San Ramon PTA Special Needs Committee Workshop - Employment: Is It For Me?

Wednesday, January 16, 2012
 Iron Horse Middle School MPR
 7-9 p.m.
More information HERE.

If You Care About Innovation, Hire People Who Think Differently

Companies who really care about innovation should consider hiring people who see things differently.

Some experts even say hiring someone with Aspergers syndrome or high-functioning Autism is a good strategy for promoting innovation.

"Innovation is all about looking at things in a new way," says innovation consultant Phil McKinney and founder of Hacking Autism. High functioning Autistic people are "hard wired" to look at things in an unconventional way, he says. (Hacking Autism is a non-profit that creates new tech for people with Autism.)

People on the spectrum are particularly suited to the tech industry with their attention to detail, precision, affinity for repetitive tasks and natural ability with tech skills. Many of them have college degrees and IQs that are off the charts.

"They can see your product or software differently. They can figure out how something works, break down the product, find the problems and rebuild it -- and they can do all that in their heads," says Tara Roehl, McKinney's daughter and a speech pathologist specializing in Autism.

Sadly, some 85 percent of these tech geniuses are unemployed mostly because they are considered weird, she says. Many of them don't get past a recruiter who can't recognize their superior tech skills. Or they get hired, then fired, because they don't fit in.

"If a company broke it down, what do they really want? Do they want someone who can take their product to the next level? Or do they want someone who can chitchat around water cooler? Many people on the spectrum end up losing their jobs because they can't chitchat," says Roehl.

Read more of Julie Borts Business Insider article HERE.

A Collaborative Effort for Employment of People with Disabilities

Yesterday, the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Oregon filed a class action lawsuit against Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and other state officials in the hopes of ending the practice of sheltered workshop employment for people with disabilities. According to the lawsuit, these individuals are “stuck in long-term, dead-end, facility based sheltered workshops that offer virtually no interaction with non-disabled peers.” It again brings the difficult issue of a widespread lack of employment opportunities for people with disabilities to public consciousness.

We’re neither defending nor disputing sheltered workshops as it applies to this lawsuit. We don’t believe sheltered workshops are the only solution to employment of people with significant cognitive or physical disabilities—or anyone with significant barriers to employment, for that matter—nor do we believe that they are the only problem. Indeed; there’s no one-size-fits-all, no single solution to the large problem of disability unemployment in general. People with disabilities are individuals with a wide scope of abilities and employment goals. Many of these individuals want to work competitively and can be valuable, productive employees that businesses would want to hire. We can’t overlook business as an integral part of the employment picture. Thus, we believe that employment programs that collaborate with business make the most sense for the largest number of people with disabilities.

DePaul Industries has spearheaded the Project SEARCH program for people with significant intellectual disabilities in Oregon for several years. Project SEARCH participants work onsite in positions alongside non-disabled employees at large Portland businesses like The Standard as true, integrated employees: They are on these companies’ payrolls, receiving all applicable benefits and career advancement opportunities. These employers embrace the program not only because it’s a social good, but because it just makes good business sense—the employees are good workers adding value to their employers. We are currently developing more opportunities with other large Oregon employers, but we can’t—and don’t want to—do it alone.

Read more of the DEPAUL Industries blog article HERE.

Special Needs in the News

GAO Says College-Entrance Exams Fall Short on Accommodations

No, The School Nurse Is Not In

Celebrating 200 Years of Braille

Respite Care May Be More Beneficial Than Autism Therapy

Judge deals blow to advocates for old, disabled

NYC Needs to Mellow over Accessible Yellow Cabs

Governor’s State of the State addresses the needs of people with disabilities
January 4, 2012 - Governor Cuomo’s Annual Message, State of New York

Sundance festival picks Aspen-shot documentary

People With Disabilities Sidelined As Hiring Increases

How to tap talented students with disabilities

(Reuters) - With unemployment stubbornly stuck around 9 percent, Molly Kirk knows she's lucky she to have a job offer in the human resources training program at Google after graduation. Even with her excellent credentials, the Georgetown senior is quick to thank Lime Connect, an organization that partners with the world's leading corporations to offer summer internships to high-potential students with disabilities.

"Lime Connect helped me come to terms with my disability, gain confidence and make powerful connections so that I can achieve outside the classroom," says Kirk, who is severely hearing-impaired and wears hearing aides.

Believed to be the first organization of its kind, Lime Connect (think fresh approach to disability), was launched in 2006 to attract, prepare and connect students with often hidden disabilities such as ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome and dyslexia from top schools like Princeton, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania and Duke. The program helps students get internships and, ultimately, careers at top-tier corporations.

Read Toddi Gutner's Reuters article HERE.

SURVEY ON EMERGING EMPLOYMENT ISSUES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

From the Cornell University Survey Research Institute

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and the Employment & Disability Institute at Cornell University* invite you to participate in a brief (5-10 minute) survey on emerging employment issues for people with disabilities. This research will provide a foundation for policy development around:

Disability disclosure in the workplace

Leave as a reasonable accommodation

Job applicant screening criteria that may differentially impact people with disabilities in the hiring process.

By completing this survey you are agreeing to participate in the research. You are not likely to have any direct benefit from being in this research study. Your participation is voluntary and there is no penalty if you choose not to participate.

Your responses will be kept strictly confidential, and digital data will be stored in secure computer files. Reports based on this survey will not include any individually identifiable information.

We anticipate that participation in this survey presents no greater risk than everyday use of the Internet, however electronic communications are not necessarily secure and could be viewed by a third party.

Thank you in advance for sharing your time and experience with us.

___________________________________________

* The main researchers conducting this study are Susanne Bruyere and Sarah von Schrader at Cornell University. If you have any questions, you may contact Sarah von Schrader at (607) 254-8088. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your rights as a subject in this study, you may contact the Cornell University Institutional Review Board (IRB) for Human Participants at 607-255-5138 or access their website at http://www.irb.cornell.edu. You may also report your concerns or complaints anonymously through Ethicspoint online at www.hotline.cornell.edu or by calling toll free at 1-866-293-3077. Ethicspoint is an independent organization that serves as a liaison between the University and the person bringing the complaint so that anonymity can be ensured.

This research is funded by the U.S. Department of Education National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research for the Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (grant #H133B040013).

Survey HERE.