Employing people with disabilities: are we there yet?

“Are we there yet?” This is a question that’s been asked in vehicles since the dawn of family road trips. The phrase likely stirs unpleasant memories of the family car jammed with luggage and passengers, who are tired, restless, and impatient by the length of the journey. But the question is also hopeful. Asking it means we are headed somewhere, that we have identified a destination and we are moving toward it (albeit slower than we’d like).

For far too long, our country has been stuck in a long, destination-less car ride when it comes to increasing employment for individuals with disabilities. Americans with disabilities lag far behind their peers in employment. Only two in ten people with disabilities participate in the workforce compared to seven in ten for people without disabilities. Despite efforts to help increase employment for people with disabilities, including the passage of the historic Rehabilitation Act of 1973, jobseekers with disabilities continue to face double digit unemployment.

Some have argued that our stagnant progress to increase employment for people with disabilities is because our country has not established a clear goal, a destination, if you will, in this journey. As the saying goes, “you can’t get lost if you don’t know where you’re going.” We have focused a lot on the journey, we’ve even added helpful mile markers (initiatives and resources) along the way, but we have not always set specific destinations.

Just recently, however, the Department of Labor has released rules related to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act that could be a real game-changer when it comes to helping to increase hiring individuals with disabilities. New rules will require federal contractors and subcontractors to set a goal of having seven percent of their workforce be made up of qualified people with disabilities.

The focus on federal contractor hiring of people with disabilities is not new. Since the passage of the Rehabilitation Act 40 years ago, businesses and organizations who do work with the federal government have had to affirmatively recruit and hire people with disabilities. What’s new is that our shared objective is now backed by a goal – a clear destination that contractors can measure against to determine progress and effectiveness of their disability employment strategies and outreach measures.

With this in place, we will know where we are going, at least related to federal contractors, who employ 20 percent of the nation’s total workforce according to some estimates. This rule comes on top of an earlier executive order setting a clear goal for the hiring of individuals with disabilities in the federal government.

Easter Seals is proud of our programs promoting employment of people with disabilities, veterans and older adults. Read the letter we sent to the Obama administration applauding this move and you’ll see how much we are welcoming the new disability employment and related veterans employment rules. Our nationwide network of community-based affiliates stands ready to help connect federal contractors with job openings to qualified individuals with disabilities seeking employment. Together, we can help move the needle on workforce participation among individuals with disabilities and be in a position to answer the “are we there yet?” question, now that we have locked in our destination goal. Happy travels!

 

Inter-generational is where it’s at

This is National Adult Day Services Week, an opportunity to make people more aware of the kinds of services available for our parents, grandparents and other adults we love.

The Easter Seals Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Inter-Generational Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, is one example of how adult day services can work to help people of all generations. The center is the primary site for inter-generational programming at Easter Seals Greater Washington and Baltimore Region, and it’s the first intentionally built “shared site” in that region to provide services for children and seniors with disabilities — and help their families – at the same time.

Screen capture from the video or an older participant at the Inter-Generational Center saying that she appreciates the center.The Inter-Generational Center brings together many Easter Seals core services under one roof:

  • Adult Day Services that provide daily social and medical support for adults with age-related impairments, allowing them to age with dignity in the community, while supporting caregivers and preventing “burnout” from the responsibilities of caring for a family member.
  • Children’s Services that provide child/youth development programs to families through after-school programs, tutoring, mentoring, summer enrichment programs, volunteer/community service opportunities, and interactive intergenerational programs.
  • Assistive Technology Center that provides the latest in low and high technology solutions minimizing the functional impact of a person’s disability.
  • Therapy Services that provide occupational, physical, and speech/ language therapy services both in-center and in the natural environment of home, schools, and other community-based settings.
  • Family Caregiver Resources that meet the educational, referral and support needs of families caring for a senior or child with a disability.
  • Inter-generational Programs that facilitate regular contact between seniors and youth and engage the neighboring community through a variety of programs in a regular flow of different types and ages of people throughout the center.

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Inter-Generational Center was built to deliberately influence a new culture of inter-generational shared sites and programs, and you can see how much everyone benefits when generations work and play together by linking to this short video narrated by staff and clients there.

