Workplace Disabilities | * Disabilities Education Blog: Articles, Facts, & Advice *

10
May/110

Paratransit Month: Increasing Accessibility and Opportunity

The Disabilities Education Blog has covered the contemporary issues faced by many individuals with disabilities when it comes to access to employment. From company websites to physical offices, we’ve explored what is necessary to increase the accessibility of both the physical workplace as well as general information, such as job openings and company information. We have sought to identify the barriers to access faced by individuals with disabilities in these areas so we may better counter them, establishing systems and practices that help these individuals overcome such barriers.

True, disability training programs are instrumental in creating inclusive workplaces where individuals with disabilities may thrive. However, accessibility is not a standard to be implemented in the workplace only. In fact, it is a general lack of accessibility in public transportation makes it difficult for qualified individuals to gain entry to the workplace, health care facilities, and rehabilitation centers. This problem is inhibiting, and it further perpetuates unemployment among individuals with disabilities.

Easter Seals Project ACTION

In 1988, two years prior to the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Easter Seals Project ACTION was commissioned by Congress to research and improve upon the accessibility of public transportation. The organization serves as a vital link between the transportation industry and the disability community, striving to eliminate the barriers of access to public transportation.

This year, Easter Seals Project ACTION has deemed June 2011 Paratransit Month, a time for paratransit managers and other organizations to focus on ADA complementary paratransit implementation. Business professionals are encouraged to participate through Project ACTION’s following free events:

Excellence in Service for Paratransit Managers: This 10-week virtual course is ideal for those new to the paratransit field. Learn more about the history behind the disability rights movement, how to best serve the disability community in your service area, and expand your understanding of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Registration is free, but you must RSVP!

Determining Paratransit Eligibility: This two-part webinar trains professionals who are actively involved in conducting or managing the paratransit eligibility process. Interested parties must register by June 1^st to take part in this comprehensive online training program.

Federal Budget Improvements: 2012

Accessibility to public transportation is projected to increase as a number of changes are made to the 2012 Federal budget. These changes reflect the growing need for state grants, employment programs, and most notably independent living programs geared towards increasing accessibility of public transportation services.

Improving Workplace Accessibility

Program Development Associates supplies business professionals, special education teachers, researchers, and others with leading disability training resources to increase accessibility in the workplace. PDA keeps pace with the rapidly evolving world of disability research and program development, offering exclusive resources, disability research, and news to spread awareness of the contemporary issues faced by some 54 million Americans with disabilities (i).

Increasing accessibility to communal services like public transportation is just one side of the equation, albeit an important one. Equal effort must be focused on increasing workplace accessibility. Disability workplace material like DVD resources, ongoing training initiatives, and strong corporate leadership are essential in promoting awareness for accessibility and inclusion in the workplace. Increasing accessibility to both public services, like transportation, and private opportunities, like employment, sets a foundation to drastically reduce unemployment among individuals with disabilities.

(i) http://projectaction.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=ESPA_who_we_are&s_esLocation=wwa_

Tagged as: ADA, ada compliance, Americans with Disabilities Act, disability awareness, disability education, disability employment, disability training, disability training programs, Easter Seals Project ACTION, Federal budget 2012, training for disabilities, workplace accessibility, Workplace Disabilities

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16
Feb/110

Universal Design for Learning: An Office Application

The 1990s saw many developments to further the assimilation of those with disabilities into both classrooms and offices. While the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 barred employment discrimination based on disability, the Center for Applied Special Technology introduced the concept of Universal Design for Learning. Together, these two accomplishments make possible the employment and advancement of a range of individuals with a diverse range of abilities. While the ADA breaks down the workplace barriers faced by those with disabilities, UDL helps employers develop disability training programs with maximal effectiveness.

UDL Core Concepts

Specifically, UDL utilizes the following three core concepts to create a foundation for learning for those with disabilities:

1) Multiple means of representation: Gives the learner several ways to acquire the knowledge presented.

2) Multiple means of expression: Supplies the learner with alternatives to demonstrate what they have learned

3) Multiple means of engagement: Challenges teachers to gauge the learner’s interests, challenge them according to those interests, and motivate them to succeed.

UDL in the Workplace

Universal Design for Learning recognizes that each individual may have a unique way of assimilating and committing information to memory. This process is instrumental in creating knowledge, placing increased importance on the means in which information is presented to the learner. For workplaces rich in diversity, UDL fundamentals represent an effective way to present job related educational materials to individuals who may have drastically different learning abilities.

Disability education programs must be built to train employees with a range of mental and physical abilities. UDL can be applied to address this challenge in several ways. To illustrate, consider that an organization may create a training program for both visual and non-visual learners. In this example, non-visual learners represents both the visually impaired as well as those who have difficulty deducing information from illustrations. This organization can utilize the multiple means of representation to accommodate the learner differences by:

1) Creating texts and manuals that detail the information,

2) Creating texts and manuals written in brail for the visually impaired, or

3) Creating illustrations, Power Point presentations, flow charts, and other diagrams to communicate the very same information to those who prefer visual learning cues.

Implementing UDL concepts in developing training programs is a proactive way to implement Disability education programs in the workplace. UDL curricula are built with the special needs of a wide variety of employees in mind. Whether employees are mentally of physically impaired, or simply prefer one learning medium over anther, UDL ensures each individual has the opportunity to learn challenging concepts in the most effective way possible.

Tagged as: disability education, disability products, disability training, multiple means of engagement, multiple means of expression, multiple means of representation, UDL, udl in the workplace, Universal design for learning, workforce diversity, Workplace Disabilities

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9
Feb/110

Assistive Tech Apps

Organizations continually face the hurdle of effective employee placement. This hurdle grows higher when the employee has a disability, challenging organizations to place individuals in work opportunities that are both safe and rewarding. Assistive technology, coupled with ongoing disability training, has made it possible for organizations to employ thousands of individuals with a wide array of impairments. These individuals are able to contribute to the organization and community through their work opportunities, becoming wage earners, consumers, and community participants.

Of all the pieces assistive technology that has evolved since the late 1900s, the one with the most potential was not actually designed for those with disabilities at all. Rather, it was designed to provide a mobile computing and entertainment solution for on-the-go, tech savvy consumers. The device features a 9.7 inch scratch and fingerprint resistant LCD screen for vibrant displays and intuitive user-interaction. It comes in a 3G model, giving users access to high speed Internet in most areas both indoors and out. It has expansive sound capabilities, though users may opt for wired or wireless Bluetooth headphones. The device, as you may have guessed, is the Apple iPad. And it represents an essential tool for diverse workplaces.

iPad Apps Disability Employers Will Love

The iPad is a great addition to workplaces with employees who have various different mental and physical disabilities. Like other mobile computing devices, the iPad thrives on applications, or ‘Apps’ for short. Most Apps can be downloaded straight to the iPad for only a few dollars. Moreover, a surging supply of Apps have arrived, speficially designed to help those with disabilities perform personal and work related tasks.

iPad App Must-Haves

The Christopher Reeve Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life for those with disability, specifically those with spinal cord injury. The following are among the best rated iPad applications for those with disability, according to the organization:

1) Proloquo 2 Go

The Proloquo2go is an application specifically designed to benefit those with speech impairment. The application has over 7,000 vocabulary items, provides automatic verb conjugation, and includes possessive noun usage. The application also offers a recently spoken feature, allowing users to pull up recently-used phrases from up to 7 days in the past.

