AUGUST
2010
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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.)
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INTERESTED FRIENDS & ASSOCIATES. |
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Welcome to our August 2010 issue.
I’m taking a break from
my regular installments on the Diversity and Disability
series. Instead, this month, I have included an article on
how, in seeking greater workforce inclusion for people with
disabilities, we are in badly in need of a new “social
construct” of disability. Included in that article is
reference (and a link) to an article by Gwynneth VanLAven
entitled For a disabled person, unsolicited advice is not
welcome. I urge you all to read her full article – as I
found it to be remarkably well-written and full of important
insights.
This month, I’m also
pleased to include a new article by our friend and colleague
Gary Karp. As you probably know, last month marked the 20th
anniversary of the signing of the Americans with
Disabilities Act. In this context, Gary gives his
perspective on what has been accomplished and the work that
still needs to be done – particularly around employment
issues.
Back in May, we included
a link to a video called “All Ways Welcome”. While it
was produced many years ago in VHS format, I’ve met dozens
of people who consider it to be a “classic” – one of the
best disability-focused videos ever made. We invited readers
to view it online and encourage the producers to make a
better online version available. I’m happy to report that,
beyond our expectations, the interest of our readers
prompted the producers to re-master the film and make it
available on DVD! See the details below.
Finally, remember that
October is approaching - and with it, both
National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)
and national
Disability Mentoring Day (October 20, 2010). Both of
these are great occasions from which to launch new
initiatives that will enhance employment opportunities for
people with disabilities. (Note: While these are both U.S.
initiatives, many Canadian organizations launch initiatives
in concert with them. There is currently a move afoot to
formalize a National Disability Employment Awareness Month
in Canada. See:
www.ndeam.ca)
Start making plans now!
~ Rob McInnes
Comment? Do you have a comment on anything in this issue?
Please send us your thoughts by email. We enjoy hearing from
our readers.
Email your feedback
on this issue...
inclusionrx@diversityworld.com
Social Constructs and Workforce
Participation for People with Disabilities
by Rob McInnes
Simply put, “social
constructs” are patterns of behavior, often
institutionalized, which are based on perceived notions of
reality. “Perceived” is the key word. Individually and
collectively, our notions of “reality” are the result of our
perceptions, our beliefs, and our interpretations of the
world around us. They are not necessarily grounded in any
real truth or validity. A very basic example of a social
construct would be the belief in a “flat world”. Hundreds of
years ago, medieval Europeans, based on their (limited)
knowledge and perceptions, believed that the Earth was flat
and the edge was to be avoided if you didn’t want to fall
off. This was not reality, but a construct of reality –
their “best guess” at reality. Yet it was accepted as
reality and, as such, it governed their behavior and kept
their ships from ever straying too far from the coastlines.
Here in the 21st
century, we are mired in a social construct of disability
that is fueled by an erroneous if not preposterous
historical array of sociological and psychological
interpretations of the nature of disability. Included in
these are notions like; disability is a punishment from God,
people with disabilities can’t be productive in the
workplace, disabilities are anomalies in the human
condition, people with disabilities are prone to be villains
and criminals, etc. The complete list is a very long one
and, intertwining with one another, those notions have
managed to convince us that people with disabilities do not
deserve, or are not able to handle full participation in our
society – perspectives that have become the behavioral
foundation of our actions, our traditions and our
institutions.
The result of this
social construct is highly evident in our workplaces, where
the presence of people with disabilities is more of an
exception to the rule than the result of commonplace
practice. Admittedly, as our collective social awareness has
become more enlightened, we have attempted to change our
behaviors by legal means. The Americans with Disabilities
Act in the U.S. (1990), the Employment Equity Act in Canada
(1986), and the Disability Discrimination Act in Great
Britain (1995) are examples of this. While these legislative
initiatives have made some inroads, they are still pitted
against deep-rooted and pervasive social constructs of their
societies. In support of the behavioral changes being
encouraged by legislation, I believe that a more elemental
and challenging task remains – confronting and changing the
shared beliefs and interpretations about people with
disabilities that inform us all, including people with
disabilities themselves, about their place in the world.
I have written about
this before (most extensively in the article
Needing a Revolutionary Breakthrough: Re-envisioning
Disability) and I suspect that it is becoming the
prevailing theme from my personal soap box. In recent
months, I came across two articles which were striking and
informative pieces in support of this ultimate goal of
re-envisioning disability and developing a new social
construct.
