Articles

Workplace Protections extended to millions of additional people under changed Americans with Disabilities Act

2010-03-15T20:04:00Z

Employers beginning to embrace reasonable accommodations

By Richard Manning,
former Public Affairs Chief of Staff, US Department of Labor

As a person living with cancer, diabetes, MS, dyslexia, epilepsy, depression, fibromyalgia, autism spectrum disorder, or many other conditions that make it necessary for you to have certain accommodations in the workplace to help you maximize your productivity and support your success, did you know that the regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments are being finalized, and may extend to you the protections afforded under ADA?

And did you know that this may have important and positive consequences for you in the workplace?

ADA became law in 1990 with the goal of making America more accessible to people with disabilities. Whereas ramps and special parking spots for those with disabilities were rare pre-ADA, they are now common place, and America has come to accept them as a good thing for everyone. Over the course of the past two decades, people with disabilities have been playing increasingly more visible roles in society, and America has benefitted from this increased diversity.

Unfortunately, progress for the disability community in the workplace has been much slower than hoped. Two years ago, the first major revision of the ADA was signed into law in the hope that the changes would open more doors for people with disabilities in the workplace. This amendment broadened the definition of who is protected and put an emphasis on providing reasonable workplace accommodations to those who need them.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is in the last stages of finalizing what additional impairments will be covered under the law. However, many observers believe that this process will result in the inclusion for the first time under the Act of many additional people, including many currently in the workplace and many who are seeking employment.

Perhaps even more significant than the inclusion of millions of new Americans to protections afforded by the ADA, is the increased emphasis on accommodation for people with disabilities in the workplace. Linda Batiste, a principal consultant with the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), has already seen a shift in the employer community as it relates to accommodation, “We’re seeing employers looking more at accommodations and options than before. More employers than ever before are looking at expanded options to better meet employee needs.”

This shift in employer attitudes is great news for people living with these conditions who currently have a job, and those who are both entering or re-entering the workforce, as the barriers that often prevented a qualified applicant from getting the job and working toward a meaningful career are beginning to fall. More and more employers understand that it is your talent, not your disability, that is important, and that it simply makes good business sense to provide all workers, including people with disabilities, the workplace accommodations they need to be successful in their careers. As a person living with this condition, it may be that you need some extra flexibility in your work schedule to accommodate visits to doctors. Maybe you need the flexibility to take breaks in the work schedule during the day, or it may be that you occasionally need the flexibility to work from home. Flexibility in work hours is one of the most common and the least expensive workplace accommodation that an employer can provide. It may be that your condition is affecting your vision or hearing, but there are many very good assistive technologies that can be provided to compensate for this in the workplace. Perhaps you have a physical condition that requires you to get around using a scooter or wheelchair, and that you simply need to have the aisles at work kept clear and a parking spot provided reasonably close to the workplace entrance. Or maybe you just need your office desk or chair to be adjusted. Or perhaps you just need to have your work space located in a quiet corner of the office and the lights turned down so they are not too bright. Accommodating these requirements is usually very easy and inexpensive.

Opportunities for people with disabilities to achieve their career dreams have never been better. JAN’s Batiste brings this into focus stating, “With the change in the law, there is a great opportunity for individuals with disabilities to focus on their qualifications and what they bring to the plate, as employers will be less focused on the disability and more on the applicant’s ability to contribute to the bottom line.”

It is no secret that the job market is difficult.

The good news is that employers are seeking qualified workers with disabilities and doors are being opened as never before for people with disabilities. People who have conditions that previously have been unprotected are soon to be protected under the ADA.

The further good news is that employers, like never before, are looking at accommodations as nothing more than a productivity enhancement that gives an employee the opportunity to produce at maximum capacity. Increasingly, managers are looking for ways to increase productivity in the workplace, and it is viewed as good management to provide an environment that increases employee productivity and loyalty, as happier, more productive employees are essential to the long-term profitability of the company. Opportunity is knocking. Resources are available. Just as ramps and parking spots have become accepted and the norm, hopefully, when we look back, we will see that a transformational shift has occurred in the workplace with millions of people with disabilities working and achieving their career dreams.

Five Reasons To Air The Paralympics (Thanks, NBC)

2010-03-15T18:10:00Z

Five Reasons To Air The Paralympics (Thanks, Nbc)

Via Abledbody.com

March 15, 2010, 12:27 pm

By, Penny Reader

A few weeks ago, every conversational gambit began with, “Were you watching the Olympics last night when…?” Once again, televised coverage of the winter Olympics taking place this year in Vancouver, British Columbia was our quadrennial national obsession, an excuse to gather everyone in front of the T.V. to cheer on Team USA. I didn’t watch too much of the winter Olympics this year, but it did occur to me: Wouldn’t it be truly wonderful if Americans could also be swept away by the Paralympic winter games?

