By Devon Douglas
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
More than 61 million Americans live with a disability and despite national efforts to draw attention to their struggle for employment, education and a regular life, many disabled workers say they are disappointed by the overall lack of awareness about their situation.
For example, October was National Disability Employment Awareness month. Who knew?
“I’m an amputee and I have never heard of National Disability Employment Awareness Month,” said special education teacher Nathaniel Gray. “So, what does that tell you?”
Gray and others point to lack of media coverage of certain issues like disabilities. The special disability month was created to raise awareness about disability employment issues as well as to celebrate America’s workers with disabilities, officials said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 61 million Americans live with a physical or mental condition that limits their movements, senses, or activities. This makes the disabled community the largest minority in the United States.
Although there are laws that guarantee parking spaces, prime seating at theaters and easy entrance into buildings, officials acknowledged much more needs to be done to aid people with disabilities.
“Right out of college, I was denied employment at Bob Evans because I’m an amputee,” said Gray who teaches at North Point High School in Waldorf. “No one should be turned away from employment because of their disability.”
Gray said that when he was a teenager, he developed cancer that later resulted in the loss of his leg. He speculated that the Bob Evans manager assumed he was incapable of carrying food and beverages to customers. He said he tried to find an alternative job with the restaurant, but the manager refused.
When employed as a cashier at Walmart, Gray said he had trouble standing and asked his boss if he could use a stool as a reasonable accommodation to help him comfortably perform his job.
“He refused and I ended up leaving the job soon after,” Gray said.
Reasonable accommodations provide disabled individuals equal opportunities to work. According to the Job Accommodation Network, 59 percent of reasonable accommodations cost nothing, yet millions of disabled workers like Gray have been denied them.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, a Civil Rights law passed in 1990 to prohibit discrimination based on disability, and the Rehabilitation Act, a 1973 law that prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the federal sector, and other laws provide some protection for workers with disabilities.
“Without those acts, I wouldn’t be where I am at today,” said Ian Watlington, senior disability advocacy specialist for The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN).
Watlington is a part of the disabled community. He was born with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.
The NDRN is a membership organization located in Washington, D.C. that provides services for people with disabilities and advocates for laws protecting the civil and human rights of people with disabilities.
On the national level, Watlington and the NDRN help with employment issues by working with agencies in every state and Congress to fight against discrimination.
“We use laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act to hold employers accountable if there is discrimination against disabled people,” Watlington said.
Towson University disability professor Beth Haller said perception plays a key role in how disabled people are treated.
“They encounter skepticism from others regarding their disabilities, inaccessibility to buildings, and the misconceptions spread by mainstream media that their incapable of completing tasks,” Haller said.
Haller explained that some companies are beginning to hire autistic workers specifically because they are perceived to be very focused on their fields of interests. In 2015, Microsoft started an autistic hiring program. Since then, there have been more than 50 full time workers in the company, including software engineers and other technical positions. Microsoft officials also recruit people with other disabilities as management work to make the company more inclusive.
Experts and other officials insisted that discrimination against disabled workers could decrease as the general public and employers gain more awareness and become more informed about the community. Inclusiveness could benefit all because it strengthens society and makes it more impactful, officials said.
“When people with disabilities are represented, [often] they’re portrayed as evil, worthless, or extremely unique” said Haller. “The media needs to show the reality of people with disability.”
Education is one of the most impactful ways to inform others, Haller said. In July 2019, dozens of Maryland state lawmakers signed a letter calling on the state school officials to create new curriculum that teaches the rights of the disabled community.
“Bills try to get passed but nothing ever happens,” Haller said. “The younger generations must teach others how to be inclusive of the disabled community.”
Watlington added, “Kids and young adults in school are future employers, employees, and policy makers of this country so they should learn now.”
According to Haller and Watlington, social media have helped disability activists share their opinions and the personal stories of disabled people.
Many people think that disabilities are negative. However, members of the disabled community would disagree.
“I know people who never wished to be an abled bodied person because they live their lives to the fullest,” Gray added. “I’m an amputee but I don’t let it slow me down. I was an introvert but becoming disabled made me outgoing and different.”