What Can They Do?

What Can They Do?

 - By John M.

WilliamsRalph Waldo Emerson was noted for telling his students, "Don’t tell me what I know, tell me what I don’t know."I urge employers to be guided by this rule when considering hiring an individual with a disability.The infinite question employers asked me is, "What can an employee with a disability do?" This is an easy, three-part question to answer.The first step I say is read the biographies of John Milton (blind), Aristotle (speech-impaired), Ludwig von Beethoven (deaf), artist Frida Kahlo (polio), singer Cher (learning disability), Stephen Hawking (ALS) and Helen Keller (deaf-blind). This finite list can easily become infinite.I tell employers that every century and every generation produces people with disabilities who excel. They acquit themselves because they have the ability, determination and discipline. Imagine how poorer the world would be without the successes of Aristotle, Milton, Lincoln, Helen Keller and others. History, I say, spends more time discussing the accomplishments of people with disabilities than their disabilities. And so, it is the person you must see, not the disability, when considering hiring a person with a disability. Secondly, I say, imagine a world in which you are interviewing for a job you know you can do. And the person interviewing you has a disability. What is your response to being told, "Even though you have the ability, I won’t hire you because you don’t have a disability." What are your reactions? Anger! Pain! Bitterness! You don’t want to experience that situation, so why put others through it? The third part is discover the benefits of Information Technology to people with disabilities. Section 508 of the 1998 Rehabilitation Act is a driving force in hardware and software accessible to people with disabilities. Microsoft’s VISTA has accessible features that allow individuals with disabilities to use it. Hewlett Packard, Canon USA, Adobe, IBM, Nokia, Verizon, and other manufacturers are building accessible features into their products. These products make employees with disabilities more productive and more efficient. These products tear down information walls that historically have prevented people with disabilities from being employed. IT and Assistive Technologies equalize employment opportunities for employees with disabilities. Such technologies allow people with disabilities to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, writers, teachers, entrepreneurs, hardware and software developers, nurses, telephone operators, accountants, engineers. To learn more about Assistive technology products visit the Assistive Technology Industry Association’s web site (www.atia.org).

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John M. Williams has been writing about disability issues for 29 years. He coined the phrase Assistive Technology. He has written more then 1,500 articles on disability issues and is the author of "Assistive Technologies: Expanding a Universe of Opportunities for People with Disabilities." Visit John's Website: Assistive Technology News