The Scarlet “D” -
Vulnerability Incarnate
 Published
in the Washington Post, Gwynneth VanLAven’s article
For a disabled person, unsolicited advice is not welcome,
contains brilliant insight into the fear and discomfort that
arise for people without disabilities when they encounter
someone with a disability. She explains how such encounters
unsettle people with the reality of their own helplessness
and vulnerability in the universe – giving rise to fear,
anxiety and unsolicited advice for a “fix”. Here are a
couple of lines that stood out for me:
“I have come to
represent something in my visible fragility. I become their
fears; I am vulnerability incarnate.”
“I sometimes feel
ignored when someone approaches me about my disability.
Aren't I more than a wounded lady? It feels like I'm wearing
a scarlet D for "disabled-too-soon" and nobody can see past
the fears it strikes in them.”
A New Normal
 Mike
Oltersdorf has chosen an interesting career path. As a Paul
McCartney lookalike and as someone struggling with the
ongoing effects of Parkinson’s disease, Mike has become a
public speaker who both entertains and inspires his
audiences. An email from Mike with an article called “A
New Normal” showed up in my inbox. In this short little
message, while relating it to his ongoing journey with the
challenge of Parkinson’s, Mike makes the important point
that there in no singular “normal” – that each version of
change or difference in life brings with it the equilibrium
of a “new normal”.
The good thing about
social constructs is that they are constructed. As such,
they can be torn down and replaced, renovated and
retrofitted. Though deep-rooted, they are vulnerable. There
is a new social construct of disability in the making. We
all have a place on the construction site. As Gwynneth and
Mike have done, each of us can act on opportunities to
challenge prevailing beliefs and replace the old bricks with
new. As this progressive new social construct for people
with disabilities ascends on the horizon of history, let’s
be sure that each of us has our name on one or more of those
bricks.
© Rob McInnes, Diversity World, August 2010 (If not used for
commercial purposes, this article may be reproduced, all or
in part, providing it is credited to "Rob McInnes, Diversity
World - www.diversityworld.com". If included in a newsletter
or other publication, we would appreciate receiving a copy.)
For further
information:
Gwynneth VanLAven’s website:
www.gwynneth.vanlaven.net
Mike Oltersdorf's website:
http://mikeoltersdorf.com
Readers
who are interested in this article should also consider
visiting the “Reframing Disability” pages of the PACE Center
at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock:
http://ualr.edu/pace/index.php/home/hot-topics/reframing/
or joining their Facebook page at:
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18131376733
Comment? Do you have a comment on anything in this issue?
Please send us your thoughts by email. We enjoy hearing from
our readers.
Email your feedback
on this issue...
inclusionrx@diversityworld.com
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GUEST ARTICLE: The ADA: Not a Consolation
Prize
By Gary Karp
 On
July 26, 1990, George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act.
We're at 20 years and counting!
You've all noticed the difference. Elevators, ramps, curb cuts, Braille
signage, automatic door openers, seating in theaters, among many other
ubiquitous effects on the public setting.
Oh, and the people. People with disabilities of all kinds living their lives
with fewer obstacles and more possibilities. Participating, enjoying,
contributing.
The ADA has clearly had an impact. Millions of people are more mobile, more
healthy, more educated, more empowered by technology, more able to
participate in every level of society. More than every before in history, in
fact.
But a 20th anniversary is also an invitation to consider the total picture,
and it's still a complex image. The ADA - along with all of the disability
advocacy and law that preceded it - has not completed the picture. There is
a lot of work left.
Especially with libertarian lunatics like Rand Paul out there suggesting the
ADA should be repealed!
The ADA doesn't include a single word about single family homes. Housing, in
all its forms, is extremely limited for anyone with mobility issues. Good
news for the nursing home industry. Good news for the home modification
industry. Not so great for people with disabilities and their families. Or
seniors. How many of you have watched your parents forced to leave their
homes for lack of access? How many of you realize that this is a
disability rights issue?
The ADA doesn't ensure health care for an individual with a disability. Come
2014, thanks to health care reform, none of us will face denial for
"pre-existing conditions." Sad, though, that in the health care
"conversation" we just had in this country, the disability component of this
issue never really came to light. It's about all people being healthy, able
to work, and costing the economy less.
And although the ADA states that people are entitled to services in the
"least restrictive setting" (affirmed years ago by the Supreme Court in the
Olmstead case) people are still being essentially imprisoned in nursing
facilities because of quirks in policy and the force of status quo.
Here's the real biggie: employment statistics for people with disabilities
in the United States have not improved in the past twenty years. Only 21% of
working age people with disabilities are employed full or part time in 2010.
So the advocacy effort must continue, but the fact remains: obstacles to
full inclusion have fallen to a historic degree. So why is there still so
much left to do?
We still have a severe attitude problem. American culture continues to see
disability as a medical condition and people with disabilities as people who
need care. Or else they are heroic figures who have overcome the burdens of
their disabilities, which is just the other side of the same coin.
