Module One
Diversity in Employment: Disability Awareness
The following Diversity in Employment online module is designed to assist public and private employers to increase its workforce diversity to include people with disabilities, an untapped business resource. This module addresses common misperceptions, myths, and stereotypes concerning people with disabilities and provides you with etiquette "tips" and helps you to recognize the "sameness" of all people, regardless of "labels" like disability.
As the number of workers in the "traditional" labor force shrinks it is important that employers open their doors to qualified workers from nontraditional sources. Individuals with disabilities are under utilized assets who can assist employers to meet their current and future labor needs. Many times employers hold preconceived notions regarding the skills and contributions that individuals with disabilities can make to their businesses. The information in this module addresses some of those stereotypes and misconceptions that create artificial barriers to the employment of people with disabilities.
At the conclusion of this module you will be able:
This module is organized into 3 lessons. Each lesson will start with an overview and some initial thoughts designed to stimulate thinking in each topic area. This will be followed by the presentation of a number of "key concepts" related to the each lesson topic and conclude each lesson with a wrap-up summary. Following the wrap-up summary, you can "check your learning" related to content and learning objectives and access a resource guide that includes resources related to the material in this module.
The following lessons are contained within this module:
Hello! My name is Travis and I will join you at various times as you complete this module to share a few of my personal thoughts regarding this important issue. Watch the video below to hear my introduction. I hope you enjoy the presentation.
As mentioned in the Introduction, employers may hold preconceived perceptions regarding the skills and contributions that individuals with disabilities can make to their businesses. This first lesson will:
Stereotypes are the assumptions we make about an individual or a group of people based on our prior personal experiences, the media (i.e., television, internet, newspapers, and magazines), and/or the influence of friends and family. We are often unaware of our stereotypical views of people and how our views become judgments that affect our interactions with people.
In Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink, he describes the power of first impressions. You may remember the Pepsi Challenge when people were randomly chosen to participate in a taste-test comparing Pepsi and Coke. In this experiment, taste testers chose their favorite after a few sips and based on first impressions, Pepsi was the favorite. In response to the Pepsi Challenge, Coke revised their formula and New Coke was born, which turned out to be a costly business mistake. The behind the scenes story of the Pepsi Challenge was that when taste testers were asked to choose either Pepsi or Coke after drinking more than just a few sips, Coke was their favorite. This is an example of how first impressions can be flawed.
Similar to taste tests, when we meet someone for the first time, or even see a picture of someone, we have a first impression and make conclusions about the individual. How accurate are your first impressions? Based on a photo of someone, can you guess the person's occupation or if the person has a college degree or not?
Let's test your first impressions.
This is Mark. Can you guess what his occupation is?
Did you answer correctly? What influenced your answer? Was there something about Mark's image in the photo that gave you a hint or was misleading? Did Mark's picture remind you of someone you know and thus influence your answer?
This is Joe. Do you think he has a college degree?
Likewise with Joe, how did his photo influence your answer? Did the hunting attire help or hinder your ability to answer correctly? Do you know someone who enjoys hunting and did this picture remind you of that person? Did your beliefs about hunting influence your answer? If someone had negative views about hunting, would his/her attitude influence his/her perception of Joe?
Based on our personal experiences, knowledge, and relationships, we make judgments about people. In the above activity, you were asked you about your first impressions based on a photo. You were asked to think about how your belief systems and personal relationships influenced your impressions. Often these belief systems generalize to entire categories of people (i.e. people with disabilities). A positive judgment about a group of people increases the likelihood of acceptance for an individual member of that group. Likewise, a negative judgment can increase the likelihood of rejection or exclusion.
Let's explore your perceptions of people with disabilities. In your opinion, which of the following words or phrases describe people with disabilities?
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Courageous Needs protecting Fragile Unhealthy Live in nursing homes Few work skills Dependent on others |
How many of the 7 words or phrases did you choose as descriptors of people with disabilities? Actually, none of the descriptors can be used to describe all people with disabilities. Also, these words can describe both people with and without disabilities. Generalizing is the danger with stereotypes. We combine characteristics of individual people to make conclusions about groups of people.
We develop stereotypes when we are unable, or unwilling, to obtain all of the information we need to make fair judgments about people or situations. Our society often unknowingly creates and perpetuates negative stereotypes, which often lead to unfair discrimination.