Fortunately, the major networks are giving Americans an opportunity. NBC Sports, Universal Sports and GE are sponsoring Paralympic programming for their broadcast coverage of highlights of the 2010 Paralympic Games. Coverage on NBC Sports will include a one-hour program recapping the Opening Ceremony on Saturday, March 13 (1-2 p.m. ET) and a two-hour highlights program on Saturday, April 10 (3-5 p.m. ET). I congratulate them for their efforts.

In addition, Universal Sports will broadcast, for nine consecutive nights, a nightly two-hour show, covering the daily competition of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, beginning on Monday, March 15 at 6 p.m. ET (re-aired at 11 p.m. ET) and continuing nightly through Tuesday, March 23. UniversalSports.com will offer on-demand re-airs of the Universal Sports television coverage, plus full-length event rewinds. You can also go to www.usparalympics.org for daily video and news highlights of the competition from Vancouver.

The Paralympics, for people with physical disabilities, take place immediately after the Olympics. This year five competitive sports will be included: Alpine skiing, biathlon, cross country skiing, sled hockey and wheelchair curling.

Here’s five reasons why it’s so important to broadcast the Paralympics.

1. Raise awareness. Globally, there are 1.2 billion people with disabilities and the Paralympics provides representation for this group. People who don’t know anyone with a disability, or who have thought of the disabled only in terms of ramps and elevator braille, will be presented with a whole new picture of talented athletes who personify the same kind of courage and discipline and dedication and talent as their non-disabled counterparts.

2. Change attitudes. By watching the Paralympics, perhaps more Americans, while marveling at the extraordinary skill and talent of Paralympians, will find it easier to see people with disabilities in terms of what they can do, instead of getting stuck on their disabilities.

3. Encourage kids with disabilities. Children with disabilities will benefit from seeing Paralympians demonstrating in front of the whole world their athleticism, self confidence and the actualization of long-nurtured dreams. I love thinking about children with disabilities from across the globe smiling and clapping and feeling better about themselves and their futures!

Self Advocacy and Accommodations In The Workplace

2010-03-12T19:41:00Z

Self Advocacy and Accommodations In The Workplace

By Prudence Shank

March 11, 2010

If you have a physical disability or a learning disability, in order for you to be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and receive accommodations for your job, you must disclose your disability to your employer. This can cause a lot of anxiety, because often times people confuse physical disabilities with intellectual disabilities, and over the years you may have had to suffer discrimination because of this misconception. One of the best things you can do for yourself, and for your peers with disabilities, is to become your own advocate in the workplace. If you are able to know your rights and express your needs to your employer, not only will you receive the accommodations you need in order to be the best employee you can be, but you will also be a shining example of the fact that people with physical disabilities are not intellectually inferior, they just go about tasks in a different way than others.

The first step to becoming your own self advocate is to know yourself and understand how your disability does and does not affect your job performance. If you have a physical disability, it may not affect your performance at all. But if you have sight or hearing problems, you should take stock of how those disabilities may affect your job. If you have a learning disability like dyslexia, take honest stock of how your job performance can be affected, but also take stock of the ways in which your disability has nothing to do with your job. If you work with children at a rec center and you have dyslexia, your disability may have no affect on your day-to-day tasks. But if you are required to write or proofread reports, know that you will have to go about this task in a different manner than your coworkers.

Once you have a handle on how your job performance may or may not be affected, it is a good idea to learn everything you can about the ADA. Understand what disabilities are covered, and what accommodations are due you. Knowing your rights under the law is a key step in becoming a self advocate.

Before asking for accommodations, know exactly what you need. If you go into a meeting on accommodations not knowing specifically what hearing aids, reading aids, etc that you need, you might scare your employer into thinking they are going to have to shell out thousands of dollars to accommodate you. Do your research. Know the cost of the equipment or software you need, know where they can get it, and have an explanation of exactly how the equipment will help you be more productive. You (and your employer) might be surprised at how inexpensive a lot of programs and equipment actually are. Always frame the request for accommodation as an investment. For example, if your employer pays $300 for software to read things aloud to a dyslexic employee they will save much more than that over the course of the year. How? Well the employee will waste less time reading and re reading and re reading. They won't have to ask another employee to abandon her work in order to help read something, and errors will be reduced, resulting in higher output.

Practice your conversation before you have it. Practice several times and ask a friend or spouse to practice with you. The more comfortable you are in knowing what you are going to ask for, and how you are going to ask for it, the more effective you will be. Confidence breeds results. If you have brainstormed several solutions to your problems ahead of time, you will be well prepared for your conversation. Remember, your employer isn't the one with the disability, and odds are she hasn't had much experience with disabilities in the workplace. She won't know what you need, you have to tell her, and tell her clearly.