Viewing disability through these lenses causes us - and especially employers
- to miss seeing the person. Disability looms large and overwhelms what
counts most: seeing the actual potential and the ways in which real people
can participate and contribute for the greater good.
I'm finding it's not that hard of a sell. When I speak or give a training
seminar on Modern Disability, painting a clear picture of what disability is
about these days and who people with disabilities really are, I see the
lights go on. People get it - just so long as they aren't feeling under
attack for having it wrong. And they see the reasons why it makes sense to
let go of our obsolete thinking about disability and be forward thinking.
Disability is about all of us. Disability is about the universal right to
pursue your potential, to take risks, to succeed or fail. Disability is
about the right to be taken for who we are as whole people, not just because
of some feature which is only a, frankly small, part of who we are.
That's why the ADA is a civil rights law, not a consolation prize.
People with disabilities, given access, still need to live up to the same
standards of behavior and ethics and performance as the rest of us. But
that's cool. People have been fighting for the right to try things, and then
succeed or fail. Like everybody else.
In other words, once the field is truly level, we will see just how much
people with disabilities have to give, and how wise it is for us to invest
in their optimal independence. Then we'll see what they've got, and we'll
see how much their full inclusion will truly change the world.
Gary Karp is a gifted author,
journalist, advocate and speaker on disability issues. This article was
first published in the July 2010 issue of Gary's newsletter "Gary Karp's
Good Reading".
Visit Gary's Website, Modern Disability:
www.moderndisability.com
RESOURCES on
DISABILITY & EMPLOYMENT
 STATISTICS:
Persons with a Disability - Labor Force Characteristics
On August 25, the U. S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics released a very useful new report based on data gathered in 2009.
Among the findings:
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The employment ratio for people with
disabilities was 19.2% vs. 64.5% for people without disabilities.
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For all levels of educational
attainment, people with disabilities were half as likely to be employed
as their non-disabled counterparts.
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The unemployment rate for people
with disabilities was 14.5 % vs. 9% for people without a disability.
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Almost 80% of people with
disabilities of working age are not active in the workforce – compared
to about 30% of people without a disability.
News Release:
www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/disabl.pdf
 VIDEO:
All Ways Welcome
One of the best videos I’ve ever seen
on disability awareness issues was produced years ago by the Ontario
Ministry of Tourism. “All Ways Welcome” is a fun and upbeat educational tool
that revolves around the experiences of Mr. Different. I’ve heard from many
folks who still use and treasure their VHS copies.
It has been
described as the Monty Python version of disability awareness.
See the video:
http://blog.sniffthemovie.com/2009/09/all-ways-welcome_04.html
NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD!!
With encouragement from our readers, the producers have
re-mastered All Ways Welcome and made it available on DVD. This is the
no-frills "brown bag" version (no slick commercial packaging), but it is a
clean & crisp version of this classic video.
Get your copy now for just $20:
www.diversityshop.com/store/disability.html
 STATISTICS:
Employment Equity in the Public Service (Canada)
The government of Canada has released
its Employment Equity report for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. Statistics
ncluded in this report are:
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5.9% of the federal government
workforce was comprised of people with disabilities. This is above the
4% Workforce Availability rate. (The percentage of the available and
qualified people in the workforce represented by people with
disabilities.)
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People with disabilities hold 6.2%
of executive positions.
Report Online:
www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/reports-rapports/ee/2008-2009/eetb-eng.asp
QUOTABLE
QUOTES:
“Hiring people with
disabilities is not just the right thing to do but also the
economically sound thing to do, because it enables society to take
advantage of the abilities of all people.”
- Kathleen Martinez, Assistant Secretary, ODEP, U.S. Department of
Labor. |
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“The ADA is a civil rights law, not a
consolation prize.”
– Gary Karp, author, journalist, advocate and speaker |
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 WEBINARS:
postsecondary education for people with intellectual disabilities
Think College, in collaboration with
TASH, is providing an exciting five-part webinar exploring challenging and
complex issues in postsecondary education for people with intellectual
disabilities. Each webinar will examine closely the latest breakthroughs and
best practices in postsecondary education, including practical
research-based strategies to enhance educational opportunities for people
with intellectual disabilities.
Sessions begin on September 15. Topics
in the five-part series are:
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Postsecondary Education for People
with Intellectual Disabilities: Overview, Higher Education Opportunity
Act, Benefits, Best Practices and Quality Indicators
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Funding Postsecondary Programs for
Students with Intellectual Disabilities
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Transition to College for Students
with Intellectual Disabilities
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Creating Inclusive College Options:
Strategies and Promising Practices
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Strategies to Support Employment in
Post Secondary Education Programs
Registration and more information:
www.tash.org/dev/tashstore/ONSCategory.aspx?catid=4
 PROFILE:
Rotary at Work
Intended to increase employment for
people with disabilities, Rotary at Work is an exciting partnership between
the Ontario Rotary Clubs and Community Living Ontario. With a three-year
timeframe, the project has a goal of finding employment for 100 people.
