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Seeing Is Believing: DO-IT Videos Show How Disabled People Succeed on the JobBy: Nan Hawthorne
Summary:
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth at least a million. The University of Washington's free online videos show how people with disabilities compete effectively at work. 
"Finding Gold: Hiring the Best and the Brightest"
DO-IT's Line of Videos DO-IT's Other Resources Related Links Related Content "Finding Gold: Hiring the Best and the Brightest" The DO-IT Program (which stands for Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology) at the University of Washington exists to help students with disabilities succeed in college and make the transition into rewarding careers in technology. To accomplish this worthy goal, DO-IT provides support and tools not only for students and teachers but employers as well. Not the least of these offerings are several videos about how people with disabilities use adaptive technology, many of which are available for free viewing on the DO-IT web site as well as for purchase. "Finding Gold: Hiring the Best and the Brightest," a seven-minute video featuring employers in cooperative education, internship, and other work-based learning programs, is among these. In addition to illustrating how people with disabilities compete effectively at work, the video shows employers how to fully include employees who have disabilities in their workplaces. The video begins by stressing that "corporate success depends on attracting and hiring the best minds out there, and that means hiring for ability." In today's business world, there is a huge need for people with experience and skills in technology -- "about 95,000 people annually." Thanks to adaptive technology, disability is rarely a barrier to success in these, as well as other, jobs. Nevertheless, qualified people with disabilities are a largely untapped source within the technology sector. Representatives from Airtouch (now Verizon), Weyerhaeuser, and other major employers explain in the video why they are turning to college graduates with disabilities to fill their vacant positions. Weyerhaeuser's Debbie Angel introduces her company's internship program, which allows Weyerhaeuser to test the skills of new workers in temporary job assignments. Airtouch's Dan Hodge points out that, in his experience, most accommodations are made very easily. IDX's Bruce Miller explains that, at any time, a valued worker can become disabled. So he believes becoming acquainted with the skills and tools of disabled people is a sound corporate strategy. Miller goes on to recommend internship programs as the best way to hire people with disabilities and get help for making accommodations. The video offers advice about where to turn for available interns and about how to determine which accommodations are most appropriate. Throughout the video, numerous segments show what various disabled workers do in their jobs and how they get their work done. Featured is blind technical support specialist, Randy Hammer, whose internship with Weyerhaeuser led to a job and to subsequent job opportunities. See eSight's own profile of Hammer in "Making Blindness Irrelevant Through Accommodations To Effectively Serve Customers". I found this short video a good introduction to recognizing the value a disabled worker can be to a company. It is well produced, upbeat and informative. It gives the viewer a taste of a broad range of disability employment issues and solutions, such as obtaining the right accommodations and using internships to get to know the job candidate. The interviews were well chosen and well presented. The online version is free, but, at $25, the video is an excellent addition to your human resources training library. Although it is the only one of DO-IT's videos geared to employers, many of the others (see below) offer, at the very least, an opportunity to see what real disabled people are like: ambitious, hardworking, and creative. You can view this video for employers as well as other DO-IT videos on the DO-IT Program web site with RealPlayer and Windows Media Player and can find technical information there as well about viewing the videos. The videos have captions and narrative descriptions. Go to Top of Page DO-IT's Line of Videos DO-IT offers quite a few different videos for various audiences. Some are online, and some available for purchase on videotapes. Just a few of the videos you can see online, in addition to "Finding Gold," are:
DO-IT's Other Resources DO-IT also provides a wide range of print materials, including free brochures and a training manual. The brochures cover these topics:
In addition to its splendid video collection, DO-IT offers other training tools, including manuals and presentation materials (some free and some for purchase). One such resource consists of presentation materials about "Universal Access: Electronic Resources in Libraries," which is clearly relevant to business settings and business needs. Materials include the videotapes, "Working Together: People With Disabilities and Computer Technology" and "World Wide Access," as well as printed support materials for presentations about how to increase access to electronic information in libraries for people with disabilities. Go to Top of Page Bookmark this article to: 
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