The Rewards of Employing Individuals With Disabilities

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. — Theodore Roosevelt

“You do realize that each of us has some form of disability or flaw? No one is perfect.”

I responded with my standard quote, “It’s just that certain disabilities are more visible than others.”

This brief interchange has occurred dozens of times during my career in serving and supporting tax-exempt disability service providers. A recent repeat of this interchange prompts the topic for this column. That is, meaningful employment of individuals with disabilities.

The federal government, as a result of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Supreme Court decision known as Olmstead, is on a mission. Individuals with disabilities are guaranteed by law, supported by the Supreme Court, to receive services and be involved in all activities (residential, employment, transportation, etc.) in the most integrated, least restrictive setting appropriate for their needs and abilities. Conceptually, I think we can all agree that this is good public policy. However, the ramifications of implementing these requirements are causing tremendous anxiety and disruption to individuals with disabilities, particularly in the area of integrated employment opportunities.

By way of background, in July 2013, the federal government through the Center for Medicare Services (CMS) effectively began the termination of more than 10,000 individuals with disabilities who have been employed in a workshop setting, in some cases for more than five decades. In January 2014, the federal Department of Justice settled a consent decree with the state of Rhode Island that is resulting in a similar termination of more than 2,500 individuals with disabilities who have been meaningfully employed in that state’s workshops.

While we can all agree that integrated community-based employment opportunities are desirable for every one with disabilities, the fact is that not every individual with disabilities can be successful in an integrated employment workplace.

Success stories
Before I provide specific recommendations regarding employing individuals with disabilities, here are some real-world success stories. Only the names have been changed to protect their identities.

So let me tell you about Bill, Carol, and Roger. After reading their stories, I am hopeful that you will begin to look for opportunities to employ individuals with disabilities. They most certainly deserve that opportunity.

Bill, known to his friends as “Wild Bill,” is a gregarious, fun-loving individual who happened to be born with a serious case of cerebral palsy. Bill was able to stay at home with his loving parents and his seven siblings for his first 40 years. He now lives in a group home in upstate New York. Bill and I are good friends and we go to movies, bowling, and various sporting events together.

Bill’s parents owned a sawmill and lumber yard. Bill is very proud that, at age 14, under the supervision of his father and brothers, he was able to operate the “barker” machine. The barker, I learned, removed the bark from the trees after they arrived at the saw mill. Now, some 40 years later, Bill works multiple jobs, including volunteering at the Salvation Army, stocking shelves at the Coalition Grocery store, and serving on a janitorial cleaning crew.

Bill shares a common attribute with almost all other individuals with disabilities. That is, they want to work and be productive at anything they are capable of doing.

Carol works as a receptionist and administrative assistant in our Geneva, N.Y. office. She assists our office manager and has done so faithfully for the past seven years. Carol has been a breath of fresh air, with her caring personality and her candy contributions. In her ongoing attempts to change the “dull and boring” stereotype of the accountant she works with, both she and he have benefitted immensely from her work effort. She is truly one of us, which is what integrated work opportunities are all about.

Finally, here is the amazing story of Roger, who works as an IT consultant for our firm. You see, Roger was born deaf and without ears. His parents were told, while he was still in the hospital, that “you might be better off putting him in an institution; he will be a burden on your lives and society.” Roger grew up painfully shy because of his disability. However, his parents were both outraged by the advice provided and determined to make sure that Roger lived a “normal” life. In Roger’s view, his parents, through their determination, saved him from a life of “being disabled.”

At a young age, Roger was fortunate to be fitted with a hearing device. During his youth and early adulthood, he was able to serve as a lifeguard, camp counselor, disc jockey, and audio-visual director. As he told me recently, “Who would think that a guy without ears would do any of those listening-intensive jobs?” And, in a note of irony, Roger likes to quote the social worker who said jokingly, “Gee, for a guy without ears, you sure do listen well.”

Roger, as an adult, is married with children and remains actively involved in a number of organizations supporting both deaf individuals and others with disabilities. My favorite quote from Roger is one that applies to all individuals with disabilities. His personal mantra is “if you surround yourself with coconuts, you become a coconut.” To be clear, his position is that he would have become developmentally disabled by being treated as developmentally disabled.

So there you have three of literally hundreds of similar stories that I have heard and observed over my 40-year career. Individuals with disabilities truly want “a hand up, not a handout.” And the best thing that you could provide to them, and what they want most of all, is meaningful employment. As with all of us, it gives our life purpose, meaning, and satisfaction.

I hope that I have tugged at your heartstrings. But individuals with disabilities don’t want your sympathy, they want the following:

• Introduce yourself to them, don’t avoid them.
• Talk to them. You will be amazed at what you can learn from their perspective.
• Be a friend. You will receive far more in return than the time you commit to bringing joy into their lives.
• Never be condescending or patronizing. They want you to follow the “golden rule” as you would with all your traditional friends.
• Many individuals with disabilities are extremely intelligent, but you will never know it if you always judge a book by its cover.
• Think about people with disabilities who have led amazing, impactful lives — FDR, Stephen Hawking, Helen Keller, Louis Braille, and Ludwig van Beethoven.
• Find an opportunity in your organization, either paid or volunteer, that would give meaning and satisfaction to an individual with disabilities.
• Hire an individual with disabilities. Be sure to, as I did, interview multiple candidates. They are no different from any hire in that you want to know if they will be a “fit” as much as they want to know that they can be successful in your organization.
• Since we now have thousands of individuals being transitioned from the rather secure employment of their workshop setting, the demand for responsive involvement of each and every employer is of critical importance. Now, perhaps, more than ever.
• Finally, reach out in your own volunteer efforts to work with and support individuals with disabilities. Your cup will overflow with love, joy, and immense satisfaction, knowing that you have positively touched and influenced another’s life.

Enough said on this topic. Now it is time for each of us to be responsible in our response to the need and in our actions.

Gerald J. Archibald, CPA, is a partner in charge of the management advisory services at The Bonadio Group. Contact him at (585) 381-1000, or email: garchibald@bonadio.com