.
Real inclusion means
being willing to subscribe to the same standards as everyone
else. No favors. No entitlements. Only wise policy that
gives us a fair shot at what we believe we can do. If you’re
rude to someone, you damage the relationship. If you don’t
carry your share at work, you don’t get promoted -- or you
get fired. If you get crummy grades, you’re not going to do
well in the career to follow. We’re not talking about Social
Darwinism here, where you fail just because you’re not
“fit.” In a truly inclusive world, you fail because you
didn’t perform. Maybe you caught a bad hand, but that’s the
way it works for everyone. That’s the way it should work for
us.
Lately, I’ve been
doing speaking and training for business and government. I
regularly hear stories of management operating from these
stereotypes, hesitating to hire people with disabilities.
They’ve seen the stereotypes in action. It’s hard to fault
them for being concerned once they’ve had a taste of
Scooter-Lady, however statistically rare she actually is.
Let’s behave as if
our demand for inclusion means we’re willing to put
ourselves out there and live with natural consequences like
everybody else. Let’s show society that we can and will
subscribe to the same standards of behavior and performance
and risk taking as our neighbor --once we get access to the
tools and resources and environment that evens the odds for
us and unleashes our underused potential.
Let’s direct our
anger to proving ourselves, not expecting cuts in the long
and circuitous line of life.
Gary Karp is an
author, journalist, advocate and speaker.
My Spin: True Inclusion
was originally published in the February 2009
issue of New Mobility Magazine.
Visit Gary's Website, Modern Disability:
www.garykarpspeaks.com
See Gary's question to the President on YouTube (Gary's
question comes at 3:18)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5aZZZCCNoQ
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RESOURCES on
DISABILITY & EMPLOYMENT
 VIDEO:
Difference is Normal
If you don’t click on any other link in this
newsletter, click on this one!
If you are like me, it will possibly be your first
experience of a Lebanese rap video. This rap song was created in 2006 with
the intention of creating greater positive awareness of people with
disabilities in the Arab world. It was shot in Lebanon, Qatar, and Syria.
This version includes English subtitles. I haven’t come across another video
that so clearly communicates the naturalness of disability within the human
experience and the sense “belongingness” within the human family that people
with disabilities should enjoy.
More information:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylFwcdNfVhE
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 AUDIOCONFERENCE:
Mental Illness: What Does an Employer Need to Know?
On April 21, the National Network of ADA Centers is
presenting this audio conference. “Mental illness is one of the most
prevalent disabilities in society yet it is also among the most
misunderstood. Join this session to learn more about mental illness and the
impact that it can have on the lives of your employees. Enhance your
understanding of the impact that mental health issues can have on the
individual and in turn the workplace and strategies for creating a workplace
environment that is supportive of all employees.”
More information:
http://www.ada-audio.org/Schedule/
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 RECRUITING:
College Students with Disabilities
The United States
Department of Labor has compiled a new searchable data base
of over 1900 college students with disabilities. Annually,
trained WRP recruiters from federal agencies conduct
personal interviews with interested students on college and
university campuses across the country. Students represent
all majors, and range from college freshmen to graduate
students and law students.
Private Sector and State Government employers, please see:
www.earnworks.com
Federal Agencies, please see:
https://wrp.gov
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 EMPLOYMENT
INITIATIVE: Citizens with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities
In March, 2009, the Alliance for Full
Participation (AFP) announced a national effort to increase employment in
the U.S. for people with developmental disabilities. Individuals with
developmental disabilities want and need real jobs like everyone else. About
10% of the U.S. population has disabilities; but within that group, only 37%
of them are employed. And it’s worse for Americans with developmental
disabilities, where only 22% of the entire group is employed.
Press Release:
www.lifewithoutlimits.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=10481.0
AFP Website:
www.allianceforfullparticipation.org/public/
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 NEWSLETTER:
College Options for People with Intellectual Disabilities
The new Consortium for
Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Developmental
Disabilities conducts research, provides training and technical
assistance, and disseminates information on promising practices that
support individuals with developmental disabilities in gaining
access to postsecondary education options and the needed supports to
be successful. It has just released its first “Think College”
electronic newsletter.
More information:
http://thinkcollege.net/newsletter/TC_march2009.pdf
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 ARTICLE:
Can Hiring One Employee with a Disability Make a Difference?
This new article is published online in the
Workforce Diversity section of the Society for Human Resource
Management’s website. In summary; “The Special Olympics recently
challenged President Obama to hire an athlete to work in the White
House. Experts weigh in on the impact a single person with a
disability can have on the workplace.” This nicely-balanced article
deals honestly with recruitment and retention issues and includes
comments from several leading voices from the disability community,
including Deb Dagit, Steve Hanamura, Tony Coelho and more.
Read Article:
www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/Diversity/Articles/Pages/
CanHiringOneEmployee.aspx
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 RESEARCH:
Disability & Employment Collection
Issue Lab, an online publishing
forum for nonprofit research, has pulled together a collection of
research on the topic of disability and employment. In their words:
“Like a lot of other research on important social issues, this work
was widely scattered and required a bit of digging to unearth. Based
on the number of resource lists and related links pages we found,
service providers, community groups, advocates, and family members
of people with disabilities are clearly looking for solid
information to inform their direct service work, advocacy, and
policy interventions.” Additionally, there is an audio interview
with representatives of the Heldrich Center for Workforce
Development at Rutgers University, the Oregon Business Leadership
Network, and the Little City Foundation.