Also be prepared to discuss your strengths. The conversation does not have to center around your limitations. Remind your boss that you are a valuable employee by saying things like, “I am at my best when I (fill in the blank).” Or the part of my job that I accomplish the most efficiently is (blank),” or “I truly enjoy my job when I (blank).” Remind her why she hired you, and remind yourself why you are an asset to the company.

Once you have asked for your accommodations, stay in communication with your boss. Give her updates on exactly how the accommodation is helping you. She may not be able to see exactly how you are benefiting, so staying in contact is essential. You will be validating her investment in both you and the equipment, and you will be providing her a continued education on your specific disability – and how such disabilities do not have to be a hindrance to job performance. You may even help pave the way for other employees to step forward and ask for accommodations who may not have otherwise been brave enough to do so.

Disclosing Dyslexia to a Potential Employer

2010-03-12T19:32:00Z

Disclosing Dyslexia to a Potential Employer

By Prudence Shank

March 12, 2010

Dyslexia is a learning disability with both genetic and neurologic origins that interferes with a person's ability to process language. People with dyslexia, despite average or above-average intelligence, find it very difficult to read and write. Often times, people with dyslexia struggle in school, causing decreased confidence and low self-esteem. This may, in turn, cause anxiety when looking for a job. So what happens if you disclose your dyslexia in a job interview? Some experts say you shouldn't others say being up front is the best policy. But if the subject does come up, there are ways to handle the conversation and frame your disability as a positive.

One positive attribute that you have probably developed through living with dyslexia is the ability to be highly adaptive and flexible. You need to “think out of the box” more often than people without dyslexia. You can frame this to your potential employer by saying that you are an “innovative” thinker. Whereas others may look for the simplest solution to a problem, because of your dyslexia, you look for more than one solution to any problem.

Because you are constantly having to innovate new ways to solve problems, you can also frame your dyslexia in a positive light by pointing out to your interviewer that setbacks only cause you to fight harder. Some employees may resist change, or give up when a problem arises, but you have had to fight your whole life just to keep up with your peers. Small setbacks don't ruin your day, or your week. Your dyslexia has taught you to keep pressing forward, despite obstacles in your path.

Time management is another skill that you probably come readily equipped with, that your competition may not. Dyslexic people need to have good time management skills, because without them, they would get lost in the shuffle. Flaunt your personal time management skills. Since wasted time is one of the biggest reasons a company loses money, your interviewer will be all ears.

Be realistic when discussing your disability with your interviewer. If she tells you the the job requires proofreading, don't tuck your tail and run, but you should be honest. You may want to tell her that you shouldn't be used in final proofreading, but you can work in the earlier draft stages.

You have probably developed tools to help you cope with your dyslexia. Share those tools with your interviewer. Tell her how you got through college. How you tackled large projects by breaking them into smaller pieces, maybe share a story about a large project that you initially thought was impossible, but that ended up turning out flawlessly because you put in some extra hard work where others would have faltered.

However you choose to handle the conversation about your dyslexia, always be positive. It didn't stop you from getting through grade school, high school, or college, and it will not stop you from finding, landing, and keeping a job that challenges and fulfills you.

AFB Consulting and Adobe present Debunking the Myth of PDF Inaccessibility

2010-03-10T19:06:00Z

AFB Consulting and Adobe present Debunking the Myth of PDF Inaccessibility

This free 90 minute webinar will demonstrate how Adobe’s ubiquitous PDF is accessible by people with disabilities using assistive technology. Topics to be covered include different types of PDFs, using Adobe’s built-in accessibility features, and navigating PDF documents. This webinar is perfect for users of assistive technology, keyboard users, webmasters, content providers/authors, Section 508 coordinators, and rehabilitation trainers. The webinar will be held on Monday, April 5, 2010 from 1:00-2:30 EDT/5:00-6:30 UTC.

Dial-in Information:

U.S. & Canada: 877-220-5439

Australia: 800-642-196

U.K. 44-20-8606-1105

All participants should use Meeting ID 896579 and Password 92249224

Adobe will have a meeting room available at http://my.adobe.acrobat.com/PDFAccessibility

NBA supports Special Olympics in bid to 'End the Word'

2010-03-06T03:06:00Z

Via: NBA.com

March 3, 2010

On Wednesday, thousands of Special Olympics athletes, Best Buddies participants and their supporters across the United States -- many of whom are students -- will participate in events to highlight the Special Olympics "Spread the Word to End the Word" campaign, designed to challenge and educate people about the hurtful use of the word "retard" and encourage others to think before they speak. Students are leading events in nearly every major city, designed to solicit pledges from people on www.r-word.org not to use the "R-word."