 

The next greatest generation

If I asked you today if you know someone who served in the U.S. military, how would you answer? Too often, the response is, “No.”

The National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics projects the number of veterans from recent conflicts to jump by 26% in the next three years. These are your friends, high school classmates, and neighbors. Like you, they came of age after Sept. 11, when terrorism invaded the U.S., driving increased security but also increased patriotism and civic engagement. It was this desire to tangibly support their country that propelled many to volunteer for military service, even though it meant deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan.

We were all affected by the events of Sept. 11. Twelve years later, there is still much more than can be done. To me, a good place to start is by connecting with those in your generation that served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Tom Brokaw called the generation of soldiers who fought in World War II “the greatest generation any society has ever produced,” fighting for their country because it was “the right thing to do.” He further credits this generation for returning home and building the U.S. into a global economic and political force.

Brokaw published his book in 1998, long before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan escalated. He may feel differently today, as I do, in that there is a new “greatest generation.” I believe that two million Afghanistan and Iraq veterans, nearly two thirds of whom are Millennials, are poised to become our nation’s next “greatest generation.”

I know this from personal experience. I led thousands of Millennials during multiple tours in Iraq, including as the Brigade Commander in the volatile Diyala Province for 15 months in 2006-2007. I watched my troops carry out remarkable feats of bravery and perform selfless acts of courage. They demonstrated all the qualities one could want in the toughest of situations — smarts, guts and compassion.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have produced veterans with skills in science, technology, and medicine and worldviews on politics and religion. The Boston Bomb victims benefited from the application of tourniquets and the emergency room skills of soldiers and medics who served in Afghanistan. The fictional Skynet in the Terminator movies is being made a reality by young soldiers specializing in satellite and drone warfare. And a major strategy in both wars has been a movement to connect with local civilians on a personal level and make them part of the global community, an effort that is enacted on a daily basis by the young men and women on the front lines.

The U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan officially ends this year and shortly, most of our soldiers will be home. I worry about the future for these heroes and their families — not necessarily their future tomorrow or the day after — but their future five or 10 years down the road. Want to help the next greatest generation? Go to my Buzz blog and read a list I’ve put together of small, simple acts you can do to make them feel at home when they come back.

 

Aching to help Easter Seals

Working with the National Associate Board (NAB) here at Easter Seals as a staff liaison is truly a pleasure. NAB members are so committed to the Easter Seals mission, and they’ve done so much to support us over the past year: events from races to raffles, and a bar social night, too! Today I’m pleased to introduce one NAB member, Louis Bacigalupo, with a guest blog about his fundraising efforts.

Running, swimming and biking for Easter Seals

by Louis Bacigalupo

Louis Bacigalupo biking in an Easter Seals Shirt

Louis Bacigalupo

My life has been positively affected by a family member with disabilities. That’s why I’ve been a long time contributor to Easter Seals: I have a high level of appreciation for the work they do. I know firsthand how challenging it can be to support and care for a person with disabilities and how important and helpful Easter Seals services are to families. So when I was contacted by Kelly Perez (Manager of Volunteer Engagement at Easter Seals) last year about the National Associate Board (NAB), I was excited to join and see how I can help differently going forward.

Last year I ran my first Chicago Triathlon, too. It was a fun experience and I got myself into the best shape of my adult life. I felt great and met a lot of cool people while training and competing.

During discussions with other NAB members this year I learned that some of them were raising money through the marathon and Ragnar Relay events (nice work Amy and Mike). Why not raise funds for Easter Seals while improving on my personal best time at the triathlon? I didn’t break any records, believe me, but it was an accomplishment for me to do what I did!

I started race day by jumping in Lake Michigan bright and early at 6:18 a.m. and when all was said and done I beat my personal best by 6 minutes and finished in the top 25% for my age group. More importantly, I raised awareness for the Easter Seals cause and earned over $2000 for the organization.

I don’t know if I’ll ever run another Triathlon. The time commitment to train for it is pretty heavy, and with a career, young children, and a new house, it puts a strain on my summer. I will always have fond memories of my experience this year, though, and will continue to support Easter Seals and their great work.

