Comcast NBCUniversal sends message “status quo is not good enough”

Rockville, Md., Oct. 25 – Tom Wlodkowski, who is blind, loves TV.  He knows first-hand that, contrary to conventional wisdom, he’s not the only blind or vision-impaired person who is passionate about entertainment and news media. Indeed, millions of vision-impaired people love to watch television. However, since blind and low-vision people could not access the menus for the hundreds of channels that Comcast offers, Comcast was missing out on customers – and vision-impaired people were missing a lot of shows.

Because of Wlodkowski, who is Vice President, Accessibility for Comcast Cable, and his team, Comcast invented a new interface to solve the problem so that vision-impaired customers could use their remote controls to choose their favorite shows. The navigational text of the set top box is announced in speech when highlighted by the push of a button on the remote. It is the nation’s first talking cable TV interface.

Tom Wlodkowski, Vice President, Accessibility for Comcast Cable, demonstrates how a blind person can access Comcast’s vast offerings.

Comcast as a company, as well as its customers with vision-impairments, each benefited by the fact that Comcast has people with disabilities in leadership positions and throughout its team. As a company, Comcast understands the importance of making its products and services open to all users, regardless of their abilities. People with disabilities serve in various roles throughout the company.

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People with Autism Possess Skills that Strengthen Workforce

Rockville, Md., Oct. 25 – “An untapped reservoir of talent.”

This is how Megan Pierouchakos, Diversity Manager at Freddie Mac until earlier this year, describes a commonly overlooked segment of candidates poised to work for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.

Since 2011, Freddie Mac and The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) have partnered to create internship opportunities for recent college graduates on the autism spectrum. These interns gain experience and enter the workforce of a leading American company. Through Freddie Mac, the interns are able to access valuable work experience that suit their specific skill set. In return, Freddie Mac gets new and talented recruits.

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Rockville, Md., Oct. 23 – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on the CW just entered its third season. This season follows the main character, Rebecca Bunch, as she copes with being left at the altar when her fiancé suddenly decided to join the priesthood.

Writer, producer and actress Rachel Bloom says of her character, “She is going into this season saying, ‘I am a sexy, strong woman scorned.’”

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Rockville, Md., Oct. 23 – Television series by Dan Fogelman, This Is Us, is unraveling the stigma around anxiety, addressing physical health and alluding to an upcoming plot-line with a heavy focus on addiction.

Not only is the show written in a way that people can connect with but it also is subliminally inviting the everyday viewer to join the conversation about the inclusion of people with disabilities.

Spoilers ahead.

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Rockville, Md., Oct. 23 – Speechless had two important teachable lessons in this week’s episode. This episode highlighted the importance of being an aide to a child with a disability and the value of parents letting their children try new things before deciding if they can or cannot do it.

J.J.’s mother Maya took on the task of training underachiever teachers at the school to become aides for new students with disabilities. At first it seems like the aides were not very interested in learning, so Maya decided to make them quit, which would allow the district to hire qualified aides. However, Kenneth secretly gave them advice and told them not to quit, and they prove themselves worthy of the position.

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Long Beach, Calif., Oct. 19 – When talking about outcomes for children with disabilities, the conversation generally is bleak. It is no secret that many times success in life is heavily tied to one’s education. For the people of Long Beach, California, it is no different. Why so? Long Beach is a city where 19 percent of the population is in poverty, the medium household income is lower than the national average; 29.2 percent of the population has a bachelor’s degree or higher. This means that people without education in Long Beach are some of the poorest in the city.

As for the youth, students with disabilities in Long Beach lag behind their counterparts in high school graduation, as well as higher achievement attainment. With a higher student to teacher ratio and lower than average test scores, the Long Beach community is worse off educationally than the state of California, as well as schools across the nation. However, having a disability is not a self-fulfilling prophecy. With early intervention, children with disabilities can, and do, succeed.

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Companies that do include people with disabilities, however, find it successful

Washington, D.C., Oct. 17 – A new study, entitled the National Employment and Disability Survey Supervisor Perspectives and conducted by the University of New Hampshire, was released in the U.S. Capitol in honor of the National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

The survey showed that very few companies have an intentional plan as a part of their diversity efforts to include people with disabilities. Indeed, while 28 percent of organizations have disability hiring goals, only 12 percent of companies include disability as part of their diversity efforts. In comparison, 45 percent have hiring goals for other types of diversity. Even though disability advocates are saying that disability is part of diversity in the workplace, that message is still not getting across to businesses.

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2017 Employer of the Year designs system to educate its health care providers

Meagan Mauney

Rockville, Md., Oct. 17 – “They snatch you. They push you. They’ll grab you around the shoulders and push you along.”

So says Meagan Mauney, who is legally blind, of how people who are blind are often treated by the uniformed.

Mauney, Accessibility Consultant for Florida Blue, is working to change this through education and Florida Blue’s Distinction Program, which offers its customers a way to choose more mindful and educated practitioners.

“Leverage the resources around you,” Mauney says.

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Rockville, Md., Oct. 17 – For Eli Hinson, a Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) Associate who has dyslexia and a hearing impairment, “having a disability doesn’t mean you can’t reach for the stars.”

“Don’t let your disability stop you from doing what you enjoy whether it’s a career or whether it’s a hobby,” said Hinson.

Hinson was named 2016 employee of the year, an award that recognizes “the professional and personal achievements of outstanding individuals with disabilities.”

“I’m proud to work for a firm that supports all its employees and provides them with the tools and environment they need for success,” said Hinson.

Hinson leads the management consulting firm’s diverseAbility forum, which was created to educate and build awareness for all employees on disability-related issues in the workplace. She is a member of BAH’s section 508 Community of Practice (CoP), which endorses the firm’s inclusion initiatives, as well as a dynamic presenter on BAH’s Disability Mentoring Day.

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