Spread the Word to End the Word began as a grassroots campaign by youth who participated in the Special Olympics Global Youth Activation Summit in February 2009, held in conjunction with the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Idaho. The campaign was driven by a united passion to promote the positive contributions people with intellectual and developmental disabilities make to communities around the world combined with a simple call to action -- a pledge to stop using the R-word.

Motivated by their commitment to action, actor John C. McGinley from the hit television series Scrubs was inspired to join these youth and their dedication to stop the casual use of the R-word.

"Most people don't think of this word as the language of hate, but that's exactly what it feels like to millions of people with intellectual disabilities, their families and friends," said McGinley. "I choose to believe that most of us are fundamentally good and that we're just not aware that the word is offensive and that it hurts."

Best Buddies also participated in the campaign during its inaugural year and officially signed on as a partner with Special Olympics for this year's campaign.

Soeren Palumbo (co-student founder of 'Spread the Word', Notre Dame, 2011) and "Timbo" Shriver (son of Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver), who together launched the Spread the Word campaign last year, said: "This campaign powerfully combines two things: the creative vision of a world accepting of all people and a youthful drive to realize this vision. It calls people to do more than volunteer and advocate; it inspires them to join, drive, and lead a social movement for the dignity of people with intellectual disabilities. And that's why it works."

Local VA Worker's Bright Idea Wins Contest

2010-03-06T02:57:00Z

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Via: Post-Gazette.com

March 03, 2010

By Steve Twedt

A Pittsburgh man's idea for speeding up military veterans disability claims has earned him special recognition.

Jack Hudson of Bethel Park, assistant veterans service center manager at the Pittsburgh Veterans Affairs Regional Office, Downtown, was one of 10 winners in a nationwide innovation contest among VA employees and veterans service organizations sponsored by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki's office.

Mr. Hudson's idea sounds remarkably simple -- create and use standardized medical questionnaires for private physicians to fill out when they treat veterans to speed up the process for evaluating VA disability claims. Currently, veterans must undergo a further exam at a VA medical facility to get information on their conditions and degrees of disability.

Benefits for veterans from that simple idea could be significant.

For starters, they would no longer have to wait 25 to 30 days -- or longer -- to get a full assessment from a VA physician before their claim moves forward, putting them a month closer to getting deserved benefits.

"It cuts down the processing time and the paperwork that is necessary to adjudicate that claim," said Scott Hope, an assistant supervisor with the local Disabled American Veterans group. "It cuts down a lot of the preliminaries."

David Szymoniak, with the Veterans of Foreign Wars, thinks that having the questionnaire in hand will help veterans better understand what information the VA needs to approve a claim, while also streamlining the whole process.

A veteran's private physician also will be more familiar with that person's medical history than a VA physician seeing the veteran for the first time, he noted.

Just getting to the exam may be daunting for some veterans. "Some of the guys are elderly and, especially in winter months, they shouldn't be out on the road or they're afraid to drive. Or they have financial issues and don't have the money to travel to the hospital."

Mr. Hudson said the system would benefit because fewer exams will be ordered, freeing up the VA's medical staff to treat other patients. Currently, he said, VA physicians in Western Pennsylvania perform about 7,000 exams annually for disability claims.

Making Broadway Accessible for the Disabled

2010-03-06T02:35:00Z

Via: The New York Times

March 5, 2010

Arts Beat

By Erik Piepenburg

The next time you complain about not being able to see the stage from the nosebleed sections of a Broadway theater, think about not being able to see the stage at all.

“No one wants to feel left out of a performance,” said Lisa Carling, the director of the Theater Development Fund’s accessibility program, which offers assistance to theatergoers with physical disabilities. “If you miss a punchline or a dramatic statement, everyone else is included but you are not.”

The Theater Development Fund, which also runs the city’s TKTS discount ticket booths, helps coordinate services for the blind or those with low vision, the deaf or hard of hearing and patrons who can’t climb stairs or need wheelchair seating.

“When we started 13 years ago, advocates for the disabled came to us and said, ‘Please, I haven’t been able to go to the theater for years because my hearing has deteriorated,’” said Ms. Carling. “People were staying away from the theater.”

Ms. Carling recently spoke to The Times about what kinds of services the TDF Accessibility Program, or TAP, offers to the disabled. Following are excerpts from her conversation.

Q. Tell me more about the TAP program, and how it helps disabled theatergoers attend shows.

A. TDF is all about building audiences. People with disabilities are often left out of this equation. Our department makes it easier for them to order tickets, attend shows and provide seating in the orchestra at a discount, usually 50 percent off. People can also order seating through the mail or online.

