RespectAbility’s Disability Training and Speakers Bureau is a key tool in preparing your organization to create access for everyone whom you want to bring into your tent. As you begin to plan for Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), book one of our dynamite speakers to help your community be welcoming and inclusive of people with physical, sensory, cognitive, mental health or other disabilities!

We watched in horror this week as a lack of knowledge in planning denied the UN Climate Summit the wisdom of Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar. We know that we are at our strongest when this type of exclusion does not rob us of the wisdom and participation of our children, parents, grandparents and friends with disabilities.

The following two presentations would be particularly useful in accomplishing this goal, teaching you things you don’t know you don’t know, and preventing challenges before they arise: [continue reading…]

Karine Elharrar at the UN summit she couldn’t enter due to a lack of wheelchair access.

For those of us who have long waited to see people who proudly embrace their significant disabilities in positions of power, the fact that Israel’s energy minister, Karine Elharrar, is a power wheelchair user can easily lead one to believe that the arc of history is changing. And it probably is. Sadly, this week demonstrated just how far we still have to go. The Times of Israel offers the following description of the Minister’s arrival to the United Nations Summit.

“For two hours on Monday, organizers refused to let Elharrar enter the large compound in the vehicle in which she arrived, Elharrar’s office said. They eventually offered a shuttle transport to the summit area, but the shuttle was not wheelchair accessible. The energy minister was forced to return to her hotel in Edinburgh after organizers refused to accommodate her.”

The rest of the article tells quite a tale. There were accessible entrances, just not ones to which she could bring her car. The organizers told her that she needed to somehow get out of her wheelchair, and walk over a kilometer to get the door. [continue reading…]

Read the full proclamation

Concord, NH, October 27 – New Hampshire must “help to create more inclusive workplaces and a stronger economy,” said New Hampshire Governor Christopher T. Sununu in a proclamation marking October as Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Gov. Sununu also committed his state to building “an inclusive community that increases access and opportunities to all, including individuals with disabilities.”

This is an important public commitment for the more than 86,678 working-age people living with disabilities in New Hampshire. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, New Hampshire had a 44.4 percent disability employment rate. By contrast, people without disabilities had an employment rate of 82.8 percent. That means that there is a 38.3 percentage point gap in labor force participation rates between people with and without disabilities. [continue reading…]

Subject of Film Jordyn Zimmerman, Also Serves on RespectAbility’s National Disability Speakers and Training Bureau

New York City, Oct. 26 – Communication is an essential part of daily life. It’s how we express our needs, wants, feelings, and so much more. Unfortunately, many school systems currently lack the resources, knowledge, and awareness of how to fully support disabled students in their education journey when the students’ methods of communication do not align with society’s traditional views of how to communicate. A new documentary film titled This is Not About Me hopes to change this by sharing the story of Jordyn Zimmerman, a nonverbal autistic woman whose own education journey is filled with years of misunderstanding and a lack of support from her teachers. However, once Zimmerman finally received communication tools from her educators, she excelled at education and has since gone on to receive her bachelor’s degree in education Policy, and hopes to continue being a catalyst for change in today’s education system.

This Is Not About Me starts off by following Zimmerman as she wanders around her campus at Ohio University. Throughout the documentary, we gain insight into the obstacles that she faced in order to get there. Those who don’t know her story might assume her journey was easy. But that’s far from the truth. [continue reading…]

Read the full proclamation

Bismarck, ND, October 25 – “North Dakota leads the nation in the employment of people with disabilities,” said North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum in a proclamation marking October as Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Citing pre-pandemic statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, Gov. Burgum emphasized that “workplaces that welcome the talents of all people, including people with disabilities, are a critical part of efforts to build an inclusive community and strong economy.” Gov. Burgum’s statement also highlighted the critical work of the U.S. Department of Labor, the North Dakota Department of Human Services, and North Dakota’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to align programs that “support employment of people with disabilities.”

These are important public commitments for the more than 41,000 working-age people living with disabilities in North Dakota. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Peace Garden State had a 57.2 percent disability employment rate. By contrast, people without disabilities had an employment rate of 85.9 percent. That means that there is a 28.6 percentage point gap in labor force participation rates between people with and without disabilities. It is worth noting that before COVID, this was the second smallest gap in the whole country, eclipsed only by Wyoming. [continue reading…]

Read the full proclamation

Little Rock, AR, October 25 – “Individuals with disabilities offer a wide range of expertise and play an integral role in our efforts to build an inclusive community,” said Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson in a proclamation marking October as Kansas Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Gov. Hutchinson also noted “the value and talent that people with disabilities add to our workplaces” and affirmed “Arkansas’s commitment to sustaining an inclusive community.”

This is an important public commitment for the more than 272,189 working-age people living with disabilities in Arkansas. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Natural State had a 32.8 percent disability employment rate. By contrast, people without disabilities had an employment rate of 76.9 percent. That means that there is a 44.0 percentage point gap in labor force participation rates between people with and without disabilities. [continue reading…]

Bizchut logo in Hebrew

Bizchut is excited to share a momentous achievement! For the first time workers in sheltered work environments have been granted the same social rights as any other employee!

Such significant change for the rights of people with disabilities in the Israeli labor force is a rare event, especially when it concerns a particularly exploitive, discriminatory, and segregative policy such as sheltered workshops/work centers. These organizations employ people with disabilities in environments that are separate from others, and are usually exempt from labor laws and standards, including but not limited to minimum wage requirements, pension, notice of severance pay, and the right to a hearing before termination. [continue reading…]

Alex Howard is a speaker in RespectAbility’s Disability Training and Speakers Bureau. He is also an alumnus of both our National Leadership Program and our Summer Lab Program for Entertainment Professionals with Disabilities. As part of a job application, Alex was charged with writing a letter to himself before receiving his diagnosis of MePan. MePan is a rare mitochondrial disorder – Alex is only 1 of 19 people in the world who has it. The majority of the 19 people are also Jewish and a significant portion of them live in Israel.

Currently, Alex takes comfort in being able to participate in research on how to help people with this disorder. By giving blood, he gets to be in contact with other people who know what he’s going through. He is, however, doubly unique as the only person in the world who has both MePan and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and for most of the first 30 years of his life, he was undiagnosed. This is a letter from current Alex sent to the Alex who was struggling with the unknown. Though he started it for a job application (he is looking for opportunities in the entertainment industry), it has helped him to realize that he really has a unique perspective on life that can be of value to the entertainment industry, which is looking for unique stories. Because October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Alex gave us permission to share the letter in the thought that it might help others to see the value of their uniqueness.

Dear Alex,

I know it seems like life hasn’t ever been easy. Living with an undiagnosed disorder creates a lot of self-doubt. I know you feel like no one really understands what you are going through. I can’t tell you those problems will ever go away, but I can tell you there are things in the future that will make things easier to deal with. [continue reading…]

Read the press release

Hartford, CT, October 21 – “I am proud of the way that Connecticut has been seen as a leader in protecting the rights of people with disabilities,” said Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont in a public statement marking October as Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Gov. Lamont went on to add that he was “particularly proud of the many businesses throughout our state that make every effort to include people of all abilities as valued members of their workforces” and that the economy is “strongest when we include people of all abilities in our workplaces.” In closing he noted that “it benefits the entire economy to make sure opportunities and resources are available for everyone.”

This is an important public statement for the more than 202,632 working-age people living with disabilities in the Nutmeg State. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Connecticut had a 42.9 percent disability employment rate. By contrast, people without disabilities had an employment rate of 79.9 percent. That means that there is a 36.9 percentage point gap in labor force participation rates between people with and without disabilities. [continue reading…]