Easter Seals and the National Associate Board are planning the Walk With Me Chicago event on October 20, 2013 and are looking for teams to participate and support the organization. Please sign up now to help the Walk With Me event and help out in any way you can. Thank you!

 

Rooting for Miss Iowa

Picture of a smiling Nicole with the text: Good luck Nicole!

Miss Iowa 2013

A few things you may not know about Nicole Kelly, the reigning Miss Iowa:

  • She’s only participated in two competitions, Miss Metro (the one that qualified her for the Miss Iowa competition) and then Miss Iowa.
  • Nicole is 23 years old.
  • She graduated from the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in Directing and theatre Management.
  • In Fall of 2012 she did an internship in New York City with Manhattan Theatre Club.
  • She interned with the Goodman Theatre here in Chicago right after that.
  • And then, earlier this year, she was hired as Child Guardian on the Tony-nominated Broadway play The Assembled Parties.
  • She is a striking, slender blonde with blue eyes.

Oh. Wait. I forgot one thing. Nicole Kelly was born without a left forearm, too.

Shortly after winning the Miss Iowa contest, Nicole Kelly decided only to respond to interview requests from Iowa news outlets. Previous Miss Iowa winners only got attention from Iowa media (not from national markets), so why should she be any different? “One of the reasons I’m doing this is to prove that people with disabilities are just like everybody else, and they can accomplish things just like everybody else,” she said in a story that came out in USA Today explaining her decision to avoid national interviews for a while. “I’m going to be just like any other Miss Iowa and do the best I can to represent our great state.”

Starting in September, all Miss America contestants are required to respond to national and international media requests, so you might be seeing a lot more of Nicole Kelly this week before Sunday’s Miss America competition. My guess is that Miss Iowa will be telling a lot of reporters that her missing arm is not the most interesting thing about her. Here’s what she told that USA Today reporter who asked about her missing left hand and forearm after she won the Miss Iowa competition earlier this year:

“I had good parents,” she said. “I had good experiences growing up in Keokuk. Nobody ever made fun of me. They asked questions. They were curious. I liked that. I liked talking to people. Pretty soon people forgot about it, and they were just talking to me.”

This Sunday Nicole will have the opportunity to tell the world what she’s been saying all along: “I’m just like everybody else.”

Easter Seals is sending a card to Nicole Kelly later this week to wish her our best, and we invite you to join us and add your name to our card by tonight (Friday, September 13, 2013), so we can send your best wishes along to Miss Iowa for this Sunday’s Miss America pageant, too.

 

What happens when the Jumbotron moment ends?

Leadership is about motivation and vision. Motivation includes follow-up and follow through. It is also about doing what’s right for the organization rather than for personal or financial gain.

ESPN ran a heartfelt feature last month showing professional sports teams surprising families with the return of a relative who had been serving overseas. I love the one where a little girl throws out the first pitch to a masked catcher, who then removes his headgear. Turns out the catcher is her dad, just home from Afghanistan, and the two share a moving reunion somewhere between the pitcher’s mound and home plate.

I love how these returns are becoming part of our sporting culture, and I believe it helps to connect the 99% of America who hasn’t served with the 1% who currently are. That’s a fantastic and much-needed thing. But could it be better? Of course.

What happens after the joyful reunion is played on the Jumbotron? How can the teams maintain their leadership and show that they care? It’s a leadership moment, an opportunity to move from management and apply motivation and direct leadership.

Let’s start with the person who brought the veteran there in the first place. That person has a huge network of support. Be a mentor. Introduce the veteran to people in an appropriate network who can help with training for a new position. Show continuous care, not just a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

I’d also like to see the sports team themselves take this a step further and actually stay connected to these returning veterans and their families. Let them use the gyms on off days to workout. Provide them with a mentor from the coaching/training staff. Each team has a community relations representative. Ask that person to periodically check in with the returning service member to see what more can be done. That one phone call could be a lifeline for a veteran and his/her family.

 

You can help Harvard research the early identification and diagnosis of ASD

It is well known that early identification and engagement in effective early intervention promotes best outcomes for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Easter Seals is among the many who are working towards identifying children with ASD in need of support before entering school: our Make the First Five Count campaign provides an Ages & Stages Questionnaire® so parents and caregivers can see if a child’s developmental progress is on schedule.