Broadway is great about physical access, but we also hope to provide non-architectural access, such as open captioning, sign language interpretation and audio description. Theaters are required by the Americans With Disabilities Act to offer access, but TDF helps them do it.

What about programs for the blind or others with vision impairment?

Audio description is for people who are blind or have low vision. We use it mostly for school groups during Wednesday matinees.

The student holds a small receiver in their hands and puts a single earbud in an ear. They hear a live describer tell them what is happening onstage during moments in the show where you can’t hear anything, like when someone tiptoes across the stage or someone hides something. They will also describe the costumes, sets and the theater itself.

When we go to the theater we often take things for granted. When you hear a show audio described, you see things you wouldn’t observe otherwise, because our eyes are lazy, or we don’t bother to study the details.

What about services for the deaf or those who are hearing disabled? What exactly is open captioning?

Open captioning uses a portable LED screen set up orchestra right or left, by the proscenium. It’s rarely on stage because we don’t want to disturb the artistic look of the show. It faces a particular side of the orchestra where we have made tickets available to people with hearing disabilities.

We also offer sign language interpretation, but it is of no help whatsoever to people who are not deaf. Where our department is growing is in providing open captioning because there’s such a demand for it.

Far too many people who don’t hear well are not going to admit it. The benefit of open captioning is that it’s passive assistance. It’s there and you can refer to it or not. You don’t have to identify yourself as having hearing loss. That’s very appealing.

People with hearing loss want to make use of any hearing they have. They will use assisted listening devices in conjunction with the open captioning so they can understand some or most of what is being said.

Severe Nut Allergies Are a Disability, DOE Says

2010-03-06T02:28:00Z

The Enterprise Online
CapeNews.net
By, Dave Fonseca
March 5, 2010

Life-threatening allergies are considered a disability and are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a representative from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. And just as school districts must make their buildings safe and accessible to people in wheelchairs, they must also make them safe for people suffering from severe allergies.

This news comes in the midst of a minor controversy among parents over a recent ban on all nut products at the Oak Ridge School.

Some parents are saying the ban goes too far and creates an unnecessary inconvenience for the large majority of families.

The critics of the ban have also argued that the ban creates a false sense of security within the schools, leading parents and students to believe that the school is nut free, when such guarantees are actually impossible to ensure.

But Superintendent Mary Ellen Johnson said she had little choice but to enact the ban.

Given the fact that severe allergies are listed as a disability under the ADA, the district could open itself to costly litigation if it were not to take measures to provide a safe environment for students who are highly allergic to nuts.

Jonathan W. Considine, a spokesman for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said that while the Department of Education provides guidelines for districts on how to handle students with nut allergies, they do not provide any specific rules or regulations.

He added that it is not the DOE’s job to punish schools if they do not enforce an adequate allergy policy.

“This would be a local policy, and it’s really up to local school committees and local leadership to manage,” he said.

Instead, he said, the DOE strongly encourages districts to confer with the doctors of students with severe allergies in order to determine the best policy to handle allergies.

He pointed out that districts need to be particularly careful in covering all the bases when it comes to crafting allergy policies, as severe or life-threatening allergies are listed within the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The Department of Education’s 2002 report, Managing Life Threatening Allergies, states that “when a physician assesses that a child’s food allergy may result in anaphylaxis the child’s condition meets the definition of ‘disability’ and is covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1973.”

It goes on to state that “it may be covered under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act if allergy management affects the student’s ability to make educational progress.”

Seasonal affective disorder increasingly a workplace issue

2010-03-04T20:22:00Z

Some employees seek adjustments for SAD, serious depression triggered by limited daylight. One teacher sued a school district that refused to move her from a windowless basement room.

By Megan Twohey

March 4, 2010

Via: Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Chicago - Since she was hired two years ago as a medical assistant, Jennifer Simonsis has come to an agreement with her employer: During the winter, she gets time off to see her doctor, frequent breaks and help in setting up a light-therapy lamp at her desk.

Simonsis gets workplace accommodations for seasonal affective disorder, or SAD -- depression triggered by limited daylight in winter.

Pointing to a federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against the disabled, some SAD sufferers say they are entitled to schedule changes, access to windows and other modifications. Recent legal rulings are prompting human resources experts to warn about the need to take the depression seriously.

"Some people brush you off, saying you're just in a bad mood this time of year," said Simonsis, 36, of Mount Prospect, Ill. "But it's a real disability, and employers need to realize that."

Most people experience gloominess in winter, but for some the psychological and biological symptoms are much more serious.

