Personal Reflection

I am interested in this topic because I can learn different ways that people have experienced jobs and how jobs offer help for people with disabilities. This is a very personal project to me. I want to take what I have experienced and help teach others. 

I had a job where they did not want to give me the accommodations I needed. I can’t carry heavy things with one hand. Lifting items was not in my job description. My boss was mad that I couldn’t lift things with one hand. I felt my boss was not hearing me. I can do the job – I do it differently. 

Last month, I spoke with my current boss about some challenges I have. My boss was very understanding. The job will help train me and accommodate me. Recently, I worked with the HR department and hiring team on a task. I felt supported. They were very calm and said they would always be able to help me.

This is the first job I have had where I feel like my supervisor is treating me as human and treating me the same way as a “regular” person. Every other job I have ever had has tip-toed around me and the team does not want to include me. They think I do not notice, but I do. 

This topic is important because it can help people with disabilities find jobs and the accommodations they need in jobs. All voices of disabled people count – in society and in a job environment. This project can also help future generations! This can support people beginning to search for their first jobs not go through the same struggles that their predecessors have been through. 

This project can help employers and hiring teams learn how to include people with disabilities and how to support them better in the workplace. 

Fellows’ Recommendations

I spoke with the other Dinah F.B. Cohen DREAM Fellows about this topic. I asked, “What do you wish jobs would provide for employees with disabilities to make a more inclusive workplace?” 

Some ideas from the Fellows include: 

• Employee resource groups. 
• Alternative transport options for commuting to work. 
• Providing remote work options. 
• Including a discussion about accommodations in the onboarding/hiring process. A Fellow said, “By talking about accommodations from someone’s initial experience in a workplace, it would show that they are considering people with disabilities from the beginning. It would also make their company and workplace a lot more inviting and inclusive.”

My Recommendations 

• Trainings on disability inclusion in the workplace. 
  • Work with disability-led inclusion organizations to facilitate trainings for staff
  • Use videos as part of trainings
  • Use trainings that are run by and include people with disabilities 
  • Teach how to treat people with disabilities with respect and as equals 
  • Bonding days – people getting to know people with disabilities helps them understand their experiences and challenges. You need to get to know someone to learn what they have been through. People need to learn about ableism. 
  • Trainings about intersectionality and ableism
  • Every other Friday, have a training
  • It is most important for supervisors and bosses to be trained in inclusion

I am involved in many programs with Partners for Youth with Disabilities (PYD). PYD offers trainings in disability inclusion for all levels of an organization. There are different ways PYD offers trainings – live 90 minute trainings on Zoom, in-person trainings, and asynchronous courses on a platform called LEARN. PYD offers a disability mentoring certificate, which is a 4 month long program. Organizations set goals and create an inclusion action plan. They say what they are going to do to become more inclusive of people with disabilities. This is a deeper level of training. 

PYD has courses on how to get a job, inclusive hiring, how to create disability inclusive culture in the workplace, workplace accommodations, and recruitment and retention of people with disabilities. The following topics are covered in PYD’s disability inclusion learning resources for organizations and professionals:

1. Introduction to Disability & Inclusion
2. Tips for Inclusive Communication
3. Understanding Disability Rights and the ADA
4. Creating Inclusive Programs, Activities, and Events
5. The Intersection of Disability Justice and Anti-Racism
6. The Intersection of Disability, Gender, and Sexuality
7. Principles of Inclusive Marketing
8. Understanding Autism and Neurodiversity
9. Understanding Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
10. Supporting Positive Behavior in Youth with Disabilities
11. Developing an Inclusion Statement
12. Inclusive Hiring in the Workplace

I took a PYD course on “How to Find the Job for You.” I learned that volunteering and building connections can help you find a job and gain experience. 

If PYD doesn’t offer a specific training, they will work with another organization that has it. 

I recommend that organizations connect with PYD to learn about disability inclusion in the workplace. 

• Use the Job Accommodation Network (JAN). JAN provides free, confidential assistance about job accommodations and the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
• Utilize the NextGen Career program in Massachusetts. The NextGen Career program focuses on building career skills and confidence in young adults with disabilities. I am a part of their council. 
• Provide interview questions in advance. This would give people with disabilities time to think about the questions and allow them to use different methods to answer the questions. 
• Make jobs wheelchair, crutch, and scooter accessible. People with disabilities exist everywhere and need to access places. 
• Increase mental health support. This might help employees with disabilities with their mental health. Jobs should provide free access to a counselor. 
• Using accessible communication techniques. Examples: using accessible and large fonts, contrasting colors on slides, captioning, labeling, headphones, ASL, text-to-speech tools. 
• Ask for feedback. Monthly, supervisors and managers should circulate an anonymous survey to understand what employees think could be improved about the job. Ideas should be implemented. 
• Flexible workplace. Some specific ideas include:
  • Increased sick leave
  • Better benefits
  • Flexible work hours
  • Break times during the work day
  • Provide a quiet break room where employees can relax
  • Being understanding about bathroom schedules and breaks
  • Embracing rest and understanding crip time. 
    • You can learn about crip time here: 
      • https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2022/06/27/adopt-crip-time-make-higher-ed-more-inclusive-opinion
      • https://www.supportedemployment.ca/recognizing-crip-time-benefits-all-employees/#:~:text=Crip%20time%20suggests%20that%20the,mental%2C%20cognitive%20or%20sensory%20disability

These recommendations will help people with disabilities find different ways to get a job and also help others know about disability and what people with disabilities face in society. I want this project to show employers and employees how to help people with disabilities and how to make their jobs easier. I want people with disabilities not to feel alone and to know that someone in their job has their back. I want employers to care about accommodations. 

I want readers to know that people with disabilities matter. People with disabilities face ableism and go through a lot. As someone with disabilities, I suffer a lot. I get looks everywhere I go. People doubt if I can do my job due to my disabilities. My disabilities will not stop me from doing my job well. People with disabilities have dreams. Our dreams, feelings, and goals matter.