Disability Sensitivity

1. Disability Sensitivity Sylvia Domagalski – Regional Disability Coordinator - Region 6 December 30, 2008

2. BARRIERS

3. What is the greatest barrier to people with disabilities that still exists today? 3

4. The greatest barriers individuals with disabilities have faced for decades and continue to face today areattitudinal barriers. www.disabilityisnatural.com 4

5. WHY THE BARRIERS?

6. Work Trends Survey Americans’ Attitudes About Work, Employers and Government Work Trends, March 2003 John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Restricted Access: A Survey of Employers About People with Disabilities and Lowering Barriers to Work 6

7. http://www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/Knowledge_Centers/DisabilityAndWork.aspxhttp://www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/Knowledge_Centers/DisabilityAndWork.aspx

8. Work Trends, 2003 Peoplewith disabilities are underrepresented in the labor market, despite the desire and ability to work. Restricted Access reveals that though many employers are willing to hire people with disabilities, misconceptions regarding hiring and accommodation abound. 8

9. Specific Barriers Cited by Employers toTheir Hiring People with Disabilities Heldrich Work Trends Survey, v.3.6: winter ‘03 9

10. Why the Attitude? 10

11. It’s not just a matter of semantics or being “politically correct”; the language we use reflects how we feel about disability. http://www.disabilitylearningservices.com/unit03.htm 11

12. Negative Phrases Used to Describe People with Disabilities • Retard or retarded • You must have ridden the “short bus” • Crazy, lunatic, schizo, psycho, insane • Deaf and dumb • A mute • Crippled • Freak 12

13. Myths & Misperceptions THE “REAL DEAL”

14. Misperceptions & Biases of Persons with Disabilities • MYTH:People with disabilities have lower job performance. • FACT:In 1990, DuPont conducted a survey of 811 employees with disabilities and found 90% rated average or better in job performance compared to 95% for employees without disabilities. A similar 1981 DuPont study which involved 2,745 employees with disabilities found that 92% of employees with disabilities rated average or better in job performance compared to 90% of employees without disabilities. • MYTH: Employees with disabilities have a higher absentee rate than employees without disabilities. • FACT:Studies by firms such as DuPont show that employees with disabilities are not absent any more than employees without disabilities. 14

15. Misperceptions & Biases • MYTH: It is too costly to accommodate students and employees with disabilities. • FACT:Of the employers who gave cost information related to accommodations they had provided, 167 out of 366 (46%) said the accommodations needed by employees and job applicants with disabilities cost absolutely nothing. Of those accommodations that did have a cost, the typical one-time expenditure by employers was $500. [www.jan.wvu.edu] • MYTH: Certain career choices are more suited to persons with disabilities. • FACT:As with all people, certain career choices may be better suited to some than to others. While there are obvious poor career technical training and career choices, there are also many ways to accommodate individuals with disabilities as well as alternate ways of accomplishing a task. 15

16. Misperceptions & Biases • MYTH: Persons with disabilities need to be protected from failing. • FACT:Persons with disabilities have a right to participate in the full range of human experiences including success and failure. Job Corps Center staff and employers should have the same expectations of, and work requirements for, all students/employees. 16

17. Job Accommodation Network (JAN) – Fact Worksheet Series Workplace Accommodations: Low Cost, High Impact: New Research Findings Address the Costs and Benefits of Job Accommodations for People with Disabilities THE “REAL DEAL”

18. Most employers report no cost or low cost for accommodating employees with disabilities. • Of the employers who gave cost information related to accommodations they had provided, 167 out of 366 (46%) said the accommodations needed by employees and job applicants with disabilitiescost absolutely nothing. • Another 165 (45%) experienced a one-time cost. • Only 25 (7%) said the accommodation resulted in an ongoing, annual cost to the company 18

19. Most employers report no cost or low cost for accommodating employees with disabilities. • 9 (2%) said the accommodation required a combination of one-time and annual costs; however, too few of these employers provided cost data to report with accuracy. Of those accommodations that did have a cost, the typical one-time expenditure by employers was $500. 19

20. The bottom line… • According to the employers who participated in this study, the benefits of making accommodations for individuals in the workplace far outweigh the costs. • Specifically, these employers found that on average, for every dollar they put into making an accommodation, they “got back” a little over $10 in benefits. Making accommodations just makesgood business sense! 20

21. Exploring the Bottom Line: A Study of the Costs and Benefits of Workers with Disabilities (conducted by DePaul University and funded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity - October 2007) THE “REAL DEAL”

22. Cost-Benefit Surveys • Thirteen companies provided quantitative data for the cost-benefit survey phase. From these companies, 314 employees were selected to participate (95 with and 219 without disabilities). • The 95 employees with disabilities held various positions including Service Workers, Administrative Support Workers, Professionals, and Officials and Managers. 22

23. The good news… • Participants with disabilities from the retail and hospitality sectors stayed on the job longer than participants without disabilities. • Across all sectors, participants with disabilities had fewer scheduled absences than those without disabilities. • Retail participants with disabilities had fewer days of unscheduled absences than those without disabilities. • Regardless of sector, participants with and without disabilities had nearly identical job performance ratings. 23

24. The good news… • Across all sectors, the difference in the amount of supervision required ratings were relatively minor among participants with and without disabilities. • The number of worker’s compensation claims of retail participants with and without disabilities were equivalent. 24

25. Other findings… • Areas where participants with disabilities did not fare as well were: • Healthcare participants with disabilities stayed on the job for shorter lengths of time than participants without disabilities. • Healthcare participants with disabilities had more days of unscheduled absences than those without disabilities. • Both healthcare and hospitality participants with disabilities had more worker’s compensation claims than their counterparts. 25

