----- Original Message ----- From: "Justice For All Moderator" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 6:36 AM Subject: Beyond Cognitive Disability Barriers
> Beyond Cognitive Disability Barriers > Employees Quickly Emerge as Assets > > By Amy Joyce > Washington Post Staff Writer > October 29, 2006 > > When Kathryn Giordano, director of administration at Baker Botts > LLP, suggested to Pat Berry that his daughter come work at his law firm for the summer, he shook his > head in disbelief. > > "I thought no, not a law firm," he said. "It was absolutely > scary." > > That's because Berry's 19-year-old daughter who loves to ride > horses and types 45 words a minute has a cognitive disability. His daughter's stint at the firm allayed > his initial fears. > "Professionals with cognitively disabled children think they can't do this," he said. "But they can." > > Other organizations have had the same realization. A decade ago, > the Cincinnati Children's Hospital opened a division called > Project Search which helps place people with cognitive > disabilities in jobs within the hospital and teaches other > organizations how to do the same. > > "We really have found that people with significant disabilities > are capable of doing incredibly complex work as long as it's > systematic," said Erin Riehle, director of the project. Most > people with developmental disabilities work in stereotypical jobs, she said, like cleaning and > horticulture. "Our objective was to look beyond that. We found that we could put people with Down > syndrome, Williams syndrome, and many other disabilities into roles that had never been considered before." > > People with cognitive disabilities have significant delays in > measured intelligence, adaptive functioning or academic > functioning. "A fair amount of hospital revenue comes from providing medical care to kids with > disabilities. We kind of had an awareness that we needed to provide role models in our workforce," > Riehle said. > > More companies are realizing the workforce opportunities in people with intellectual disabilities and > are considering them not only for jobs, but careers. But the number is still anemic. Only about 31 > percent of people with such disabilities are employed, said Jon Colman, chief operating officer of the > National Down Syndrome Society. > > Mason Berry has a genetic disorder known as Fragile X syndrome, > which affects speech, motor skills, cognitive abilities and other > characteristics. > > Last summer at Baker Botts, she picked up books at book drops > throughout the towering office at the Warner Building and > reshelved them. She logged magazines into the computer and did > some Internet research. After a few weeks, she learned how to ride the Metro so she didn't have to wait > for her father, a partner there, to finish a conference call. This summer, she is a Labor Department > contractor doing database work, closer to their home in Virginia. > > "I loved it," she said while visiting her father's office on a > recent weekday. To bide her time, she was reorganizing library > slips. "They are not in order," she said, shuffling through them. > > Companies like Baker Botts, working with local schools and > organizations, have found that hiring employees with cognitive > disabilities can fill a major gap in employment -- and it has been acting as a go-between to find other > firms for employees with cognitive disabilities. > > The firm started what is now an official practice several years > ago when the managing partner brought his son with cognitive > disabilities to the office in Dallas and paid him out of his own > pocket. It went so well that the firm decided each office should > hire one or more employees with cognitive disabilities. > > Danny Ricchi, 22, sets up the conference centers at Baker Botts. > Ricchi, who has Down syndrome, likes going to the company gym and > walking around the office -- and eating. "My favorite place is my > mom's restaurant," he said, referring to I Ricchi. > > Mir Azad, 18, who also has a cognitive disability, works at Baker > Botts's library, shelving books, inputting information on the > computers and making deliveries. > > David Hughes, 43, works in the mail room, delivering boxes and > mail. Nancy Leap, human resources manager, said he recently > returned to her a document she meant to leave on her assistant's > desk, and she apologized for her mistake. Hughes, who has Down > syndrome, looked at her incredulously and said: " You made a > mistake?" > > "It's eye-opening to come out of the office and you're a self- > centered lawyer and you bump in to someone so excited to be doing > what they're doing," Berry said. "It disarms you." > > More companies are finding nothing but a loyal, diligent employee > base. > > "It's hard to get employers to imagine that people with > impairments actually can fit into a busy 24/7 workplace," said > Cathy Healy, director of workforce and education programs with the Institute for a Competitive > Workforce, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "When you see it in action, it's so amazing." > > Only 32 percent of Americans with disabilities aged 18 to 64 are > working, but two thirds of the 68 percent who are unemployed would rather be working, according to a > study done by her group. > > Healy is working to show employers that adults with disabilities > make up a large pool of workers. "Lots of research tells us that > people with disabilities, particularly intellectual disabilities, > have great staying power," she said. "These employees are loyal. > They are hard workers, people pleasers, and they want to stay > employed." > > David Egan, 29, has been with Booz Allen Hamilton for 10 years. He works as a distribution clerk and is > "proud to be a part of that team." He likes working with different people and enjoys > delivering packages to employees at Booz. > > More than just being a loyal full-time employee, he is also an > advocate for people with intellectual disabilities. He has Down > syndrome. He is active in the Special Olympics, an organization > that Booz supports. "They like to have employees come together to > show team spirit. Here at Booz Allen, we also talk about core > values a lot," Egan said. "I try to fit what we do as a company > and what I do outside the company." > > Heather Skeen, a senior recruiter and disability coordinator at > Booz, said the company believes hiring employees with cognitive > disabilities enriches the overall work experience. "When you have > someone with different learning experiences, it's an experience > for those who don't have a disability," Skeen said. > > "I'm very fortunate to be with this company not just as a disabled person but as a full citizen," Egan > said. > > ______________________________________________________________ > > For more employment news issues, see: > http://www.aapd.com/News/empissues/indexempissues.php > > # # # > > DISCLAIMER: The JFA Listserv is designed to share information > of interest to people with disabilities and promote dialogue > in the disability community. Information circulated does not > necessarily express the views of AAPD. The JFA Listserv is > non-partisan. > > JFA ARCHIVES: All JFA postings from 1995 to present are > available at: http://www.jfanow.org/jfanow/ > > MODERATOR, Gwen Gillenwater, JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of > the American Association of People with Disabilities. To > contact Gwen, please email her at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national > coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today at > http://www.aapd.com. > > Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions > To subscribe or unsubscribe, > send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with subscribe justice OR unsubscribe justice > in the body of your email message. > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