2) Dragon Search

This application is designed for those with limited mobility and a need for Web surfing. Dragon Search installs quickly to the iPad and allows users to navigate to popular search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, or Twitter via voice command.

3) Dragon Diction

From the same company as Dragon Search comes Dragon Diction, the application that terms voice cues into digital writing. Perfect for those with limited mobility, especially in the arms or fingers, to use in composing documents, emails, and more.

It is important to note that these are merely 3 examples of well-received Apps that make work possible for those with disabilities. Of course, assistive technology is no substitute for disability training programs that build interoffice cohesion and inclusion. Assitive technology works well on the micro level, helping employees with disabilities to perform work related tasks. However, proper work supports and disability awareness initiatives must complement their use. Without addressing the macro level of the business, organizations leave themselves vulnerable to employee turnover, discrimination, and other losses.

5
Feb/110

Disability Employers and the BWAP

Disability employers and diverse organizations know that recruiting talent is meaningless without the means of organizing individuals to yield optimum production or service efficiency. Identifying individual aptitudes, abilities, and preferences goes a long way in placing new hires as well as advancing current employees. At times, specific assessment tools are necessary. For workplaces that employ individuals with disabilities, core operations depend on the accurate assessment and placement of individuals. Disability employers are smart to consider the Becker Work Adjustment Profile (BWAP) when conducting these assessments. This easy-to-use disability training resource provides critical insight on individual vocational abilities, a prerequisite for providing meaningful and safe job placement for those with disability.

Introduction: The Becker Work Adjustment Profile

The BWAP is an observer rating instrument that gauges the work readiness of an individual. This is measured by having a subject perform several work-related tasks while a third party observes and notes their behavior. The outcome of the BWAP assessment will highlight deficiencies in certain areas necessary for job performance. Businesses use this information to help place employees with physical or mental disability in appropriate positions within the organization.

Advantages of the BWAP

One advantage of the BWAP: It does not depend on the solicitation of user responses. Instead, it is an observer rating instrument. A professional observes the subject, rating him or her on several dimensions including work attitude, interpersonal relations, cognitive skills, and work performance skills. This significantly reduces the incidence of subject-driven error, so you may be confident in the outcomes of the assessments and place employees effectively.

The greatest advantage of the BWAP is that it highlights specific areas where the subject exhibits a skill deficiency. The deficiency is framed in the context of the work setting, and this varies by organization. In this way, the observer attains a clear understanding of the specific areas in which an employee may need support or additional training. Vocational training may then be implemented to remedy areas of skill deficiency, making the subject “work ready.”

Moving forward, companies are smart to prepare for assessing and placing workers with disability. Workplace disability is on the rise, indicated by the Council for Disability Awareness. Having a firmly established assessment and placement protocol will help to create the structure necessary to support employees with disabilities in 2011.

Tagged as: Becker Work Adjustment Profile, BWAP, Community Inclusion, disability awareness, disability education, disability employment, disability products, disability training, inclusion, people with disabilities, Professional Development, Program Development Associates, vocational training, Workplace, Workplace Disabilities, workplace disability

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3
Feb/110

Employee Training Programs That Add Value

There are several reasons for employers to value a diverse employee base. Today’s business landscape is explosive; technological proliferation, decreased consumer spending, and a slow-to-recover economy make for a volatile environment. Organizations must take proactive steps towards hedging against such volatility. From a financial investment standpoint, one need only diversify their investment portfolio to minimize the risk associated with volatility. In the very same way, organizations may diversify to overcome the turbulent business environment of the present. With eclectic human capital comes a wider distribution of ideas, the foundation on which forward thinking and innovation are built.

Recruitment

Recruiting talented individuals is the first step in creating a diverse pool of human capital. Recruiters must focus on reaching a variety of different individuals. Drawing from different cultures, ethnicities, genders, and abilities is at the core of building diversity. Working with external agencies is also helpful in developing a valuable employee base. A disability employment program, for example, will help employers find skilled and qualified prospects with disabilities.

Training Employees: Disability Workplace Materials & More

Of course, one of the major hurdles that organizations must clear is placing, training, and developing each of their employees. Employees represent an opportunity for the cultivation of substantial value, if given the proper training. Workplaces with employees with disabilities, for example, must engage in employee education programs to create an inclusive work environment. These workplaces typically use disability workplace material like interactive software and DVD tutorials to build disability awareness, inclusion, and etiquette. This creates an environment where each employee is valued, contributes, and prospers

Fostering Inclusion

Inclusion, as advanced by disability rights advocates, is defined as a free and open accommodation of persons with disabilities without restrictions, limitations, or pity. It is important to understand this definition before attempting to foster inclusion in the workplace. Particularly noteworthy is the lack of pity associated with accommodating those with disabilities. This is an expression of one of the main arguments of the disability rights movement: those with disability are skilled, valuable, and capable. Those with disability should never be hired in spite of their disability; rather, they are to be hired for their unique abilities, just as any other job prospect. In this light, disability training and inclusion initiatives are to focus on spreading disability awareness to extinguish preconceived ideas pertaining to disability, individual limitations, and intellectual abilities.

Program Development Associates has a host of multimedia resources designed to help organizations train for disability. Our free product catalog is a great resource reference and may be downloaded on our homepage.

Tagged as: disability awareness, disability education, disability employment, disability employment program, disability products, disability training, disability workplace materials, inclusion, inclusion in the workplace, inclusion training, inclusive workplace, Program Development Associates, Workplace, Workplace Disabilities

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1
Feb/110

Building a Disability Employment Program

As training for disability initiatives gain momentum, one hopes to see a fall in unemployment among those with disabilities. Instead, the opposite is true. When facing an increasing rate of unemployment among those with disabilities, one need ask: why are disability employment programs not working? There have been dozens of initiatives aimed at lowering the level of unemployment among individuals with disability. From Federal legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act to Presidential Executive Orders, finding jobs for those with disabilities has been on the forefront of American political agendas. The rate of unemployment continues to grow, despite the genuine efforts made by Federal lawmakers, business owners, and citizens alike.