People tend to stereotype when they lack personal relationships or significant experiences with certain groups of people and make uninformed assumptions based on limited information. For example, many of us have had little contact with people with disabilities and consequently, we may believe what we see on TV or hear from others. Also, without personal exposure to people with disabilities, we never develop relationships and friendships or learn how to comfortably interact with them. Because of our discomfort, many of us may avoid people with disabilities, which increases their isolation further.
"Hi, it's Travis here again. I would like to do an exercise with you to see if you can guess what my life is like. You've had the chance to think about your personal views and biases. We began this journey discussing your personal views about individual people and first impressions. We then talked about stereotypes of groups of people, and in particular, people with disabilities. As we end this self-reflection section of the module, I have one more activity for you. Can you guess what my life is like? As you can see from my picture, I have a disability. Click on the following questions and make your best guess about my life in the areas of my personal relationships, my work life and my home life. After you are done I will explain a little more about myself and my life in a short video clip."
Pick from the choices in each area below:
Relationships:
Employment:
Home:
Watch the video below to hear Travis talk about his life.
STEREOTYPES AND PERCEPTIONS
In this lesson we have explored a number of issues related to the concept of disability. Following are a few of the highlights:
Next we will learn more about how we view disability in Lesson #2.
What does it mean to "have a disability?
There are different ways to think about disabilities.
Some people think a disability is an illness. Some people focus on the negative implications of disability—what people with a disability cannot do.
Having a disability means that an individual has cognitive, physical or emotional characteristics that may affect the way they interact with their environment. An individual's disability (e.g., intellectual disability, blindness) simply means the individual shares some characteristics of that disability 
with others.
At the same time each person is unique—their family background, ethnicity, religion, upbringing, educational and social experiences, hopes, dreams, fears and concerns have all contributed to who they are.
Think about the characteristics you may share in common with others, for example your ethnic origin. Although you may share that characteristic with others, your ethnicity is just one piece of your puzzle. For example, two people may both be of Latino descent, but one person is very interested in outdoor activities while another prefers reading. Even people who grow up in the same families have different interests, goals and abilities.
People with a particular disability, however, are often perceived exclusively in terms of their disability as a result of others' perceptions and stereotypes discussed in Lesson #1. The reality is that people with autism, for example, share only some characteristics of autism. Otherwise, they are very different from one another in most other ways. Disability is only one of many characteristics of an individual.
Another example relates to people with an intellectual disability. Below are two examples of myths about people with this label.
Untrue. Because of this belief, many individuals will direct questions or comments toward support workers rather than the person with intellectual disability. This myth, however, is untrue. People with intellectual disabilities can and do make decisions. It is dehumanizing to be ignored based on an assumption that you have no opinion in matters that concern you.
Untrue. All people can and do learn. Traditional learning methods may not be appropriate for some people with intellectual disability, but this does not imply that people with an intellectual disability cannot learn. This myth stems from our narrow understanding of learning and our inability to recognize and explore different ways of learning.
(Purdon and Noble, 2004)
Even though disability doesn't define a person, it is a reality for many people. So, it may be helpful for us to distinguish an impairment from a disability. An impairment is the actual manifestation of a disability. For example, a person with a cognitive disability may process information more slowly; a person with a physical disability may not be able to use stairs. Focusing on the label does not help the situation--the goal is to minimize the impact of the impairment on people's lives. In order to minimize the impact, we must examine the interaction between people and the real world environments in which they live, work and play.
For many of us, our environments have been designed for the "typical user." For example, computer output is designed to be read, because the designers assumed that everyone using a computer could read. But what if you are blind and cannot see or have a cognitive disability and do not read?
What creates the problem--your disability or your environment as designed? When we think of disability we tend to think about it as being something in the person. The person "is blind," for example. But if the environment is designed to accommodate the individual and his/her disability, the impact of the impairment is minimized.
Let's explore some examples where a person with a disability is confronted with an environmental barrier of some sort and how removing or minimizing the barrier helps the individual to be more fully included in his/her community. Read each scenario below, and then select the answer you think best addresses the situation.
Scenario #1.
Scenario #2.
Scenario #3.
The purpose of the above activity was to provide some real examples of how modifications to an individual's environment can minimize the impact of an impairment due to a disability. There is no formula for minimizing this impact, however, some questions to consider include:
Watch the following video to hear Travis talk about accessible environments.
