RESOURCES on DISABILITY & EMPLOYMENT
 

VIDEOS: Ernst & Young AccessAbilities minutes

Particularly in recent years, Ernst & Young has been earning accolades for outstanding practices around workforce diversity. Concurrent with that broader agenda, it has been earning praise for its inclusive practices with regard to employees with disabilities. In fact, in 2010, Ernst & young ranked #2 on DiversityInc’s Top Ten companies for the inclusion and accommodation of employees with disabilities. This little video series demonstrates one of the many practices the have given Ernst & Young their well-earned reputation. This series of eighteen, minute-long, vignettes help all Ernst & Young employees to hone their abilities to be better coworkers of fellow employees with disabilities.

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MANUAL: Job Shadowing

How to Build Partners for Career Exploration is the title of this concise little guide from Keene College in New Hampshire - for organizing job shadowing experiences for high school students with disabilities. Through job shadowing, high school students can explore a potential career by tagging along with someone working in the field, observing what they do and talking one-on-one. It is a one-time experience, during which one student partners with one host and learns about a job by observing and asking questions while the host carries out normal workday activities. A job shadow is a real-life, authentic experience that can serve as a career exploration and assessment tool, if used and processed appropriately.

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WEBSITE: Use My Ability

Focused on enhancing employability, this website from the United Kingdom offers advice/information for Employers, University Staff, and Students with disabilities. Rooted in basic “employability skills”, it offers guidelines on what abilities underpin those skills, how different disabilities might affect an individual’s ability to demonstrate those skills, and what strategies could be employed to enhance inclusiveness.

  Visit Use My Ability: www.usemyability.org

REPORT: Segregated and Exploited: A Call to Action!

This report, subtitled “The Failure of the Disability Service System to Provide Quality Work” is a disturbing look at the underbelly of the myriad of services throughout North America that provide so-called “employment services” to people with disabilities. The report, published by the National Disability Rights Network, is 60 pages long, doesn’t pull any punches, and isn’t intended to be fodder for pleasant after-dinner conversations. Rather, it is a biting and hard-hitting expose of the shortcomings of services that are generally categorized as “sheltered workshops.” Well-worth reading, this very thorough report asserts that “Sheltered workshops are not what they promise to be, and sometimes serve as an unsettling example of how good intentions can lead to terrible outcomes.”

Read the Report: http://tiny.cc/b8h9p

WEBSITE: Don’t Waste Talent!

With separate content areas for both Employers and People with Disabilities this website from the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services is full of proactive and helpful information. The downloadable posters are catchy and the “Success Stories” videos are particularly informative.

Website:

WEBSITE: Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Technology Fields

The Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities has developed a website called “Meet the Future Face of Employment”. It is intended to “help anyone interested in supporting individuals with autism spectrum disorder to be employed in technology fields.” Currently, the website gives prominence to profiling successfully-employed folks with autism spectrum disorder. There is a section devoted to the “WOW People” - individuals who have achieved worldwide acclaim, as well as Minnesotans who have excelled in their careers. Beyond that, there is a wealth of information and resources focused on engaging the talents of people with autism spectrum disorder in technology-related careers.

  See: www.mncdd.org/asd-employment/index.html

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The 6 Reasons You'll Get The Job
What Employers Look for - Whether They Know It or Not
Author: Debra Angel MacDougall and Elisabeth Harney Sanders-Park
(Softcover, 272 pages)
More people than ever are applying for the same few jobs. Surfing job boards and submitting a dozen résumés a day just doesn't work. The 6 Reasons You'll Get the Job shows you exactly how to tailor your pitch and stand out from the crowd so that you get hired.

Blueprint for Workplace Success: A Guide to Employment Preparation
Instructors Guide and Workbooks
This highly interactive 30 to 40 hour curriculum is an excellent training resource for teachers, counselors and employment specialist. It is designed to motivate and inspire youth and individuals who are uncertain about their employment options to take responsibility toward creating a meaningful and realistic career path. The materials will make your work easer, more effective and altogether more engaging as you foster the development of skills, strategies and attitude necessary to help individuals find their way in the fast-paced world of work.

Making Self-Employment Work for People with Disabilities
Authors: Cary Griffin & David Hammis
(Softcover, 242 Pages)
Self-employment is a viable option for adults with significant disabilities - and now there’s a book that gives you the guidance you need to help individuals start and maintain their own small businesses. his guidebook shows how self-employment can work and offers the realistic, practical advice needed to get a small business off to a strong start. Whether you’re a counselor, an employment specialist, or a transition professional, you’ll benefit from the comprehensive guidance and and tools in this book.

The Way to Work
Author: Richard G Luecking 
(Soft cover, 223 pages)
Employment is one of the biggest contributors to quality of life for people with disabilities — and that means well-planned work experiences should be an integral part of transition preparation for every secondary and postsecondary school aged youth. Make that happen with this practical guide, developed to help educators, transition specialists, and employment specialists facilitate individualized, person-centered work experiences and jobs for high school students and young adults with a wide range of disabilities.

Think College!
Authors: Meg Grigal and Debra Hart
(Soft cover, 323 Pages)
As the Higher Education Opportunity Act opens the door to more options and supports, more and more students with intellectual disabilities are "thinking college." That means high schools, colleges, and universities must be fully prepared to meet the needs of students with disabilities — and this comprehensive resource is just what they need. Developed by two of the most respected experts on this hot topic, this book uncovers the big picture of today's postsecondary options and reveals how to support students with disabilities before, during, and after a successful transition to college.

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