This article certainly has some thoughtful insights. However the term "disability" in the context of America is a very vast concept and it also includes permanent diseases like diabetes and so forth. While this is certainly a way of accommodating people with certain permanent impairments, it can become a major tool in the hands of certain administrators in evaluating people with disability under the similar measurements and thus neglecting certain crucial and specific requirements of the disabled population. Another crucial fact is that cognitive related disorders are often the result of the irresponsibility of the society in terms of it's failure to provide a congenial atmosphere for children to grow both physically and mentally. Just to draw example, United States has the higher percentage of children undergoing psychiatric treatment at the age of 12 in comparison to the so called developing nations like India and such differences cannot be comprehended in isolation from certain social elements like the increasing divorce rate, children being compelled to face lonelyness at the very small age etc. Also the society constantly undermines the ability of slow learners by labeling them as "cognitively disabled". As a closing example I had a couple of students who are categorized by the disability services division as "students with learning disability". But in my experience, they were far more reflexive than supposedly normal students and henceforth words like cognitive disability should be understood in the context of a given socio-historic circumstances of a given region.
Vetri. ----- Original Message ----- From: "rajesh asudani" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 10:00 AM Subject: [AI] Fw: Beyond Cognitive Disability Barriers > > ----- 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. 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