People with disabilities constitute our nation's largest minority group, one which any person can become a part of at any time. It is estimated that 20% of us will experience a disability at sometime in our lives. Some join at birth where as others join after a serious accident, through illness, or by the aging process. Disability includes all genders, all ages, all religions, all socioeconomic levels, and every ethnicity. People with disabilities are Moms and Dads; Sons and Daughters; Employees and Employers; Friends and Neighbors; and Students and Teachers. Disability is a natural part of life.
Take the following quiz to learn about how often disability occurs.
DISABILITY AND THE REAL WORLD
In this lesson we have explored a number of issues related to the concept of disability:
Now let's move on to Lesson #3.
How we refer to people is important. Read and think about the terms listed below:
Are any of these terms appropriate and respectful to use? When you think about these terms, what images come to mind? Do they make you think about the person as an individual with unique skills and competencies or do they make you focus on the disability rather than the person?
The reality is none of the above terms are very respectful or appropriate to use.
Words are very powerful and a society's word choice often reflects its values. At one time, it was acceptable to refer to people with disabilities by their disability (e.g., the blind man; the retarded child). We focused on the disability and devalued a person's abilities or individuality. No one wants to be stereotyped based on one characteristic, especially when that characteristic produces pity, fear, or discomfort in others.
"The term "handicapped" came into use to describe people with disabilities – any disability – in the early 20th century. Most people with disabilities do not like this term. The term handicapped derived from the time when people with disabilities were limited to begging for a living, with their caps held out in their hands. Although this term is inaccurate in today's world, many people continue to use the term despite its negative connotation.
Today, referring to someone by his or her disability is thought of as depersonalizing. The term "disabled people" or "the disabled" also is discouraged, since they suggest that a disability is a person's defining feature. Instead people with disabilities prefer "person first" language (i.e., "person with a disability"). By putting the "person" before the "disability," we tend to focus on the individual before the disability." (Baum, et al., 2004) Even better, just refer to people by their names (Tim, Sharon, Carmen, etc.) and avoid categorizing them. Let's try some examples of using respectful language.
Many of us are uncomfortable interacting with people we perceive as different from us. This is true for many people without experience interacting with people with disabilities. You will now take several short quizzes to learn about disability etiquette. We hope that what you learn from these scenarios will help you feel more comfortable in your interactions with people with disabilities.
Scenario #1.
Scenario #2.
Scenario #3.
Scenario #4.
Scenario #5.
(The above scenarios were reproduced from Baum, et al., 2004)
The most important thing to remember is make attempts to get to know the individual as a person regardless of their disability and use your own instincts and judgment as you would with anyone else you meet.
LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND ETIQUETTE
In Lesson #3 you learned that:
Watch the following video to hear Travis' thoughts about interacting with people with disabilities.
You can now check your learning for all three Lessons on the next page.
We hope you enjoyed the information and activities contained in this module. Now let's check your learning on some of the key principles included in the module. Have fun and good luck!
Question #1.
Question #2.
Question #3.
Question #4.
Question #5.
Question #6.
Question #7.
Question #8.
Final Activity:
From the list below, pick 2-3 things you will try to do differently after completing this online module.
You have learned a lot of new things about stereotypes, people with disabilities and communicating and interacting with people with disabilities. You now know that:
Watch the following video to hear some closing remarks from Travis.
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Complete an evaluation of the module and you will be directed to a Certificate of Completion you can personalize and print out here. The evaluation survey will open in another window. After you have completed and submitted the survey and printed out your certificate, close the window to return to this module for further resources and learning opportunities. See below:
When you are finished, click here to return to the homepage and move on to Module Two: "The Americans with Disabilities Act and Reasonable Accommodations". From this page you will also be able to access additional resources that relate to disability awareness and diversity.
Baum, P.; Buchanan, L.; Cuozzo, L.; Deschamps, A.; Diaz, J.; Farrington, S.; Hathaway, S.; Horton, N.; Leedy, M.; Luecking, R.; Margolis, R.; Porter, K.; Tilson, G.; Vessels, M.; (2004). Workforce Discovery: Diversity and Disability in the Workplace. Rockville, MD. TransCen, Inc.
Purdon, S; Noble, J.; (2004). Opening the Door to Employment for People with Disabilities: A Skill Development Program for Employment Professionals. Melbourne, AU. Diversity@work.
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