Decreasing the rate of unemployment is on the minds of business professionals and policymakers alike. President Obama issued an enthusiastic Executive Order in July of 2010, challenging the Federal government to reevaluate and optimize their role as disability employers. This Order fell on the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, helping to further disability awareness among American business owners and professionals.
But one question befalls most small to mid-sized businesses: how can we help? The fear of change, increased costs, and disability program failure has many employers stagnant, despite genuine interest in offering equal opportunity employment. Tough economic times make these fears even greater, tempting business owners to wait for the economic tides to turn before making major changes in business strategy and operations. However, an evaluation of internal business culture may provide hope for organizations of most industries. Analyzing the communication methods and level of worker autonomy can provide a sound indication of an organization’s ability to adopt a more inclusive workplace, hiring workers of varied mental and physical ability.
Disability Education: Increasing Communication Support
A diverse workplace will need standards of communication. When assembling teams of employees with richly varied abilities, it is vital for each individual to be aware of their peers and the communication methods necessary to support collaboration. Ongoing disability education is essential to promote such collaboration. Professionals will find interactive disability products likewise instrumental in educating employees in proper communication practices with their peers with disabilities.
Disability Products for the Inclusive Workplace
Additional disability products are available to business professionals who wish to supplement their disability training programs by providing individuals with disabilities the materials needed to help them develop professionally. The Discovering Your Personal Power curriculum helps individuals with developmental disorders identify their own unique dimensions of ability and worth. This disability product is ideal for training groups of employees; the CD-Rom comes with 30 activities that may be reproduced to facilitate training several employees simultaneously. This engaging product will help to build a sense of autonomy among workers with disabilities, smoothing their transition into the culture of an organization.
Though engaging in disability employment may be uncharted waters for most professionals, it is nonetheless a requisite for becoming an equal opportunity employer. Moreover, the employment level among persons with disabilities will likely keep falling until more small to mid-sized businesses proactively seek to hire persons with disabilities. However, disability products that cultivate worker autonomy can help professionals build the inclusive environments necessary to support workers with disabilities.
An overwhelming amount of A-list star took the stage last Thursday evening to raise charitable donations and promote national disabilities education and awareness on Comedy Central.
The telethon, aptly named A Night of Too Many Stars, successfully raised several hundred thousand dollars for a host of national organizations. Specifically, these organizations provide autism awareness and services for individuals with autism and their families. Hosted by Jon Stewart, the television special drew the participation of many celebrities including George Clooney, Naomi Watts, Steve Carrel, and Robin Williams, among many others. The event marked a noteworthy milestone as many high profile individuals stood together to spread disability awareness on the national stage.
At the onset of the event, host Jon Stewart reminded viewers that about 1 in 110 children are diagnosed as autistic (i). “Tonight isn’t about curing autism or fighting it,” he continued. “Tonight is about helping people that live with it now.” Mr. Stewart’s distinction exemplifies much of the mission of Program Development Associates, and his words resonate powerfully with us. Though finding cures for disabilities and disorders is imperative, proactive present-day action is perhaps more important. Each of us has the ability to impact the lives of others in profound ways. Spreading disability awareness is an essential catalyst, and none demonstrated this more than the stars of last Thursday night’s Comedy Central special event.
Just one of the beneficiaries of the event includes the Institute for Brain Development, based out of New York. This organization conducts ongoing research in an effort to address the daily needs of individuals with autism-spectrum disorders, as well as other developmental disorders of the brain.
Spreading disability awareness and advocacy is perhaps the best way to support efforts to fund, study, and ultimately cure developmental disorders. There are a range of disability products available to business professionals, educators, and parents who wish to become proactive advocates of disability.
(i) http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/ent-life/articles/Too_Many_Stars_to_help_raise_money_for_autism.html
Pursuing a college degree is not the only option for young people. Instead, it is a cultural norm that has become the go-to option for those who need more education, engagement, and time to decide on a career path. Skilled careers are a viable option for young people that are often lost in the overwhelming societal push towards the college experience.
There are many ways to transition into a skilled career as a young person. Apprenticeships, work-based learning programs, and associate’s degrees are just three ways to pursue opportunities for employment. These paths are each explored in the Succeeding Without College DVD resource from Program Development Associates. This indispensable resource helps viewers consider the abundant alternatives to college and decide which option is best.
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are an excellent way to link employers with individuals who are ready to dive into the workplace. The Internet has become a valuable resource for employers to post apprenticeship opportunities, and for young people to find apprenticeship opportunities in their field of interest.
Work-Based Learning
Work based learning takes a hybrid approach to education, combining traditional the traditional learning environment with hands on work experience. This provides the ideal environment for individuals to showcase their abilities, as well as to learn firsthand whether or not a particular work environment is aligned with their personal values and abilities.