Here in the United States, there is still a gap between when diagnosis of ASD can be accurately provided (age two) and when diagnosis actually occurs (about age four).

The Puzzlemouse Project at the Wall Lab at Harvard Medical School is conducting research to try and create a system that will reach families across the country and around the world, including families who do not have access to the medical infrastructure needed to diagnose developmental delays. Their end goal: to help families get the attention their child needs in a matter of days.

Easter Seals shares that goal. We want families to get the attention their child needs in a matter of days, too. You can help us accomplish this goal by participating in the Puzzlemouse Project’s research. Caregivers of children, ages 14 months to 7 years old, with OR without a diagnosis of a developmental delay, can participate from the privacy and comfort of home using any device that has access to the internet. Once you go to the Puzzlemouse Project’s website, all you have to do is:

  • Answer ten questions about the child’s typical behavior, and
  • Upload a two to five minute long home video of the child in a social situation (a birthday party, playing with friends, or a day at the park, that sort of thing).

Early diagnosis and intervention are so, so important. I hope you’ll take advantage of this opportunity to help the Puzzlemouse Project do what it can to decrease the age between when diagnosis is possible and when diagnosis actually occurs.

 

This back-to-school essential comes free of charge: Ages & Stages Questionnaires

Eileen Howard Boone

Eileen Howard Boone

I am pleased to introduce Eileen Howard Boone as a guest blogger today. Eileen is a member of the Easter Seals national board and SVP of Corporate Communications and Community Relations for CVS Caremark, and she’s a valued spokesperson for Easter Seals and the Make the First Five Count campaign, too.

The most important back-to-school supply? Health readiness!

By Eileen Howard Boone

As kids across the country prepare for the new school year, many families are focused on making sure their children are equipped with the necessary school supplies that will help them reach their full potential in the classroom. While books, notebooks and pencils are essential, the most important back-to-school supply is health readiness.

As part of our commitment to helping children of all abilities on their path to better health, the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, in partnership with Easter Seals, is encouraging parents and caregivers nationwide to access the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, an online health screening tool that enables them to easily track a child’s development through age five.

According to the National Survey of Children’s Health 2007, one in five households with children has a child with a special health care need (PDF) that could benefit from screenings and services. Yet, less than 20 percent of children under the age of five receive a developmental screening. Through Easter Seals’ Make the First Five Count®, a campaign to help ensure children are achieving their developmental milestones during the important first five years of life, we hope to help families successfully bridge this gap by providing free health screenings that are crucial to a child’s future success.

To help provide this tool to all parents and caregivers, last year, we felt it was important to fund access to The Ages & Stages Questionnaires so it would be available online and at no cost.  This year, we were proud to extend that support to make it available in Spanish.

After observing a child, parents and caregivers may take the online survey, and then download their child’s results to discuss with their pediatrician. The survey, which should be completed annually until the child reaches age five, ensures that he or she is not at risk for developmental delays or disabilities and helps indicate if the child is on track to enter kindergarten. The Ages & Stages Questionnaires also offers advice and support from Easter Seals if a child displays developmental delays.

But, why focus on the first five years of a child’s life?

The first years of learning are the most critical in a child’s development. Yet, every year more than one million children with unidentified delays and disabilities enter school with learning and health issues that may put them far behind their peers and have a lasting, negative effect on their ability to succeed. Early intervention services like the Ages & Stages Questionnaires help families identify children’s school-readiness and plan effective and appropriate steps to ensure that children of all abilities are able to reach their full potential.

Regardless of how a child develops, there are ways to help children of all abilities learn through educational play. I encourage parents to take advantage of Easter Seals’ services, access the Ages & Stages Questionnaires and incorporate the following tips for educational play into their families’ daily lives.

  • Read to your kids. In young children, it nurtures an interest in language, words and communication.
  • Play word games.
  • Encourage children to write original stories and illustrate them with their own drawings.
  • Illustrate the value of math by making connections to everyday life with “teachable math moments,” from cutting slices of pizza to getting gas for the car.
  • Praise your children’s academic progress. Tell them that you are proud of their efforts. When students are confident in their abilities, they enjoy learning.

We at the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust wish families with children of all abilities a happy and healthy start to the school year!

