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Local Organization Provides Support To Adults Living With Autism

Link: Support  Jessica Wang once held a steady job in JP Morgan's cafeteria. But after the September 11th terrorist attacks, she was out of work. Living with Asperger's, a syndrome included in the range of autism spectrum disorder, she found it hard to find new employment for several years. "I was miserable that I had that learning disability," she recalled. "I kept blaming myself that there must be something wrong with me mentally." Wang says she was finally able to start turning things around with the help of Job Path, an organization with the mission of helping people with developmental disabilities find employment, educational opportunities, live independently. if they can, and become involved in their communities.

Website Promotes Accessible Technology For Everyone

Link: AccessibleTech.org  Advances in technology are changing the nature of business, from job performance and work productivity to commercial interactions such as buying, selling and advertising. Smart companies understand that many of their customers and employees have evident and hidden sensory, learning, and physical impairments. And these numbers will grow as our population ages. Just as street curb-cuts, originally designed for people using wheelchairs, have been embraced by all pedestrians, information technology (IT) that is designed to be accessible to individuals with disabilities, also provides improved access and usability for all individuals.

The purpose of AccessibleTech.org is to build a partnership between the disability and business communities and to promote full and unrestricted participation in society for persons with disabilities through the promotion of technology that is accessible to all. National Hotline: 800-949-4232

How One Autistic Young Man Runs a Business

Link: Joe's Story Joe Steffy is off to Overland Park, Kan., this week to do a PowerPoint presentation on his business, Poppin' Joe's Kettle Korn. He's a 23-year-old small-business man with a goal of $100,000 in sales by 2012. Joe also has autism and Down syndrome and is nonverbal. When he gives his talk, he will push buttons on an augmentative speech device to deliver the words. His audience will be parents who fervently hope their own special-needs children will be able to work, too.

Scoop Essentials: Searching For The Perfect Gig

Link: Getting Employed Doreen Rosimos of IncomeLinks, LLC., employment specialist, answers your questions on everything from identifying a positive work situation to interviewing and what’s out there for caregivers needing flexibility.

ruralinstitute.umt.edu: MT-TIRC Advisory Board Member Recruitment

The MT-TIRC Advisory Board has an opening for a member who is between 13 and 30 years old and who has a developmental disability.

As you may be aware, the University of Montana Rural Institute was awarded a three-year grant from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities to establish the Montana Transition Training, Information and Resource Center (MT-TIRC). The MT-TIRC mission is to provide access to timely, high quality transition information, training and resources for young people with developmental disabilities, their families, teachers, professionals, and other community members.

MT-TIRC activities are shaped and guided by a fifteen-member advisory board comprised of Montanans from the following groups: young people (ages 13-30) with developmental disabilities; parents/family members of an individual with a developmental disability; the Developmental Disabilities Program; Disability Rights Montana; the Governor's Transition Task Force; the Office of Public Instruction; Parents, Let's Unite for Kids; the Child Development Center; the Montana Council on Developmental Disabilities; ADAPT/People First; MonTECH; the Montana Youth Leadership Forum; schools; and an adult agency (for example, a community rehabilitation provider).  To encourage young people with a more significant impact of disability to participate, they may have a parent or other trusted support person accompany them to meetings.

The advisory board helps MT-TIRC staff determine necessary and appropriate activities, establish priorities, develop work plans, craft products, deliver training, and conduct evaluation activities. Term lengths are staggered and run for either 12, 15 or 18 months. Meetings are held quarterly, with at least two of the meetings taking place in Missoula.  (Other meetings may be held via conference call and/or using the Internet.) Generally, the meetings last from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM to allow for travel time. In addition, board members may be asked to serve on work groups or task forces, which could require additional meetings by conference call.

Travel reimbursement is available for board members. Stipends are offered to young people with disabilities and family members if their time to attend meetings is not compensated through a job. The Rural Institute is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to allow individuals to fully participate in the advisory board activities.

If you are interested in participating, are between 13 and 30 years of age, and have a developmental disability (or you know someone who meets these criteria and who you think might be interested in serving on the Board), contact Kim Brown for the brief application form:  
Email: brown@ruralinstitute.umt.edu
Phone: (406) 243-4852
Toll-free phone: (800) 732-0323
Applications are due Friday, April 24th.
Please consider applying to help craft the work of this wonderful transition resource for Montana youth with disabilities, and please share this invitation with anyone you think might be interested. 

disabilityscoop.com: In First Employment Report, People With Disabilities Faring Poorly

Link: disabilityscoop.com
For the first time ever the U.S. Department of Labor released employment data Friday on people with disabilities. As expected, unemployment is more common and rising among those with disabilities compared to the rest of the population, even as unemployment continues to soar among all Americans.

dol.gov: Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) Releases Two New Fact Sheets

The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) at the Department of Labor released two new fact sheets for promoting equal employment opportunities and supporting employers who hire employees with disabilities.
Making Workplace Accommodations: Reasonable Costs, Big Benefits
As part of its recent customer service interviews, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) conducted an examination of the costs of providing accommodations to persons with disabilities and the benefits that those accommodations offer employers.  Based on its interviews with 1,182 employers from a range of industries, JAN reported some intersting results.  For example:  Nearly half of the employers interviewed (46%) reported that the accommodations they implemented cost absolutely nothing.  Similarly, 45% experienced a one-time cost.  The median one-time expenditure for employers was only $500.
Employee Assistance Programs for a New Generation of Employees: Defining the Next Generation
This summary of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) clearly defines the benefits for both employees and employers.  It outlines suggested services for both individuals and organizations, and it concludes with strategies for tailoring EAP's for younger employees ("Millennials").
Both fact sheets are available in PDF and MS Word versions on the ODEP website.
Link: dol.gov

dol.gov: GROUND-BREAKING SURVEY OF EMPLOYER ACTIONS/ATTITUDES RELEASED

Link: dol.gov
The Survey of Employer Perspectives on the Employment of People with Disabilities is the first of its magnitude, with responses representing more than 2.4 Million companies nationwide. The survey reveals that a majority of large businesses hiring people with disabilities are discovering that costs for accommodations differ very little from those of the general employee population. Additionally, the survey showed that once an employer hires someone with a disability, they are much more likely to hire other people with disabilities.

disabilityscoop.com: Disability Employment Low, But Employer Attitudes Improving

Link: disabilityscoop.com
Most large businesses are hiring individuals with disabilities and once they do, they’re likely to hire more, according to a survey released this month by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. Further, employers say that accommodating people with disabilities costs about the same as accommodating other employees. 

Actors With Disabilities Seek More Roles

Link: Disabled Actors
At briefings in Los Angeles, New York and Washington leaders of the Screen Actors Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Actors’ Equity Association said they were planning a broad push to increase physical access to auditions, a major expansion in roles for the disabled and greater employment for disabled journalists.