Just a few days left in National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and communities really seem to be seizing this opportunity to put a spotlight on their employees who have disabilities in hopes of spurring other businesses to follow their practice and focus on what skills a person brings to the job.
Jason Cato’s article for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review last Thursday included a sidebar with the ACCESS acronym used by Life’s Work of Western Pennsylvania to help employers successfully integrate people with disabilities into the workplace. Then in the body of the article, Cato illustrated how each has been utilized by Rivers Casino.
A is for “Acknowledge that responsibility for creating such an environment falls on everyone.” As keynote speaker Dana LaMon told the audience at last week’s employment awareness event organized by Life’s Work, attitude is the first barrier that needs to be overcome. This begins with leadership making the inclusion of people with disabilities an explicit company goal through policy statements or other forms of formal communication; such a top-down approach helps ensure that management an employees on all levels embrace the effort.
The first C stands for “Consider that not all people with disabilities are alike.” This is reminder of the potential diversity of conditions lumped under the categorical term “people with disabilities.” Rivers Casino employment manager Marne Deithorn tells Cato that the 15 employees with disabilities at Rivers Casino have a variety of physical or mental conditions. However, it is also a reminder that these are individuals with their own habits and personalities, just like any other co-worker would have.
The second C urges businesses to “Create for anonymity when accommodating for a functional disability.” Deithorn honors this by not giving Cato the last name of an employee with a disability who works as a cook. Angelica has a hearing impairment, but how would a casino patron even know that she is the one perparing the food, and why would it make a difference?
E is for “Elicit self-determination so workers with disabilities can determine what they need to succeed.” Angelica has embodied this aspect of the credo by teaching sign language to her colleagues in order to facilitate better workplace interactions. Diethorn said Angelica was given an employee award in recognition for her efforts.
“Stress what can be done rather than what cannot,” is what the first S stands for, and is really at the heart of any good strategy for including people with disabilities into the workplace. Lamon lost his sight as a child; but that did not prevent him from excelling as a student at Yale University and the University of California Law Center. Nor did it impede his ability to be an administrative judge in California’s Social Services department for 29 years, or to operate an independent living facility in Long Beach, where he employed seven people with disabilities.
The final S is for “Stoke change that can include people with disabilities.” As Richard Musser, an official from Pennsylvania’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, tells Cato, both the state and federal governments offer tax credits that provide incentives for hiring people with disabilities, among other programs.
The ACCESS approach has helped Life’s Work of Pennsylvania provide more recruitment and employment opportunities for 1,500 individuals each year. Share any of your own examples of how providing access to jobs has helped make life matter for people with disabilities in the comments below.
Image by John Loo.