Telework Exchange, in conjunction with the Federal Managers Association, shed some light on this mysterious conundrum in a study of Federal employees titled Unnecessary Boundaries. Through the early months of January and February of 2010, over 500 Federal employees were surveyed in an attempt to discern the extent to which Federal managers hired and trained job prospects with disabilities. Of the respondents polled, the following opinions were gathered (i):

Over half (71%) of Federal employees surveyed felt that their manager, or managers, had fully committed to hiring prospects with disabilities.
Only half of respondents (about 50%) felt that their managers had the skill sets necessary to train an individual with a disability.

The results of the TeleWork Exchange Unnecessary Boundaries study are quite clear. The level of unemployment among those with disability is not high because these individuals have trouble attaining work. Rather, the unemployment level remains high because these individuals are plugged into systems of training and development that are not ready to accommodate their needs.

Building Disability Employment Programs

Inclusive workplaces hire individuals because of their abilities. In certain circumstances, this may involve an employer gaining a talented individual through a work-placement agency or headhunter. Other times, employers simply encounter an applicant with a disability who happens to be the most qualified candidate for the position. In either case, the new hire must be correctly transitioned into the new work environment and company culture. The most proficient way to do so is through a Disability Employment Program. Such programs utilize disability videos, interactive training software, and standardized test materials to ensure a smooth transition for both new hire and current company culture.

The need for internal constructs that facilitate employee inclusion is great. The system has been set; no longer may employers discriminate among qualified job applicants merely because of disability. Rather, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for new hires with disabilities. Program Development Associates offers many resources to help your organization develop disability training programs that build inclusion in the workplace.

(i) http://www.teleworkexchange.com/unnecessarybarriers/landing.asp

Tagged as: Community Inclusion, disability awareness, disability education, disability employer, disability employment, disability employment program, disability employment services, disability products, disability training, disability videos, executive order, Professional Development, Program Development Associates, TeleWork Exchange, training for disability, Unnecessary Boundaries, Workplace, Workplace Disabilities

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21
Jan/110

Emotional Quotient: A Managerial Study

Our disability training and education blog has a long history of distributing articles to help business professionals make the most of the talent they recruit. This article is no different. Today, Program Development Associates explores Emotional Quotient, or EQ, and the benefits employers receive by engaging in this type of employee training. It goes without saying, however, that leaders are smart to construct this sort of training in an inclusive manner. Opening the doors to a diverse talent pool adds depth to an employee base that translates to greater idea exchange and a heightened bottom line. In short, implementation of an EQ employee training program that accommodates those with disabilities is your organization’s best bet for increased productivity in 2011.

Training and The Emotional Quotient

The emotional quotient, typically denoted EQ, is the ability of an individuals to perceive, evaluate, and curb their emotions, as well as the emotions of their peers. This domain of ability is becoming characterized by organizational leaders, leadership consultants, and psychologists as the primary indicator of work performance. Individuals with a high EQ are more in tune with the emotions of themselves and those around them, increasing their ability to empathize, negotiate, and motivate individuals including themselves. EQ is thought to have the greatest impact on individuals in positions of authority because of their role in organizing and motivating a group.

Disability Employment Programs with EQ

Disability programs are already in place at most American businesses, their goals ranging from ADA compliance oversight to aggressive hiring of individuals with disabilities. No matter what the whole disability employment programs play in your organization, one thing is certain: Managers with high EQ scores drive effective disability employment programs that drive improvements in performance, workplace culture, and revenue (i).

Unfortunately, managers are often categorized by low levels of EQ. In a study of more 1400 managers, Ken Blanchard businesses found that about 56-82% of managers lacked the EQ skills most necessary for successful leadership (ii). Specifically:

82% fail to give employees praise for positive contributions
81% neglect to incorporate each of their followers in job processes
76% either over-supervise their followers, or under-supervise them, providing a leadership style incongruent with job tasks and work environment
59% neglect to implement proper employee training programs to motivate their employees

Moving Forward: Developing Employer Relations

The good news: it’s never too late to create employee or managerial training programs tailored specifically to the needs of your organization. Organizations are cautioned, however, to fully assess business operations as well as managerial EQ levels before engaging in training to build employer relations skills. Full business analysis is a critical factor in creating training programs that yield true results. Disability videos, EQ materials, and other resources are available online, giving businesses the opportunity to create a custom library of training materials geared specifically towards their unique training objectives.

(i) http://guidebestofthebest.com/emotional-intelligence-eq-matters-more-than-iq-to-increase-business-profit-budget-for-executive-leadership-development-and-success.php

19
Jan/110

Build Inclusion Through Disability Awareness

Business professionals know that today’s work environment is on the move. Technologies, marketing channels, even employee training programs are constantly changing. It’s never been a more dynamic time to be in business. With the rapid changes, however, comes the excitement of evolution. It’s survival of the fittest; today, being most fit means leveraging your workforce.

The first step in leveraging your workforce is ensuring that you spread disability awareness. Today’s dynamic workplace is one where many individuals of many abilities must interact and work with one another. Engaging in disability training is one way to spread awareness, as many disability programs start with an educational overview of different conditions, communication practices, and etiquette guidelines.

Once employees are made aware of the rich differences they share with their peers, they can move to more specific areas of disability training, such as disability etiquette. Etiquette training increases the ability of one employee to communicate with another in a respectful and considerate manner, regardless of either one’s abilities. This is important for several reasons. First, workers are more likely to communicate with one another when feeling respected within their environment. This breeds efficacy, or the feeling that one is capable of bringing about change.

Second, courteous communication practices help employees communicate with one another in a non-offensive way. This contributes to creating a respectful environment, and likewise to instilling a sense of efficacy in workers, but has another benefit: risk mitigation. Organizations that regularly train for disability maintain a heightened level of disability awareness that prompts appreciation for the differences among peers. Ongoing training likewise keeps communication skill sets sharp, ensuring employees respect one another in the workplace. Without training for disability, an organization cannot hope to create a respectful and functional diverse workplace. This opens the door for a host of negative side effects including harassment lawsuits, discrimination claims, and other distracting and detrimental outcomes.

Training to enhance workplace skills is a sure bet for productive growth this year. Training initiatives must be conducted with persons with disabilities in mind, however. Disability training plants the seed of awareness. From awareness grows respect, appreciation, and inclusion—3 fundamental principles of communicative and profitable work environments.

15
Jan/110

Focus on Employee Training This Year

The beginning of a new fiscal year often has managers and other business leaders thinking: What can we do to increase efficiency? After all, profitability is intricately linked with efficiency. Increase efficiency and profit margin will grow.

Hiring new employees and forming new departments often seems to be the route towards increasing interoffice efficiency. Ideally, these actions are thought to create more power, structure, and production. However, human capital has a diminishing return to scale and requires substantial time before a return is realized. Technological investment, then, becomes the next sensible alternative. While technology integration typically has an exponential return, it unfortunately requires capital expenditures that may be daunting, further shrinking profit margins.