 

Bye, bye internship

Rachel and Elsa smiling. They are surrounded by pink flowers and tables at the movie premiere event

Rachel and me at the Miss You Can Do It premiere in Chicago

Greetings from Bloomington, Indiana! After three amazing months as an intern at Easter Seals Headquarters in Chicago, it’s time for me to complete my senior year at Indiana University.

Trading my office for a classroom will be no easy task. While I absolutely love my school (GO HOOSIERS!), I will truly miss the Easter Seals family. I learned more about myself in the past three months than I have in my 21 years of life.

On May 20th, I entered the Willis Tower office (Sears Tower for you Chicago folk) timid and unsure. I was in a new city about to begin work for an organization that is near and dear to my family…no pressure, eh? I had already braced myself for what I thought to be the typical “intern duties”: going on countless Starbucks runs and spending endless hours licking envelopes. Note to future interns: The Devil Wears Prada is FAR from the truth.

It may sound cheesy, but as soon as I entered the office, I knew I was in the right place. I walked through the door and my eyes gravitated to a quote on the wall from Easter Seals founder Edgar Allen: “Your life and mine shall be valued not by what we take…but what we give.” These touching words set the tone for my summer. I was welcomed with smiles all over rather than an expansive list of coffee orders, and right from the first day I felt like a valuable employee.

Fast forward a few months to where I am now. Of course I left Easter Seals with professional skills that I will be able to apply to my future endeavors, but those resume-boosters pale in comparison to what I emotionally got out of the internship. I left Easter Seals with lifelong connections and a new outlook and appreciation for life.

Prior to my internship I had little knowledge about the day-to-day lives of people living with disabilities. I approached disabilities like so many others in my generation do, sympathetic yet unaware. Each day at the office became a new learning experience.

Through Miss You Can Do It I learned about the inner beauty that lies in every girl, no matter her physical ability. The Hornet’s Nest, an upcoming war documentary, taught me that we need to put our political opinions on war aside to meet the unique needs of our new veterans. Some of the men and women featured in the film are younger than me, and have already lived the lives of someone three times my age. Beyond my major projects, I loved looking through various marketing materials to learn about current and former Easter Seals representatives. Their stories inspire me to live life with a smile on my face.

I am so thankful for my experience at Easter Seals this past summer. I was lucky enough to do work that I truly enjoyed with amazing and passionate people. I learned a lot about an incredible organization, and I learned a lot about myself in the process as well.

 

Inspired to work harder and dream bigger

Wow! Yesterday’s celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington was pretty sensational, and I felt privileged to be able to be there. The on again off again rain couldn’t dampen my spirits — I was moved by the music, and it was truly inspirational to hear pioneers who have helped shape our country for the better tell their stories of how they came to the fight for justice and freedom for all Americans.

Julian Bond, Andrew Young, and John Lewis were all there, and Julian Bond talked about his grandparents who were slaves — something that seems truly unimaginable today. The remarks of the Reverend Bernice King (Dr. King’s daughter) were particularly passionate and eloquent. She included people with disabilities in her remarks, too. Woo-hoo! Here’s the link to her speech on YouTube.

I was over the moon to have Fred Maahs, Easter Seals national board member and chairman of the board of the American Association of People with Disabilities, as the voice for our community. Fred is an executive with Comcast and was a great spokesperson for people with disabilities. He talked about his life before and after the diving accident that caused his disability and reinforced that while we have a lot to celebrate, people with disabilities still have significant unmet needs. Too many kids aren’t getting the supports in school they need, and too many adults are unemployed.

On a personal note, I am grateful to have been very close to one of the organizers of the 1963 March, Arnold Aronson. Arnie was the founder of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights along with Roy Wilkins and A. Phillip Randolph in 1950. LCCR has coordinated all the federal legislative campaigns for the civil rights community.

Arni’s been gone almost 15 years now, but he was with me today. Arnie often talked about being in the car with MLK on the way to the speech and that Dr. King was coy about the content of his remarks. I hope Arnie and Dr. King would take comfort in the progress that our nation has made over these past five decades. I also hope they continue to inspire us to work harder, dream bigger and remember that kindness, love and respect are essential to progress as a community and as a country.