The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled in October that a teacher could pursue a lawsuit against her former employer alleging that the school district had failed to accommodate her SAD, causing her mental health to deteriorate.

THE R-WORD ISSUE: Choosing words carefully

2010-03-04T18:03:00Z

March 03, 2010

By Brian Callaway

Via: THE MORNING CALL

How many times have you referred to someone or something as ''retarded''?

It's OK to be honest. Many of us have done it, taken a word that means ''slowed or delayed in development,'' according to Webster's, and used it instead to describe a person or situation that seems silly or disagreeable or chowderheaded.

''I hear it all the time,'' said Greg Coni, a Parkland High School senior. ''A lot of people, they just use it. It's really not known too widely that it's such a derogatory word.''

Now Coni and a group of his peers are joining a national campaign to change that.

It's called ''Spread the Word to End the Word,'' an effort by the Special Olympics to get people to think about how saying ''retard'' or ''retarded'' in a casual or callous way can hurt people living with mental retardation and those who care for them.

Coni, president of the Parkland PALS, a social group for special and regular education students, is helping organize a series of events at his high school and in the community to raise awareness of the effort, which culminates today.

The R-word, as the Special Olympics is calling it, has dominated water-cooler chat recently.

President Barack Obama's chief of staff used it as an insult against liberal critics and sparked a media firestorm last month.

Sarah Palin said he should be fired, and Rush Limbaugh, who's also used the word, said everyone was being overly sensitive, and Palin eventually criticized that, too, and suffice it to say, the R-word has again become the subject of national debate.

Most people aren't using it to score political points, though. They use it to express some sort of derision for a person or situation in their everyday life.

SPREAD THE WORD TO END THE WORD

2010-03-02T20:57:00Z

March 2, 2010

Via: SpecialOlympics.org

Across the United States and around the globe, young people on college campuses, in high school cafeterias and workaday offices have joined a movement of mutual respect and human dignity called Spread the Word to End the Word. The goal: get people to stop and think about their hurtful and disparaging use of the word “retard” and pledge to stop using it.

What Is Spread the Word to End the Word? Spread the Word to End the Word is a campaign created by youth, in an ongoing effort with Special Olympics and Best Buddies International, to engage schools, organizations and communities by raising the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed)” and encouraging everyone to stop using the R-word.

On March 3, 2010, youth are leading the second annual day of awareness to Spread the Word to End the Word by encouraging people to rally and pledge their support at www.r-word.org with the goal of reaching 100,000 pledges.

The day will be devoted to educating and raising awareness of the positive impact individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have in our communities and why the use of the R-word is hurtful, even in casual conversation. But Spread the Word to End the Word is more than just a one day event.

"The earlier we can start teaching this awareness, the easier it will be to reverse the language," says James Saetern of Sacramento, California. "This is not just a day of awareness, but a movement to end hate as a whole."

Take the pledge right now!

How It Started Spread the Word to End the Word was created by youth with and without intellectual disabilities who participated in the Special Olympics Global Youth Activation Summit at the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. The motivation for the campaign was driven by a united passion to promote the positive contributions people with intellectual disabilities make to communities around the world combined with a simple call to action – a pledge to stop using a word – that also symbolizes positive attitude change and a commitment to make the world a more accepting place for all people.

Motivated by their commitment to action, actor John C. McGinley was inspired to join these youth and their dedication to stop the casual use of the R-Word.

“Most people don’t think of this word as the language of hate, but that’s exactly what it feels like to millions of people with intellectual disabilities, their families and friends,” said McGinley. “I choose to believe that most of us are fundamentally good and that we’re just not aware that the word is offensive and that it hurts.”

VA Agrees to Take Second Look at Thousands of Gulf War Vets' Disability Claims

2010-03-02T19:40:00Z

Tuesday 02 March 2010

by: Mary Susan Littlepage, t r u t h o u t | Report

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has agreed to re-examine the disability claims for what could turn out to be thousands of veterans of the Gulf War.

The development is the result of intense lobbying by veterans' advocacy group Veterans for Common Sense (VCS).

In response to the group's efforts, as many as 210,000 Gulf War veterans suffer from multi-symptom illnesses, and VA Secretary Eric Shineski said in a special interview with The Associated Press that he promises to review Gulf War veterans' disability claims. The claims may cover suffering from ailments that veterans blame on their war service.

Shineski announced that the department's Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Task Force has nearly completed a comprehensive report that will redefine how the VA addresses the pain and suffering of ill veterans who deployed during the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991.

"At VA, we advocate for veterans - it is our overarching philosophy and, in time, it will become our culture," Shineski said. "Every day we must challenge our assumptions to serve our nation's veterans."