According to Project Manager, Joe Dale, in a little over two years, they
have already placed almost 90 people in jobs.
Visit the website:
www.rotaryatwork.com
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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!
 SPECIAL
PRICE:
The Inclusive
Corporation
Author:
Griff Hogan (Soft Cover, 330 Pages)
From product design through to
retail sales and promotional advertising, this book
provides solid guidance on how companies can make
their products and services accessible and
disability-friendly.
Written primarily for those in the
business community, The Inclusive Corporation
is an exciting new resource. It will be welcomed by
business leaders who want their workforces and
customer bases to be more inclusive of people with
disabilities. Naturally, it is also a terrific
resource for Employment and Training professionals
who are working in partnership with their business
communities to improve employment opportunities for
people with disabilities.
This is a very
thorough and helpful book for those wanting a basic
and solid understanding of disability-specific
workforce issues and strategies. We would be way
further ahead if there was a copy on the desk of
every new hiring manager and every new job
developer! (Click on the Title for more detailed
information.)
Special
Time-Limited Offer:
$22.95
$18.95
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:
inclusionRX@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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 USBLN
Conference 2010
"Aligning Disability with the
Bottom Line"
September 19 – 22, 2010 ~ Chicago,
IL
The preeminent national event
for business, community leaders and BLN affiliates that have an
interest in hiring, retaining and marketing to people with
disabilities.
More Information Here:
www.usblnannualconference.org
 2010
Illinois Corporate Partners Annual Employer Conference
“Becoming an Accommodating
Employer”
September 30, 2010 ~ Naperville,
IL
Email for more
information:
tom.lowery@illinois.gov
Canadian Council
on Rehabilitation and Work National Conference: Strategies for
Inclusive Employment
October 18 &
19, 2010 ~ Toronto, ON
Guest presenters will discuss strategies, share
tools, resources and best practices you may adapt to your workplace.
The goal is to create better access to employment,
education and service for persons with disabilities across all
sectors
More Information Here:
http://www.ccrw.org/conference/main.php?id=153&categoryconference
 Ability
Expo
“Canada's First Ever Virtual
Disability Expo”
October 21 - 22, 2010 ~ Online
Ability Expo 2010 focuses on
breaking all barriers for persons with disabilities, offering
innovative ways to reach vendors and providers of products and
services with a unique vantage point, while taking a 21st century
market place approach to new levels of communication.
More Information Here:
www.abilityexpo.ca/index.php
 NEADS
Conference 2010
"Learning Today, Leading
Tomorrow"
November 12-14, 2010 ~
Winnipeg, MB
The 2010 National Educational
Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) conference will focus on
solutions to drive change. This year’s event will be an exciting
opportunity for students, consumer advocates, service providers,
employers and all others interested in exploring key issues of equal
access to post-secondary education and employment for students and
graduates with disabilities. We welcome delegates from across Canada
and around the world.
More Information Here:
www.neads.ca/en/about/events/conference2010/
CANNEXUS 2011
January 24 – 26, 2011 ~
Ottawa, ON
A National Career Development
Conference designed to promote the exchange of information and
explore innovative approaches in the areas of career counselling and
career development. Designed to generate discussions for enhancing
professional development, organizational productivity and client
service effectiveness, topics include: career coaching, youth
entrepreneurship, school to work transition, aboriginal employment,
career trends, mentorship and more!
More Information Here:
www.cannexus.ca/CX/?q=en/node
 Autism
Works: A National Conference on Autism & Employment
March 3 & 4,
2011 ~ St. Louis, MO
Bringing the Autism and Vocational Rehabilitation
Communities together, the Autism Works National Conference is
bringing these two powerful constituencies together to learn from
each other and to improve employment opportunities for adults with
autism.
More Information Here:
www.dps.missouri.edu/Autism.html?cmpCONF
 Alliance
for Full Participation Summit 2011
“Real Jobs – It’s Everyone’s
Business"
November 17 – 19, 2011 ~
Washington, DC
Over 1500 attendees will work
together to plan, organize and share best practices that will lead
to a substantial increase in the number of people with developmental
disabilities in integrated employment. Countless more will
participate at local viewing stations set up throughout the county.
Innovative program design will ensure that the work completed in
Washington will have a lasting impact on our society.
More Information Here:
http://www.allianceforfullparticipation.org/summit-2011-b
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World, 849 Almar Avenue, Suite C, #206, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
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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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