One route to increased efficiency: focus on what you have. Increasing the value of human capital is an effective way to increase operational efficiency and the bottom line, particularly in today’s diverse workplaces. In diverse workplaces, enhancing employee skill sets through inclusion and disability training pays sizeable dividends that encourage future growth.

Building Inclusive Workplaces

Inclusive workplaces are defined as environments where all individuals are accommodated openly, regardless of ability. Inclusive environments are known to have higher levels of commitment and job satisfaction among both managers and employers. In fact, executives who embrace workplace diversity and inclusion are shown to score 7 to 14% higher in these dimensions of job affinity (i). Overall, inclusive workplaces that move to increase the levels of commitment and satisfaction among their workers increase the value of human capital for the organization as a whole, greatly increasing the potential for long term gain.

Training for Inclusion

Program Development Associates offers the Disability Workplace Skills Online Store to help organizations and other business professionals build inclusion in the workplace. The multimedia disability products showcased in the store focus on a variety of topics including disability etiquette, soft skills, and sensitivity training. Focusing on these training topics increases operations efficiency by fostering confidence and efficacy among employees. The disability resources offered by PDA are instrumental in developing internal disability training programs, constructing environments that fully support workers of various abilities, and encouraging valuable idea exchange.

(i) http://ehstoday.com/training/news/executives-diversity-training-successful-1222/

14
Jan/110

Government Trains to Hire Workers with Disabilities

President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13548 last summer, challenging the Federal government to reevaluate their strategy for disability employment. The Order fell on July 26^th, 2010, the 20^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Motivation for the Order came from the need for the nation’s largest employer, the Federal government, to lead by example. The President challenged Federal departments to not only higher individuals with disabilities, but also to increase the rate at which they are retained and advanced. The government made significant strides towards attaining that goal just before the New Year; the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hosted a disability employment training event, focusing on how best to achieve the goals set forth by the President’s Order.

An Overview: Executive Order 13548

Executive Order 13548 moved to unite the Office of Personnel Management, Department of Labor, Equal Opportunity Commission, and Office of Management and Budget in an effort to reassess Federal disability employment initiatives. The goal: reposition the Federal government as a “model employer of persons with disabilities,” (i). Each department was charged with developing their own plan of action for hiring prospects with disabilities. Additionally, Order 13548 encourages Federal departments to utilize the excepted service hiring authority of Schedule A to expedite job, internship, and training program placement of those with disabilities.

Federal Disability Training, October 2010

The Office of Personnel Management hosted the disability training workshop, partnering with fellow departments to address the lofty goals set forth by the President’s Order. Commenting on the training program, OPM Director Christine Griffin stated:

This is a win-win for everyone. Employment opportunities are increased for people with disabilities and the Federal government hires highly talented and skilled individuals. (ii)

Disability Programs and Employment

In the wake of President Obama’s Order and the Federal Disability Employment Training event, it is time for employers nationwide to embrace Ms. Griffin’s message: training for disability is a win-win. Preparing your organization to take on individuals with disabilities adds rich depth to your employee base, strengthening human capital. Further, according to a study of disability trends conducted by the Council for Disability Awareness, the rate of serious disabilities among working Americans is growing at an alarming rate (iii). Training for disability is becoming an essential component of employee training, creating a competitive advantage for the forward thinking organizations that embrace it.

(i) http://jfactivist.typepad.com/jfactivist/2010/10/from-the-office-of-personnel-managment-102610-opm-hosts-disability-employment-training-workshop-gave-agencies-the.html

(ii) See above.

(iii) http://www.beamalife.com/blog/disability-insurance/5-most-alarming-long-term-disability-ternds/

11
Jan/110

Achieve Interoffice Efficiencies with Disability Training

Disability training may take on several forms. From enhancing employee communications to creating cohesion among different departments, training for disability optimizes organizational performance. The means of implementation may vary, however the end is most always constant: increased operational efficiency.

Reasons to Train for Disability

Training for disability is a requisite for success in today’s dynamic and diversified business culture. The Council for Disability Awareness has issued disability trends report stating that the incidence of serious disability has grown steadily since just 2007. Women and younger workers are most at risk, according to the report, and managers who anticipate disability in the workplace are positioned for success. Disability costs can be staggering, but forward-thinking organizations can anticipate areas of risk and train employees accordingly. Remaining compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, for example, requires attentive study of Federal and state level laws. Specifics may fluctuate, and creating a disability employment program that oversees compliance issues can save organizations immense amounts of time, money, and unwanted publicity.

Disability Training Topics

Disability training topics are similar to those of other, more common employee training programs. Unlike common training programs with which most employers are familiar, however, training for disability addresses these areas with workplace diversity in mind. This new and forward thinking method of employee training increases accessibility, builds inclusion, and positively leverage diversity to increase the bottom line. Three areas of beneficial disability training include employee communications, human relations, and ethical decision making:

Communications

With the number of different cultural customs and languages increasing in today’s workplace, increased importance is placed on effective communication. The same may be said for public relations; as community diversity increases, so too does the need for business to make an effort to communicate with persons of different backgrounds.

Human Relations

Training to better human relations involves more than communications training. Subtopics here include soft skills training, sensitivity training, and other areas of training that aim to increase the emotional quotient of employees.

Ethical Decision Making

From a legislative stance, employers are prohibited from discriminating against qualified job applicants. However, job posting, recruiting, and interviewing practices are each performed at the discretion of the employer. Training managers and human resources departments to carry out these functions in an ethical manner translates to ADA compliance, increased reach to prospects with disabilities, and an enriched talent pool from which to choose.

What to Expect from Disability Training

Ongoing employee training benefits each member of the organization. For organizations with an eclectic employee base, disability training offers the added benefit of creating a sense of inclusion among employees with rich differences. Ongoing training is essential; disability videos and other multimedia resources are essential in presenting and refining concepts that are critical to success.

25
Dec/100

Disability Training: Soft Skills Meet Hard Tasks

One of the fastest ways to increase productivity is to encourage employee cohesion, particularly in diverse workplaces. Training employees to accept coworkers, communicate courteously, and work in teams is paramount in creating a productive workplace. Disability DVDs that develop cohesion among workers, for example, help employees to develop soft skills. These abilities relate to the personality and interpersonal abilities of an individual, and they are requisites for success in today’s dynamic and diverse workplace.

Soft Skills Overview

Soft skills contribute to the building of an individual’s Emotional Quotient. The Emotional Quotient, or EQ, is a measurement of 5 basic personal dimensions. These include open-mindedness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and narcissism. Those with a high EQ may exhibit positive personal qualities like high self esteem, responsibility, integrity, and a sociable personality. In addition, these individuals have refined interpersonal skills and work well as team members, interoffice leaders, and social negotiators.

Why Emotional Quotient?