More information:
www.issuelab.org/closeup
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ARTICLE:
Creating an Inclusive Corporate Culture for People with Cognitive
Disabilities
A two-part article, featured in EARN’s Employer
Newsletter, offers a clean, no-nonsense overview of the advantages and
challenges involved in employing workers with intellectual disabilities.
From recruiting & training to workplace inclusion & teambuilding, employers
are given practical tips for success.
Part I: www.earnworks.com/news/enewsletter/08/enews_update_1108.pdf
Part II:
www.earnworks.com/news/enewsletter/08/enews_update_1208.pdf
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 WEBSITE:
Going to College
Virginia Commonwealth University has
developed a great website to guide and encourage students with disabilities
through the college experience. Through information, video clips, activities
and other resources, it provides high school students with insight into the
experience of living the college life with a disability. With sections for
students, parents and educators, it is full of information and tips for
making it a successful venture.
More information:
www.going-to-college.org/index.html
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DiversityShop
Resources on Disability and Employment
Are you interested in learning more about
disability and employment issues? Are you an employer? An
educator? A service provider? A job seeker with a
disability? In our store, DiversityShop, we carry over 20 of
the best books and videos that we have found on issues of
disability and employment. Check them out now!
 NEW
BOOK:
Taking Pride In That Which
Sets Us Apart
Author:
Shayn Anderson (Paperback, 90 pages)
Subtitled “A Vision Of Hope And Personal
Responsibility For People With Disabilities”, it is
a smart little book that asserts that people with
disabilities need to embrace their disability with
pride, readily acknowledge their affinity to other
people with disabilities and assume a greater sense
of personal responsibility for their destinies.
(Click on title for more detailed information.)
Price:
$14.95
 NEW
DVD:
Getting it Right: Etiquette
Tips
DVD
(Running Time: 26 Minutes)
Particularly geared to the workplace, this is a fun
and engaging new tool for teaching basic disability
etiquette and developing greater disability
awareness. (Click on Title for more detailed
information.)
Price:
$179.95
Visit
DiversityShop
for more
Disability and Employment
Resources
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READER REQUESTS: Do you have a question?
Would you like information or advice on a
particular issue related to disability & employment? Tie
into our network of over 5000 readers! Send us an email and
we will post your question in our next newsletter. Send us your question:
DNET@diversityworld.com
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EVENT LISTINGS
Is your organization holding an event that
might be of interest to our 5000+ readers? Would you like to
add your event to our listings?
To have your event listed, please see here...
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 25th
Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities
"Working Toward a Brighter
Future"
Honolulu, HI ~ May 4-5, 2009
With its beginnings dating
back to 1985, the Pacific Rim International Conference on
Disabilities has evolved into one of the top rated international
educational offerings for and from persons with disabilities, family
members, researchers, service providers, policymakers, community
leaders, advocates, and nationally recognized professionals in the
various disciplines in the diverse field of disabilities.
More Information Here:
www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/
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 EVENT:
2009 National ADA Symposium
“Revitalizing the ADA”
Kansas City, MO ~ June 8 - 10,
2009
The theme of the 2009 Symposium
is Revitalizing the ADA. The passage of the ADA Amendments Act
reaffirmed the American commitment to creating an accessible and
inclusive society for people with disabilities and their families.
In response, the 2009 National ADA Symposium will be expanded to
include several new features including a Professional Development
Programs for ADA Coordinators and people in the design industry.
More Information Here:
www.adasymposium.org
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20th
Annual National APSE Conference
 "Employment for All: A
Celebration in the City of Festivals!"
Milwaukee, WI ~ June 30 -
July 2, 2009
The APSE conference focuses
exclusively on facilitating integrated employment outcomes for
people with significant disabilities. This year, Milwaukee will be
the place to share their knowledge and expertise on the latest and
best innovations related to employment!
More Information Here:
www.apse.org/conference/rfp.cfm
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 USBLN
2009 Conference
"Connecting the Dots:
Business Solutions"
Washington, DC ~ September 15
– 19, 2009
More Information
Here:
www.newworkforceconference.org
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 CAREERS
Conference 2010Madison, Wisconsin ~
January 25 - 27, 2010
The Careers Conference is hosted
by the Center on Education and Work, part of the School of Education
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It is one of the largest and
most comprehensive events of its kind, featuring top quality
professional development.
More Information Here:
www.cew.wisc.edu/careersConf/default.aspx
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This Newsletter is published by Diversity
World, 849 Almar Avenue, Suite C, #206, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
Archives of past issues are available on our website. See:
http://www.diversityworld.com/Disability/newsletter.htm We also publish the "True
Livelihood Newsletter" by Denise Bissonnette. See:
http://www.diversityworld.com/Denise_Bissonnette/newsletter.htm
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