Associate’s Degree
The Associate’s Degree is perfect for the individual who does not want to pursue a four year undergraduate college degree but nonetheless has a particular field that they wish to study. Moreover, individuals who choose this path will be well positioned to transition to a college to attain an undergraduate degree if they so choose.
Making the change from teenager to young adult is difficult, and choosing the correct opportunity is critical. The Succeeding Without College DVD is an essential resource for young adults who are considering alternatives to a college education. This resource explores various skilled career options, highlighting skills and essential qualities for success along the way.
This month Program Development Associates is proud to offer sizeable discounts on over 80 different disability products for teachers, professionals, and parents. This discounted resource collection spans a multitude of different topics and issues, making it more affordable than ever to pursuer disability education for personal or professional use.
Products for Caregivers
In our previous article, we discussed the challenges those with disabilities face in finding employment that is both congruent with ability and provides a high level of satisfaction. As a follow up, PDA is excited to share the discounted resources now available to caregivers and those with disabilities who need assistance finding employment. The Barriers to Employment Special is a two piece bundle that will help individuals identify the personal obstacles, formulate strategies to overcome them, and plan for career advancement.
Barriers to Employment Success DVD
The first disability product in this bundle, the Barriers to Employment Success DVD, helps those with disabilities identify specific obstacles that need addressing. From lacking a professional resume to inadequate job experience, this DVD teaches viewers to rise above their problems by recognizing that they are not excuses. Rather, they are simply problems with solutions. Using five different categories of obstacles to frame such pissues, this disability education product helps those with disabilities develop the right attitude and resources to analyze their options and form an actionable plan to gaining employment.
Barriers to Success Inventory
Solving a problem is rarely the most difficult part of moving forward. Rather, it is identifying the problem to be solved that is most difficult. The Barriers to Success Inventory is one of the most intuitive and effective tool for persons with disabilities to implement in identifying hurdles to fulfilling employment.
Spanning several distinct dimensions of lifestyle, this disability resource uses 50 basic questions to uncover the most difficult challenges beset upon the individual being surveyed. Once these challenges are identified, the Inventory helps the individual develop an actionable plan for overcoming the challenges while pursuing employment and career opportunities.
The Barriers to Success DVD and Inventory are superb complements and valuable tools to accompany persons with disabilities and their caregivers in seeking employment. Both are available through this Program Development Associates Employment Special along with other resources listed under the Specials or Clearance section of the PDA website.
Organizations often face the dilemma of strategic orientation. While this dilemma takes on many forms, the two most common are quality orientation versus production orientation. Providing high quality customer service, for example, usually consumes the time necessary to also maintain high quality internal production.
Overcoming Communication Barriers with Disability Education
One way to adopt high standards for both quality and production is to departmentalize operations. This is not a new concept; many companies have production departments that are separate and distinct from customer service departments. However, fragmented departments must be able to communicate effectively in order maintain overall operational efficiency. For disability employers, this issue takes on added difficulty because peer-to-peer communication is framed in an inclusive workplace with many challenges that must be met and overcome.
Employees of all ability levels must have a sense of disability awareness and advocacy in order to communicate effectively and maintain a streamlined flow of information. Employers who utilize disability education resources can help employees cultivate the skills necessary to work inclusively. The skills needed to work in inclusive environments are not attained overnight; ongoing disability education seminars are vital in bringing together and uniting employees of all ability levels.
Goal: Autonomy Through Disability Education
Disability education programs do more than build awareness and cohesion, however. For disability employers, ongoing education and awareness initiatives help to build a sense of autonomy in workers with disabilities. Studies are increasingly relating worker autonomy with increased job satisfaction, which in turn increases productivity.
Further, autonomy among individuals within separate departments drives quality production by facilitating worker communication and information flow. Managers are turning to programs and strategic orientations that increase worker autonomy for this very reason. For disability employers, the issue of developing worker autonomy is not so easily addressed. Internal disability awareness and education programs are instrumental, however they are just a starting point. Persons with disabilities often need supplementary disability products to aid in developing professional skills like autonomy and efficacy.
Program Development Associates offers a new product this month to help persons with disabilities cultivate these essential workplace skills: The Discovering Your Personal Power Curriculum. This guide helps those with developmental disabilities learn of their individual, inherent, personal power. With 30 full-scale activities on a CD-Rom that can be reproduced for use among several individuals, the Discovering Your Personal Power Curriculum represents an essential tool for disability employers looks to build worker autonomy.