Employers have begun to recruit, train, and advance individuals with increasing attention to their Emotional Quotient. While general intelligence is an important factor, it is limited in its ability to predict job performance. Intelligence, as measured by IQ, is merely an indication of what an individuals is capable of mentally. EQ, in contrast, provides a strong indication of what the individual will do. Moreover, individuals with a high EQ are better positioned to learn and excel within their respective areas of expertise. The American Psychological Association’s report titled Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns furthers this idea, stating that individual characteristics like interpersonal skills are of equal or greater importance than IQ in predicting work performance (i). Conscientious and open minded individuals, for example, work well in teams and positively contribute to the overall functionality of their office culture.

Benefits of Soft Skills Training

Cohesion among the members of an organization or business is one of the key drivers towards profitability. Employees who understand one another, communicate effectively, and hold one another accountable for their actions create workplaces that are efficient. In this light, soft skills training takes on added importance for businesses wishing to increase efficiencies, engage in team building, or unite a fragmented and inefficient workforce. Soft skills training is also important because it develops the abilities that are thought to complement hard skills, or job-specific tasks. In this way, an employee can become more productive or efficient simply by developing their ability to stay conscientious of peers, open minded to change, or communicative with fellow employees.

Soft skills training is essential for businesses of most industries because it aids in achieving efficient operations. Moreover, developing the soft skills and EQ of employees creates a work experience rich in feelings of worth, efficacy, and autonomy. Workplaces that cultivate such feelings are usually able to keep employee turnover low, building a long lasting foundation of human capital for future growth.

(i) Neisser et al. (August 7, 1995). “Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns”. Board of Scientific Affairs of the American Psychological Association. Retrieved August 6, 2006.

Tagged as: business training, Communication, disability awareness, disability education, disability training, diversity activities, diversity and equality, emotional quotient, employee training, EQ, extroversion, open-mindedness, Professional Development, sensitivity training, soft skills, Workplace, Workplace Disabilities

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3
Dec/100

3 Reasons to Engage in Disability Training

Many business professionals are under the impression that disability training only benefits diverse organizations. Organizations often forego proactive training programs because they do not perceive an immediate need for them. However, disability training and education initiatives have benefits that extend beyond the walls of a business. Organizations that pursue initiatives equip themselves not only to hire, train, and benefit from a diverse workforce, but also to better serve consumers.

I. Hiring Employees with Disability

Disability programs undoubtedly assist employers in interviewing, hiring, and training those with disability. These programs may range in purpose, from making job applications accessible to assisting with employee assessment and placement. The goal of these programs is to build disability employer relations with job prospects and new hires, helping to transition individuals smoothly into the workplace.

II. Retain Employees with Disability

Unemployment among those with disability is nearly double that of those without (i). A causal factor for this statistic is an inability for organizations to retain employees with disability once they are hired. Disability products and training programs help employers build an inclusive workplace that supports, guides, and develops the talent they take on.

III. Increase Community Reach

Disability training products do not just benefit an organization in diversifying their business culture. Since the Americans with Disability Act, many individuals with learning, intellectual, and physical disability have entered the workplace to become valuable members of the business world. As employees, these individuals are earners and therefore also consumers. Engaging in disability training is beneficial for organizations in their efforts to serve an increasingly diverse community of consumers. Programs that emphasize soft skills training and sensitivity training will help employees to serve consumers with disability, increasing the reach of business both locally and nationally.

Developing disability training and education programs can be conducted internally and made to fit the individuality of most organizations. The Program Development Associates Workplace Skills Store is ideal for professionals interested in developing programs to enhance efficiencies in hiring, training, and advancing workers with disabilities. The store’s disability products are effective in helping individuals with and without disability to develop cooperative work skills, communicate, and develop as professionals.

Tagged as: Communication, disability awareness, disability education, disability employer relations, disability products, disability training, hiring, retaining employees, sensitivity training, Social Skills, soft skills training, training programs, Workplace, Workplace Disabilities

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28
Oct/103

Disability Employment Strategies

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 20^th 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.

Tagged as: business strategies, Communication, developmental disabilities, disability awareness, disability education, disability employer, disability employment, disability training, inclusion, inclusive workplace, obama, people with disabilities, President Barack Obama, Professional Development, Social Skills, Workplace, Workplace Disabilities

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22
Oct/100

Disability Education Specials from PDA

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.

Tagged as: barriers to success dvd, barriers to success inventory, career guidance, disability education, disability employment, New Resource, Professional Development, Social Skills, Workplace, Workplace Disabilities

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12
Oct/100

Disability Awareness: From Ancient Arenas, Willowbrook, and Forward

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.

Tagged as: a little history worth knowing, developmental disabilities, disability awareness, disability dvd, disability education, disability employer, disability employment, disability resource, disability training, diversity training, equality and diversity, human resources diversity, inclusion, Professional Development, unforgotten 25 years after willowbrook, Workplace, Workplace Disabilities

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16
Sep/100

Building Organizational Infrastructure with Disability Videos

Disability videos are an indispensable tool for any business. Workplace diversity is gaining momentum. The Unnecessary Boundaries study, conducted by Telework Exchange, offers clear evidence that employers are committed to furthering disability employment and equal opportunity for qualified job applicants. However, the study also illustrates that although employers are open to hiring qualified personnel regardless of background, ethnicity, and disability, they at the same time fall short of retaining the range of talent they recruit (i).

A Lack of Infrastructure

The conundrum uncovered by Telework’s Unnecessary Boundaries study is nevertheless hopeful. The study asserts that employers are open to disability employment. Despite the increasing rate of unemployment among persons with disabilities, 71 percent of individuals surveyed reported that their respective organizations makes genuine efforts to recruit and hire prospects from richly varied backgrounds, including those with disabilities (ii). Given this insight, the problem can be reduced to a lack of proper infrastructure to aid in training, assessing, and advancing new hires with disabilities.

Disability Videos: Infrastructure for Organizational Growth

Program Development Associates recognizes the need for organizational infrastructure that supports the vocational development of a range of individuals. Diversity in the workplace cannot flourish without internal supports that facilitate growth for many individuals of varied backgrounds. Without tools for disability assessment and evaluation, individuals with a disability cannot be expected to communicate, learn, and develop within an organization. Unfortunately, this often leads to high turnover among those with disabilities, contributing to the recently increasing level of unemployment among persons with disabilities.

The hardest battle has been won. The Americans with Disabilities Act celebrated twenty strong years of disability awareness and advocacy this past July. Disability employment has grown. Organizations must now utilize tools for disability assessment and training to retain persons with disabilities. Moving forward, disability videos, CD-ROMs, and assistive technology are all necessities in maintaining a diverse workplace. Disability advocates agree: Disability unemployment will fall as organizations build the proper infrastructure to leverage the power of diversity.