26. Real Stories THE “REAL DEAL”

27. A Painting Crew with a Different Angle From the New York Times (1996) http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9E00E6D8173AF936A2575AC0A960958260 • …two men are part of a painting and plastering crew made up of people with disabilities. Mr. Ojeda, 35, has trouble hearing in one ear; Mr. Lee, 41, lost the use of his legs after he was shot in the spine. Their colleagues have head injuries, visual limitations, develop-mental problems and seizure disorders; some are partly paralyzed and others are recovering drug addicts. 27

28. A Painting Crew with a Different Angle • Lisa Lederer, International Center for the Disabled’s Director of Business Opportunities said the crew had tested her conviction that no one should be denied the chance to work based on physical condition. ''It gives us a chance to put our money where our mouth is,'' she said. ''Now that I have to bid on jobs and make deadlines, the question is will you try out someone with visual problems? So far I have given everyone a chance. A man who was paralyzed on one side was a great plasterer.'' 28

29. Woman Born With No Arms Becomes First Pilot to Fly Airplane With Feet • Jessica Cox, of Tucson, Ariz., was born without arms, but that has only stopped her from doing one thing: using the word "can't.“ • With one foot manning the controls and the other delicately guiding the steering column, Cox, 25, soared to achieve a Sport Pilot certificate. • http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,463368,00.html 29

30. Ability Jobshttp://www.jobaccess.org/ • OLD SCHOOL: People with disabilities are institutionalized and written off. • NEW SCHOOL: People with disabilities are recognized as untapped talent and hired by forward-thinking employers. • Assistant Labor Secretary Neil Romano talks to ABILITY Magazine about the coming revolution in the American workforce: 30

32. CHANGING ATTITUDES

33. Person First Language Person First Languageputs the person before the disability and describes what a person has, not who a person is. A“person with a disability” not a “disabled”person 33

34. Why Person First? Group designations such as "the blind," "the retarded" or "the disabled" are inappropriate because they do not reflect the individuality, equality or dignity of people with disabilities. Further, words like "normal person" imply that the person with a disability isn't normal, whereas "person without a disability" is descriptive but not negative. http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/comucate.htm 34

35. Affirmative Phrase A person with an intellectual disability A person who uses a wheelchair or who is mobility-impaired A person with a disability A person with a mental health disability A person who is deaf A person who has epilepsy A person who has multiple sclerosis Language Use 35

36. Barrier Removal – Reasonable Accommodation Sometimes our misperceptions and biases about what a person with a disability can or cannot do exist because there is not an awareness or knowledge base of how those barriers might be alleviated with the use of appropriate reasonable accommodation. 36

37. How Accommodations Remove Barriers 37

38. Examples of what some individuals with certain types of learning disabilities might “see” when looking at printed material or how they might “write” on paper. 38

39. Appropriate accommodations remove barriers so the individual with a disability can use & demonstrate his/her ability • There are many ways in which barriers due to a disability may be accommodated. Examples: • Use of a word processor • Spell check • Word prediction • Use of text-to-speech software • Use of voice dictation software 39

40. Suggestions for Effective Communication • Ask the person with the disability about their needs • Consider the communication situation (e.g., nature, length, and complexity) • Use a combination of aids and services with appropriate communication techniques.  For example, speaking clearly in a normal tone of voice, writing key words, using short sentences, gesturing, signing, looking directly at the listener when speaking http://www.disabilitylearningservices.com/unit05.htm 40

41. The Ten Commandments of Communicating with People with Disabilities The Ten Commandments of Communicating with People with Disabilities is a video that provides information on disability etiquette via a series of humorous vignettes. It also delivers a compelling portrait of people with disabilities as competent, contributing, and affable participants in the workforce. http://www.pdassoc.com/tcd.html 41

42. Educating the Student • Assist student in becoming confident and comfortable discussing his/her disability by providing: • Specific training/literature on • Disclosure • Self-Advocacy & Self-Determination • Workplace Rights 42

43. Educating the Employer • Each October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). NDEAM is a perfect time to promote awareness and showcase the abilities of students with disabilities within the Job Corps environment, within the community-at-large and most importantly, with employers. 43

44. NDEAM Suggested Activities • Suggested activities include: • Work with local business industry council to set up a job fair or open house featuring center trades and show types of accommodations and how they are used in that particular field. • Gather information on hiring individuals with disabilities and disseminate to employers, including development of flyers and newsletter perhaps featuring students with disabilities who have been successfully placed.Make this a year round activity! What are some center activities that you have done to recognize NDEAM? 44

45. Involving Employers • Invite employers to participate in the center’s programs and activities. • Include disability organization representatives on the center’s • community relations council • business industry councils. 45

46. BUILDING INCLUSIVENESS

47. Creating & Maintaining an Inclusive Training & Work Environment • Use posters and other visual displays that are inclusive of individuals with disabilities. • Provide ongoing training to staff, students, and prospective employers regarding disability related topics. • Disability Sensitivity/Basic Etiquette • Common Disabilities • Reasonable Accommodation • Types of Barrier Removal • General Resources • Education and Training Techniques/Strategies • Staff modeling of appropriate conduct, attitudes, and knowledge. 47

48. Posters available at www.disabilityisnatural.com 48

49. The 2008 DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities RESOURCES

50. Top 10 Companies for People with Disabilities • The list was ascertained by factoring in the questions we asked about people with disabilities, such as whether the company actively recruits them and has employee-resource groups for them. DiversityInc also examined work/life benefits. • http://www.diversityinc.com/public/3573.cfm 50