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How eSight Members Define Workplace "Inclusion"By: Jim Hasse
Summary:
eSight members go beyond the EEOC broad statement of the "access and inclusion" rights people with visual impairments possess under the ADA to develop their own definition of "inclusion" in the workplace. 
Avoid Tokenism
Step Beyond "Special" Focus on Abilities Provide Reasonable Accommodations Diversify Personal Development Opportunities Both attitude and awareness seem to lag behind the advances in technology which allow people with disabilities to compete effectively for mainstream jobs. Participants in eSight's "Swimming in the Mainstream" (SiM) came to that conclusion after discussing "out-but-not-yet-in" issues they've had to address while swimming in the mainstream of competitive employment. Specifically, the SiM participants discussed this question: You can review their complete discussion about this topic on the SiM blog. While considering that question, SiM bloggers took a careful look at the new U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) document, "EEOC Explains Employment Rights of Persons Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired," which defines "access and inclusion" rights people with visual impairments possess under current interpretations of the ADA. With that EEOC framework and based on their first-hand accounts, they came up with a broader picture than EEOC of what they believe full "inclusion" can look like in today's workplaces. The SiM participants maintain workplace inclusion: Steps beyond "special." Focuses on abilities. Provides reasonable accommodations. Diversifies personal development opportunities. Here are what those characteristics of inclusion mean in terms of the eSight bloggers' personal experiences. Go to Top of Page Avoid Tokenism "I am a single parent with a bipolar disorder, and I also have a 25 year old, 15 1/2 year old and a 14 year old children who are all bipolar. "I work around a lot of College Educated folks. (I have no degree -- just life experiences.) I sometimes don't feel as though I fit in. Mind you, everyone is very nice to me, but sometimes I feel I am tolerated because it makes the company look good to have a disabled person on board -- rather than the work I have done and can still do. "I do love my job (peer navigator for a youth and family network). It is very rewarding." - Lori Go to Top of Page Step Beyond "Special" "...We're still struggling with attitudes that (question whether) disabled people even have a place in society ...- let alone (the right) to work and be independent... "If (there were a belief) that disabled people have as much right (as others) to be in society and function independently, we wouldn't have to be reinventing the wheel with each succeeding generation. We don't want to be designated as special; we just want to be included and be like everyone else." - Liz Go to Top of Page Focus on Abilities "I lost my vision in the course of my employment. My boss let me use magnification programs, specific color art work, large print on signs etc. He accepted my impairment as it progressed. "I was lucky in that respect. He was conditioned to what I could produce, even if I could not see. He respected me for that. "The key issue I feel is finding a new job. Once your in, for the most part, you can work out any accommodation issues." - Paul Go to Top of Page Provide Reasonable Accommodations "It was July, about five or six years ago, and I sat in my supervisor's office. I found myself dazed at her words, 'In my heart of hearts, I just don't think you can make it here.' "I vowed to this catholic nun that I would prove her wrong (believing in my heart of hearts that my blindness was/is an asset), though the ADA sees it differently. The words I heard that day were not borne out by nurses and patients with whom I worked in that hospital. "I had no reader because volunteers couldn't be found, because I wasn't connected with vocational rehabilitation, and because my peers had no time to read the monumental amounts of paperwork that flooded our mailboxes. "I challenge religious organizations be they churches, hospitals, schools or whatever, to gain further knowledge about the ADA because I still believe that many think the ADA is merely the widening of doors (and making) the statement, "We are accessible" but with no attitudinal meat on the bones: print hymn books, wasted handouts, inaccessible liturgies in which everyone is to participate and the lack of verbal and tangible support of an employee on a continuing basis. "I had a job honeymoon as long as I was a novelty but, when I demanded to become an integral part of the family, offering to educate, my disability became not the visual impairment but the barriers created by the increasing lack of reasonable accommodations." - Jo "I remained at one job for over a year as a foster care social worker and didn't have much assistance until six weeks before I was terminated. When I was terminated, my office and records were in perfect order... "I tried to work again with another organization that dealt with foster care, and I was a case manager... I was placed with (an assistant) who had no computer skills and was going to school full time (which left me with no help to accomplish my job tasks). I resigned my position after five months because I was set up for failure..." - Cindy Go to Top of Page Diversify Personal Development Opportunities "...Back in the 1970s and 1980s, I ... realized there was a lag in my own development as a team player. "During the 1980s when experiential learning was the vogue in management training, my employer encouraged me to take team building courses designed to develop my ability to trust team members through such strange exercises as rope climbing and gully jumping. Due to my cerebral palsy, I was an active participant only as a cheerleader for my fellow team members as we endured stress and a hint of danger, but I learned how gaining experience as a team member (which we, as individuals with a disability, often lack) was so vital to successfully swimming in today's mainstream business world. "I now believe even the experience of being part of a team in high school sports (even though they are often emphasized too much) gives our non-disabled counterparts an edge over us as they move from school to career. "As a high school junior and senior, I was the locker room clean-up guy for the football team and ran the 'riding' clock during wrestling matches. Though both occurred 45 years ago and were tangential to the public team effort, I still find those experiences valuable." - Jim Any of these people sound like they would be the type of employee who could help your company or organization continue to move forward? Be sure to check their comments on the SiM blog where their e-mail addresses also are available. Some of them have posted offering statements on eSight, so those also may be of use to you. Made possible by a grant from the American Express Foundation.
Do you have a topic or question to suggest for a future discussion on eSight's SiM blog? If so, submit it by using the eSight idea-sharing tool. Bookmark this article to: 
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