(i) http://www.teleworkexchange.com/unnecessarybarriers/landing.asp

(ii) see above.

2
Sep/104

Effective Communication Skills in the Workplace

Communication skills can make or break a diverse workplace. Organizations that hire persons with disabilities must recognize the fundamental need for improving communication skills, both on a macro and micro scale. Organizational leaders must be attentive to the communication practices between coworkers as well as those that are broadcasted throughout the organization as a whole.

This month, Program Development Associates features the Communicating with Tact, Candor, and Credibility D.V.D. to help organizations improve communication skills among their members. This digital resource explores the use of subtle mediation to effectively communicate with employees, members of interoffice teams, and upper level managers.

The point of difference in this training resource is the methodology it establishes to facilitate communication. This methodology teaches viewers to identify the individual with whom they are communication in terms of four typical conversational roles:

The Escape Artist
The communicator who sidesteps interrogation and often has a finger to point.

The Judge
An intellectual, this communicator uses ethics and morality to frame the actions of her peers.

The Scientist
Intelligent by nature, this communicator likes facts, figures, and statistics, quickly ignoring qualitative data.

The Beggar
Compassionate and empathetic, this communicator means well but often asks for more than they contribute.

By identifying the conversational role of the person with whom they communicate, viewers are better able to understand the motivation and necessity behind messages.

Once viewers learn to correctly identify the communication styles of their coworkers, they are given guidelines to further effective employee communication efforts. These guidelines include: Rephrasing, tactfully constructing talking points, quick message construction, scripting, feathered speech, and reconstructing corporate jargon.

In addition to the Communicating with Tact, Candor, and Credibility D.V.D., Program Development Associates offers a range of resources to foster communication skills. These resources include D.V.D.s, CD-ROMs, and other interactive materials exclusively designed with the diverse workplace in mind.

Tagged as: assistive communication technology, assistive technology device, business communication, communication barriers, communication in the workplace, communication model, Communication Skills, communication skills in the workplace, communication strategy, communication styles, Community Inclusion, community policing, community resources, community support, corporate communication, corporate communication strategies, corporate communications, disabilities communication, disability communication, disability technology, effective communication skills in the workplace, effective employee communication, forms of communication, improve communication, improving communication in the workplace, improving communication skills, interpersonal communication skills, mass communication, methods of communication, people with disabilities, professional communication, Professional Development, Social Skills, team communication, types of communication, Workplace, Workplace Disabilities

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31
Aug/102

Training Resources for Diversity and Equality

This month, Program Development Associates features the Diversity: Face to Face D.V.D., a unique an innovative tool that explores the four main aspects of diversity in the workforce: stereotypes, similarities, unity, and benefits. Organizations watch, together, and learn the stories men and women who truly live in diverse environments. Through their stories and thoughts, viewers see not only what it is like to live with diversity, but also learn their roles in supporting a courteous and inclusive work environment.

Diversity in the Workforce and Stereotypes

Stereotypes affect both the person acting as well as the individual receiving. The Diversity: Face to Face D.V.D. helps employers and employees recognize signs of stereotyping with the goal of identifying and diffusing it before severe problems arise.

Finding Similarities

Next, the role of similarities in a group is explored. The motivation to pin point differences among people is dispelled. Instead, viewers are challenged to consider what common ground they share with one another.

Managing Workforce Diversity Through Unity

Next, the diversity D.V.D. uses similarities as a basis to cultivate a newfound sense of organizational unity. Each member of the organization will be challenged to bond in a way that seeks a common goal and purpose.

Benefits of Diversity Training

This featured diversity product ends with an exploration of the benefits of diversity in the marketplace of today. A talented pool of individuals with varying abilities has much to offer in our global and digital business world, and the Diversity D.V.D. surveys this idea through the eyes of workers in inclusive, diverse workplaces.

An instrumental part of training diversity is building courteous and respectful behavior among all members of an organization. A richly varied group of individuals cannot function cooperatively without mutually respecting one another. Program Development Associates’ diversity resources provide the perfect medium for employers and employees alike to learn more about the importance and benefits of working within a large and heterogeneous group. This month P.D.A. offers the Diversity: Face to Face D.V.D. to help organizations recognize, embrace, and monetize their diversity.

26
Aug/100

Diversity and Equality: A Workplace Must

A lack of diversity and equality may cost an organization billions of dollars over time. The damaging affects of inequality may manifest themselves within an organization in several ways, including losses in productivity, increases in employee turnover, and a dampening of employee moral. The Is It Bias? Making Diversity Work D.V.D. addresses these issues through a critical examination of organization biases, large and small, and how they affect company growth.

However, an organization may take proactive measures to define, recognize, and reduce even subtle biases among employees to pave the way toward long term financial stability.

Organizational Productivity

Increasing company diversity can increase both short and long term productivity. In the short term, a company culture built on equality works with exceptional cohesion. Cohesion provides the groundwork for peer-to-peer collaboration, a necessity for future growth.

Minimizing Turnover

Company diversity slows employee turnover. For example, the greater the variance in worker age, the slower the rate at which organizations lose employees to retirement. This is an issue to which organizations must pay close attention as the baby boomer generation of the 1960s nears retirement. Additionally, workplaces that hold principles of diversity in high regard are better able to retain and develop young employees. Managers, and their organizations as a whole, must instill a sense of equal opportunity among workers regardless of age, ethnicity, and other extraneous characteristics. Failure to do so can cause deeply rooted feelings of resentment, anger, and helplessness, each major contributors to losing human capital.

Inspiring Moral

Great leaders show their followers through action. Organizational leaders who utilize diversity activities inspire moral among their employees by setting estimable precedent. These activities come in many forms, but they each share the same goal: to teach employees to identify and diffuse even inconspicuous biases that lay the foundation for feelings of inequality and other counterproductive thoughts.

Properly utilizing diversity resources is the first step towards safeguarding against loss. Organizations may begin training diversity through many multimedia products. Program Development Associates offers the Is It Bias? D.V.D. to help management define, recognize, and reduce biases among their workforce. Only once biases are uncovered can they be disarmed—a critical step towards an inclusive work environment.

16
Aug/101

Modern Diversity Training: Universal Design for Learning

Last week, we began our diversity training article series with a look at the use of modern assistive technology. In our second installment of Modern Diversity Training, we will explore the necessity for making the workplace accessible to complement the emergence of assistive technology.

First, an explanation of Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, will be presented. Then, we will move to investigate how UDL techniques can help disability employers and other professionals design training materials for individuals with disabilities.

Universal Design for Learning was developed by the Center for Applied Special Technology to help teachers identify with the vastly differing special needs of students with disabilities. UDL provides a blueprint for creating goals, methods, materials, and assessments that accommodate learner differences (i). Utilizing recent neurological studies, CAST asserts that there are three dominant brain networks responsible for acquiring knowledge: recognition networks, strategic networks, and affective networks (ii). Each network has a different function, yet together they move an individual to gather, process, and learn concepts. Moreover, CAST asserts that each of these networks function differently for each individual. Thus, only by accounting for learner differences can teachers, and by the same token business professionals, assist persons with disabilities in acquiring knowledge.