The mission of the VA's Gulf War Task Force is to identify gaps in services as well as opportunities to better serve veterans of the Gulf War. Of the almost 700,000 service members who deployed to Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and Operation Desert Storm in 1991, there have been 300,000 Gulf War veterans with claims decisions, more than 85 percent were granted service connection for at least one condition, and more than 14 percent were not granted service connection for any condition.

"We must learn from the past and take the opportunity to anticipate the future needs of our veterans," Shineski said. "This new approach is the first step in a still unfolding comprehensive plan of how VA will treat and compensate Veterans of the Gulf War era."

Paul Sullivan, spokesperson for VCS, is a Desert Storm veteran who returned home with headaches, skin problems and chronic respiratory infections linked by doctors at the VA with his exposure to depleted uranium, radioactive, toxic waste while he was deployed to Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in 1991.

Talking about the VA's plan to re-examine Gulf War veterans' disability claims, Sullivan said, "All of the veterans who have contacted us so far are pleased that Shineski and [Gulf War Task Force chairman John R.] Gingrich are paying attention to the issues we care about. Now, that said, they want details. We want to know what rules are going to change and when are they going to change." He said, "The VA's announcement is a tremendous breakthrough. Now we want details."

Sullivan said he doesn't know yet how quickly the VA will process disability claims. "Will the VA review 20,000, 50,000 or 200,000 claims, and when will the VA review the claims and what are the VA's new rules to review those claims?" In any case, though, he said, "We are pleasantly surprised. We truly are, and we want to work with the VA and get it right this time. We've waited too long and have had too many dashed hopes."

Also, he said he wants to see the VA expand research on depleted uranium to include inhalation exposure and use the best and most sensitive exposure tests. He also urged the VA to fund research by the University of Texas' Robert Haley. "He has been fighting for us for 15 years and he has produced some of the best published research on Gulf War illness," Sullivan said.

Here is a timeline describing VCS' successful advocacy for Gulf War veterans that resulted in the VA's decision to help Gulf War veterans:

• In September 2008, VCS wrote VA Secretary James Peake about how VA leaders had improperly denied many Gulf War veterans' disability compensation claims in the early 2000s by failing to tell them about new laws expanding benefits.

• In November 2008, VCS led a national effort to publicize the findings of the VA's Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' illness.

• In January 2009, VCS urged Congress to investigate how the VA was handling Gulf War illness.

• In May 2009, VCS testified before Congress about the needs and concerns of Gulf War veterans who remain ill due to toxic exposures such as pesticides, oil well fire pollution, experimental pills, experimental anthrax vaccines, depleted uranium and other poisons.

• In February 2010, VCS posted its testimony for a hearing about Gulf War veterans originally scheduled for last week, but postponed until a date to be determined in the next few months. In the testimony, Sullivan, who lives in Austin, Texas, said that it took the VA seven years to determine why he was ill and eight years to get disability benefits approved. Also, in 1998, he helped lead the grassroots effort to press for passage of the Persian Gulf Veterans Act, a law expanding research, health care and benefits for Gulf War veterans.

"The scope of the healthcare and disability challenges facing our Gulf War veterans is real and increasing in size," Sullivan said. "The VA reports 300,000 of us sought medical care and a similar number filed disability claims. VCS estimates that VA spends up to $4.3 billion per year for our medical care and benefits."

Then, last week, Shineski made his promise to review Gulf War veterans' disability claims.

Amended Americans with Disabilities Act opens up new opportunities

2010-02-26T14:44:00Z

More impairments covered and accommodations clarified

By: Neil Romano, Former Assistant Secretary of Labor and Head of the Office of Disability Employment Policy

February 26, 2010

Twenty years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became the law of the land, possibly one of the single greatest legislative advancements for people with disabilities in our nation's history. The ADA helped give hope that our founding fathers' dream of universal equality would finally apply to people with disabilities, and that discrimination in the workplace would be a thing of the past.

Unfortunately, a series of court decisions chipped away at the legislative intent of ADA and prevented it from fully achieving its desired goal. So, in 2008, President George W. Bush signed revisions to the law to ensure that it fulfills its intent - to open the doors to the workplace more widely for people with disabilities, so they can compete on a level playing field and enjoy the financial, personal and social benefits derived from work.

Because of these changes, more people with disabilities will be included within the protections of the ADA. Which means that more people with disabilities will have an opportunity to work and be eligible for the workplace supports which will help them be the kind of valuable and productive employees that business needs, and that they desire to be.

As the former head of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, I have said, repeatedly, that people with disabilities are one of our country's most valuable and underutilized sources of talent. Their full inclusion into the American workplace and economy will trigger a wave of innovation and growth which will help power our economy for generations to come.