Learning the history of disability and the evolution of disability awareness is the key driver towards inclusion, both in the workplace and in the larger context of society as a whole. Disability employment professionals may utilize resources that provide the history of disability in society to better frame contemporary issues for employees. The goal: to provide a story with which everyone may relate, regardless of the difference in mental and physical capacities.
Program Development Associates features a resource bundle that is ideal for disability education in the diverse workplaces of today. This 2 DVD pack first primes viewers with the history of disability from a medical and societal perspective, then moves to share with viewers an unrestricted view of the infamous Willowbrook State School for the developmentally disabled. The progression of this multi-resource bundle will not only give viewers a comprehensive history lesson, but will also provide a real-world examples for the necessity for ongoing disability awareness.
Disability History
The first DVD of this resource bundle, A Little History Worth Knowing, provides a background in disability stereotypes spanning from early medical dilemmas to current day assistive technology breakthroughs. This DVD uses a multitude of resources, including the diaries of real individuals with disabilities, to follow the development of disability awareness through the past century.
Willowbrook: Lessons for Today
The Unforgotten: 25 Years After Willowbrook DVD provides the quintessential follow-up for this disability resource bundle. This award-winning expose was shot in 1972 by Geraldo Rivera and is widely considered a major catalyst for the widespread reform in the treatment of people with disabilities. The hour long DVD, available in Closed Captioned format, also includes a 30 minute Geraldo Rivera bonus feature that will give viewers insight toward the making of the documentary. Above all, the critically acclaimed film is a valuable tool for disability employment professionals because it shows viewers of the horrific shortcomings of the Willowbrook State School, teaches them of the inequities of such treatment, and provides impetus for ongoing disability awareness training.
Additional disability training resources may be viewed through the Program Development Associates product catalog, which may be downloaded for free on the Disabilitytraining.com.
Whether transitioning into the workforce for the first time or making a career change, finding jobs for people with disabilities may be a challenge. Caregivers and advocates see firsthand, for example, the difficulty people with learning disabilities face in trying to find employment that is both fulfilling and congruent with ability. The most effective way to make this transition is to first gauge the ability, talent, and interests of the individual. This personal assessment must then be used to compare real world employment options to confidently make career decisions.
Disability Employment Evaluation
Identifying the interests and abilities of an individual is crucial in determining the field of employment to pursue. The Career Evaluation DVD has been a popular disability product; this resource is available in Closed Captioned format and helps individuals relate occupational tasks and work environments to their own unique values. Education level, skill set, personal values, and lifestyle are all explored in the context of employment opportunities to mesh the attributes of an individual with an ideal area of work.
Disability Job Advancement
Many persons with disabilities are currently employed and may be happy with the environments in which they work. Still, these individuals may need assistance in evaluating how to progress as a professional in their field. The Career Advancement Strategies and Tools textbook will serve as a guide for these individuals to better identify their desires and to construct actionable steps towards achieving employment that is more satisfying.
Whether employed or seeking employment, career management is a necessary element for persons with disabilities, caregivers, and advocates to consider when seeking and evaluating career opportunities. Active career management can not only help with disability employment, but it can also aid in job retention. As studies like the Unnecessary Boundaries report produced by TeleWork Exchange indicate, it is the lack of disability job retention that has driven unemployment to such high levels in recent years.
Of great concern for Program Development Associates is the optimism and enthusiasm with which persons with mental or physical impairments approach the idea of disability employment. From young adults with learning disabilities to aging employees who develop dementia while approaching retirement, Program Development Associates believes individuals are entitled to pursuing their passions in safe and effective ways.
Helping an individual with a disability to identify their passion, choose a part time job, or even manage a career change can be a true challenge. However, the Beyond Barriers to Passion and Possibility DVD and CD-Rom resource provides individuals with the guidance needed for sifting through employment options.
For twenty years, Denise Bissonette has been a leading developer of curricula designed to help individuals find their passion, identify the ways in which they prefer to work, and explore employment options in the real world.
Ms. Bissonette utilizes her field expertise to present viewers with key inquiries, questions or frames to use when considering real world employment scenarios. Her course slowly shifts viewers from a they-centric thought process to an I-centric thought process. Viewers will shed thoughts of what can they offer me? and replace them with self-actualizing thoughts of what can I offer them? Through the 2 hours of this in-depth training resource, viewers begin to cultivate a renewing sense of efficacy. Once cultivated, this stance helps viewers frame real questions about job opportunities, duties, and the potential for professional development.
Individuals may use the disability employment resource as an entire 2 hour training course, or they may break it down into more easily comprehended mini-courses. Employment professionals will find the training course ideal for facilitating group discussion as well, providing an enthralling and interactive learning environment for any disability training program.