Disability employers must embrace the concepts set forth by the UDL methodology in order to create a diverse workplace. Specifically, disability training programs must employ the three core components of UDL: multiple means of representation, multiple means of expression, and multiple means of engagement (iii). In creating multiple means of representation, employers present information pertaining to individual work tasks in various formats. For example, a disability employer may present a single piece of information through visual presentations, written manuals, aural recordings, flow charts, and other mediums to account for learner differences and increase the rate at which knowledge is ascertained.

Most importantly, the multiple means component of UDL provides an opportunity for the communication to be tailored for the individual receiving it. To illustrate, consider that a trainee with a visual impairment can be issued an audio recording containing instructions specific to a single task. Another trainee with a learning disability like dyslexia can receive instructions for the same task by way of a visual illustration with minimal written instructions. In this way, each learning style is accommodated for, each disability is overcome, and the diversity of the workplace is maintained.

Simply investing in assistive technology falls short of effectively diversifying a work environment. Disability employers must delve deeper and consider the degree of accessibility their business provides for persons with disabilities. Evaluating accessibility requires identifying the ability of employees, areas of exceptional talent, individual learner differences, and unique support needs. Disability and diversity training initiatives that harness the power of UDL have a significant advantage in making the workplace accessible.

(i) http://www.cast.org/research/udl/index.html”>http://www.cast.org/research/udl/index.html

(ii) see above

(iii) see above

13
Aug/100

Modern Diversity Training: Assistive Technology

The desire to employ persons with disabilities is growing. In honor of the recent twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Program Development Associates Disability Training Blog is proud to present a look towards the diversified businesses of the present. This coverage will be completed in two installments.

In this article, titled Modern Business Training: Assistive Technology Products, we will take a closer look at the assistive technology that is enabling persons with various mental and physical disabilities to gain employment. Next week, we will follow up with Modern Business Training Part II, a look at the Universal Design for Learning and its application in complementing assistive technology and broadening the scope of employment opportunity for those with disabilities.

Assistive technology can be considered any of a variety of instruments used by individuals with disabilities to perform functions that might otherwise be difficult or altogether impossible (i). This is a broad and somewhat conceptual definition that has many applications. For example, mobility devices including manual wheelchairs, power wheelchairs, power scooters, and walking aids are all consider assistive technology. In this example, the technology is somewhat primitive compared to digital gadgetry but nonetheless enables the mobility of an individual who would otherwise have some degree of difficulty moving about.

Assistive technology goes beyond mobility devices to also include hardware, software, and other information technologies. For example, consider that individuals with physically impaired hands or fingers can utilize custom designed keyboards and computer mice to operate computers. Individuals with moderate to severe visual impairments can likewise overcome their unique sensory deprivation with software that reads digitally displayed messages aloud, like emails and other lines of text on a computer. In both of these examples, individuals are able to overcome their unique disabilities and perform work specific tasks.

Without these kinds of enabling technologies, these individuals would be hard pressed to find work environments in which they could actively pursue objectives, contribute as team members, and develop into working professionals. The expanding application of assistive technology, however, provides the groundwork for individuals with disabilities to do just the opposite. Indeed, the proliferation of assistive technology establishes the opportunity for businesses to diversify their workforce and cultivate the talents of a range of individuals. Moreover, employers are better able to retain valuable human capital; individuals who spend years learning, training, and contributing within a specific company can more easily retain their position should unexpected, devastating accidents occur. This adds a tremendous value for businesses rich in human capital; unexpectedly losing capital for any period of time can be costly, derail growth strategies, and undermine core business objectives.

Disability employers must know, however, that assistive technology is just that: technology. The effective application of assistive technology hinges on the ability of a disability or diversity employer to consider access. Technology is of no use if it is not accessible to the users for which it is intended. This is particularly important when considering the application of assistive technology, as it is specifically designed for persons with unique mental and physical impairments. Nuances that make one piece of assistive technology accessible to one individual may not make that instrument equally accessible to another individual with a similar impairment.

Since effective application of diversity training depends largely on accessibility, it is of great importance for employers to consider the needs of each of their employees. In the second installment of Modern Business Training, we will investigate how employers can best identify the unique needs of each employee to make assistive technology, and the workplace in general, more accessible.

(i) http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?109

9
Aug/106

Growth in Disability Studies Programs

A movement towards disability studies has begun to build momentum. Over the past decade, graduate study programs at universities across the nation have started to develop specific courses of study to better understand mental and physical impairments. From Georgetown University to the California Baptist University, these courses are being defined as a holistic study of the phenomenon of disability through a multidisciplinary approach (i).

Topics addressed include the social, cultural, and political role disability has played in society. Students learn the role people with disabilities have played in the development and implementation of several disciplines, from literature to social policy. Such programs aim to arm students with a knowledge base that will increase disability awareness and, ultimately, promote social change. The emergence of disability studies programs is important for at least two reasons.

First, disability awareness will only grow as these professionals enter society after completing their courses of study. Georgetown University explains that a critical component of their Master of Professional Studies in Disability Studies program is to provide students with the tools to educate and increase awareness across various audiences (ii). Graduates will attain the skill of communicating disability awareness and tolerance to a variety of audiences upon graduation, an invaluable skill necessary in spreading the message for any subject. In this way, graduates will have the ability to communicate awareness and tolerance to demographically or otherwise starkly differing groups of people. This promotes the proliferation of disability education by increasing the effectiveness with which it is taught. More effective disability education, in short, paves the way for awareness and understanding.

More importantly, however, it is a sign that large scale social change is on the way. The near future will see a growing population of working professionals with a deep understanding of different disabilities, across a range of different societal and historical contexts. These professionals will be instrumental in helping to assimilate those with disabilities into the workforce, in counseling persons with disabilities and their families, and in furthering the field of disability education and research. Moreover, the growing number of disability studies courses and the bodies that fill their lecture halls illustrate a growing interest and empathy for persons with disabilities, a critical component to spreading awareness.

The trend in disability studies programs is indicative of a growing number of working professionals with substantial disability training and education. This translates to narrowing the gap between those with a disability, and those without. Graduates will have the resources and experience to collaborate with individuals with disabilities, helping them to become active community members. Business owners must take note of the growing number of disability studies programs and their resulting societal implications. These graduate schools, for example, represent prime recruiting outlets for Human Resource departments, managers, and other professional positions. Disability study program graduates serve exemplary consultants, as well, for businesses looking to implement inclusion training to solidify their company culture.