That's why, right now, it is imperative for those of us with disabilities to take charge of our careers and get informed about these important changes to ADA.

You may be a worker with a disability who has shied away from seeking an accommodation. As a result, you may not have achieved as much as you would have liked to on the job, and want to know if these changes can help you.

Or you could be an older employee whose once mild impairment has progressed to a point where a little help may enable you to maintain your productivity and extend your career, and you need to know if these protections cover you.

Or you may be entering the job market for the first time and want to know if these protections apply to you and your specific disability, because you are eager to prove your ability, and grow with a company that looks at talent first.

These new amendments will open the doors for potentially millions of people to receive the help they need to achieve the career success and satisfaction they desire. However, neither ADA nor the amendments of 2008 should be construed as an affirmative action program. These are protections designed to make sure that you are not discriminated against purely because of a disability.

Essentially, the amendments mean that more people will soon be provided protection and assistance under the law of the land, creating more opportunities, and a more level playing field in the workplace, and this will benefit people with disabilities, employers and all Americans.

Linda Batiste, a consultant with the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) which partners with the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the US Department of Labor, believes that, “These changes [to the ADA] will make a quantum leap forward for people with disabilities in the workplace. They will help employees get the accommodations they need to be successful and employers to benefit from their employees performing at their top capacity. It is truly a win/win.”

Defining which specific impairments or conditions will be covered under the ADA is in the process of being completed. This makes it more important than ever that workers, students and job seekers keep up to date on how these changes are progressing and can positively impact their careers.

Gettinghired.com is one online resource and networking site specifically designed to help answer some of these questions while providing practical tools to connect people with disabilities to companies looking to hire top employees, not because of their disabilities, but for their abilities.

The U.S. Department of Labor's employer outreach programs that I managed and expanded during the previous administration have helped peel away many negative stereotypes that in the past have harmed career opportunities for people with disabilities. In fact, today, many businesses actively seek to hire people with disabilities as they've come to realize that they are the next great wave of untapped talent in America. So, many companies are increasing recruitment efforts directed toward people with disabilities to fill roles throughout their companies in order to increase their bottom lines. The employer members of GettingHired.com, companies like Pepsi, Microsoft, Lowe's, Kodak and Merck, all realize that talent has no disability, it is just talent!

Batiste reports that, “Employers' attitudes are changing, and there are more opportunities for people with disabilities to get the job they are prepared and qualified to do than ever before.”

Networking and information websites like Gettinghired.com provide the cutting edge information and social networking avenues that can change a job search from “going it alone” to being engaged with others who are seeking employment in this difficult economy. Employers post jobs on Gettinghired.com specifically to attract people with disabilities onto their team.

Businesses have increasingly come to realize that it is imperative that their workforce reflect every aspect of society if they are to attract customers, talented employees and ultimately…increase profits.

Now it is up to all people with a disability or special need to embrace this change as they enter the workforce or continue along their career path. People with disabilities should expect that they will be respected and appreciated for their abilities, and that the workplace accommodations provided to them are a reflection of their employers' need to make them as productive as possible,. Making employees as productive as possible is simply smart business, whether that employee does or does not have a disability!

Living with a disability may not always be easy, but with the amended ADA and changing employer attitudes, more people looking for work will have greater opportunities, and people already in the workplace will have additional opportunity to achieve their goals and dreams.

The freedom to achieve based upon individual ability is fundamental to the American promise, and for people with disabilities the revised ADA will help make this promise more of a reality. This moves us all a bit closer to satisfying the yearning these words stir in our souls: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Music Legend Stevie Wonder To Accept Award at AAPD Gala

2010-02-25T18:37:00Z

Via: Top40-charts.com

February 23, 2010

NEW YORK (Top40 Charts/ American Association Of People With Disabilities)

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country's largest cross-disability membership organization, is honored to announce music legend Stevie Wonder will be the first recipient of the AAPD Image Award. Wonder will be presented with the award at the 2010 AAPD Leadership Gala on March 10 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. This is the first time the organization has honored an entertainer whose personal example helps to improve the way people with disabilities are perceived by society.

"Stevie Wonder is a global leader who has used his extraordinary talents to be an ambassador for civil rights and social justice," said Andrew J.Imparato, President and CEO of AAPD. "We're thrilled to be able to recognize his achievements with this inaugural award."

Wonder, who has been blind since infancy, has helped define the sound of R&B and Pop music. A 25 time Grammy Award winner as well as the recipient of an Academy Award, Wonder is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His advocacy work is well known ranging from the anti-apartheid movement to work in the disability community. Most recently, he was chosen as the United Nations Messenger of Peace on International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 2009.