(i) http://www.sps.cuny.edu/programs/spscourses/programdescription.aspx?pid=6&sid=DSCP

(ii) http://scs.georgetown.edu/departments/32/disability-studies

Tagged as: Communication, Community Inclusion, developmental disabilities, disability awareness, disability education, Disability Studies, Disability Studies programs, disability training, Diversity, Georgetown University, inclusion, inclusion training, inclusive workplace, learning disability, Professional Development, Social Skills, Workplace, Workplace Disabilities

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5
Aug/100

Inclusion Training and the BWAP

Creating an inclusive workplace fosters a variety of talents that increase productivity and keep companies on the forefront of innovation. The success of the inclusive workplace, however, hinges on the ability of business owners and managers to correctly identify the strengths, weaknesses, and unique talents of each employee. This managerial ability becomes even more important when the employee has a disability. The Becker Work Adjustment Profile, or BWAP, provides an observer rating assessment of the vocational ability of an employee with a disability, and it is an essential tool for managers of any business with a diverse culture of workers.

The Becker Work Adjustment Profile gauges the work readiness of an individual by measuring their habits, attitudes, and skills, collectively recognized as vocational competency. Moreover, this tool identifies where additional supports are needed with respect to different work areas, and to what degree. It is a reliable test, appropriate for teenaged children over 15 as well as adults. Its application is suitable for workers who are learning disabled, physically disabled, emotionally disturbed, economically disadvantaged, or mentally retarded.

The primary advantage of the BWAP is in its nature as an observer rating instrument. A professional who has had experience observing the subject in their work environment administers the test, greatly reducing the potential for subject-driven error. In addition, the BWAP is exceptionally comprehensive. Vocational competency is ascertained by measuring 63 different items allocated to four separate sub scales, or domains: Work Habits/ Attitudes, Interpersonal Relations, Cognitive Skills, and Work Related Skills (i). After the employee is evaluated, areas of dissonance between ability and work behavior are identified. Additional, task-specific training is then administered, working to eliminate the dissonance between ability and behavior.

Administering the BWAP is easy and intuitive. Evaluators utilize three main materials including a Questionnaire Test Booklet, an Individual Profile Form, and a User’s Manual. The observer uses the Profile Form to rate the subject with respect to the behavioral items listed in the Questionnaire Booklet. The Score Summary and corresponding Vocational Competency of the subject is recorded on the Profile Form as both a raw and derived score for each domain. These values are then cross referenced with the BWAP Manual to determine the level of work readiness and necessity of work supports for the subject.

Keeping a business productive, efficient, and ready to innovate requires strong attention and appreciation for human capital. Paramount to effectively integrating human capital is the capacity for personnel managers to assess each employee as an individual with unique abilities. The need to measure the work readiness of each employee and construct appropriate supports is particularly critical for workplaces rich with persons of varying abilities. The Becker Work Adjustment Profile, or BWAP, is an industry standard for such assessments. The instrument, when coupled with ongoing disability training and education programs, provides a foundation for placing and retaining employees with disabilities.

(i) http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-71316809/measuring-rehabilitation-outcomes.html

3
Aug/109

An Executive Order for Disability Awareness

Disability awareness propagates in the wake of President Barack Obama’s most recent Executive Order to increase the Federal employment of individuals with disabilities. The order, released Tuesday July 26^th, was issued just one day after the Americans with Disabilities Act reached its twentieth year since enactment. In those twenty years, despite previous presidential orders and Federal initiatives, the unemployment of Americans with disabilities has only risen (i). President Obama, however, hopes to reverse that trend. Different from prior initiatives, Mr. Obama’s Executive Order focuses primarily on retaining individuals with disabilities and learning impairments. An emphasis on disability training and education for Federal agencies and personnel is to be the point of difference that primes this Executive Order for success.

Recognizing the Federal Government as the largest employer in the nation, Mr. Obama begins by addressing the need for government to lead by example. In opening the Order, Mr. Obama states that the government has an important interest in reducing discrimination against those who live with a disability, eliminating the stigma associated with disabilities, and in encouraging individuals with disabilities to seek Federal employment (ii). The importance of these interests cannot be understated. Reducing discrimination and the stigma associated with individuals who have a disability is an important first step in reducing the unemployment rate. The ideal workplace for individuals with disabilities to prosper has core elements of regular disability education, inclusion training workshops, assistive technology integration, and mutual respect among coworkers. In achieving these core elements of an inclusive workplace, Federal agencies will establish strong paradigms that will work to welcome those with disabilities as potential employees.

Mr. Obama’s Executive order moves on to state specific requirements Federal agencies must meet in providing opportunities for persons with physical and mental impairments to gain employment. Most noteworthy, the President calls for the mandatory drafting of strategies to hire and recruit those with disabilities within 60 days of the Order’s enactment (iii). An essential part of these strategies includes outlining disability training programs for Federal Human Resource departments and other hiring professionals. This portion of the Executive Order aims to better prepare agencies to promote job availability as well as to provide hiring professionals with the disability education needed to recruit and train workers with disabilities.

Most importantly, the Executive Order sets the groundwork for long term success by setting standards for retaining workers with disabilities. Mr. Obama charges the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, with the responsibility of identifying and assisting agencies in implementing strategies to retain Federal workers with disabilities. Paramount to the success of this initiative is the ability of the agency to conduct thorough disability awareness training internally, developing an inclusive workplace that will help those with disabilities develop into industry professionals. The President’s Order will help in this regard, specifically detailing the duties of the Office of Personnel Management to include helping with internal training, using centralized funds to provide reasonable workplace accommodations, increasing access to the appropriate assistive technologies, and ensuring the accessibility of the physical and virtual workplace (iv).

In the twenty years that have passed since the enacting of the Americans with Disabilities Act, unemployment among individuals with disabilities has actually grown. Despite Executive Orders, initiatives, and disability awareness programs, the American public is ill equipped to recruit, train, and develop into professionals those with disabilities. Disability training resources are a necessity in reversing this trend. As Mr. Obama’s Order makes clear, responsibility lies in the hands of company owners, internal managers, and other business professionals to utilize inclusion training and other techniques to hire and keep workers with disabilities. Disability awareness training is a vital first step towards creating business environments in which this goal is attainable, and the Federal government’s push to lead by example is inspiring.

(i) http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/stats.htm

(ii) http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-increasing-federal-employment-individuals-with-disabilities

(iii) http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-increasing-federal-employment-individuals-with-disabilities

(iv) http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-increasing-federal-employment-individuals-with-disabilities

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I. Hiring Employees with Disability

II. Retain Employees with Disability

III. Increase Community Reach

Disability Education: Increasing Communication Support

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A Lack of Infrastructure

Disability Videos: Infrastructure for Organizational Growth

Diversity in the Workforce and Stereotypes

Finding Similarities

Managing Workforce Diversity Through Unity

Benefits of Diversity Training

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