Latest / Life Without a Filter: Practical Strategies for Life After 22 / Episode #4 – October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

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Episode #4 – October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month · Life Without a Filter: Practical Strategies for Life After 22

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Hi everyone and welcome to this week's episode of Life Without a Filter.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Before we get started, just a couple of housekeeping items.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: First, thank you to everyone who has listened to the first three episodes and has reached out to provide feedback and support.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: I truly appreciate it.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: If you are enjoying what you are hearing, please share with your friends, subscribe to the podcast or the YouTube channel, or both, and leave a comment.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Second, starting with this week's episode, I'm going to shift around a couple of things.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: First, I am going to be dropping episodes on Tuesdays instead of Mondays.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: And second, I am going to move to an every other week versus a weekly format.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: In addition to being Elle's mom and running his participant-directed program, I'm also one of his staff and I also have a job as an assistive technology specialist.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: This school year is starting more like a sprint than a marathon.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: So when looking at my time management, I realize that in order to be consistent and show up for you all, I needed to tweak the format a little bit.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: So please consider subscribing so that you get notified every other Tuesday when I drop an episode.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's it for now.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So let's jump into episode number four.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Hi everyone, I'm Cheryl, host of hashtag LifeWithout a Filter.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and it's the perfect time to reflect on the importance of employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: For this month's post and podcast and YouTube channel, we're going to highlight not only what we are doing in ELS participant directed program to build job readiness skills, but we'll also shine a light on organizations and people in our community that are putting this into action.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: To start, what is National Disability Employment Awareness Month?
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: This year marks the 80th anniversary of NDEAM.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: While this may be new information for some, the observation has a long history of advocating for inclusion and opportunity.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: According to the U.S.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, the 2025 theme for NDEAM is celebrating value and talent.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez de Remaire summed it up in the official news release.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Celebrating America means celebrating the value and talent that all Americans, including people with disabilities, add to our nation's workplaces and communities.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: For more resources for both employers and employees, and to watch the official video, you can visit the Department of Labor's website.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to list it in the show notes.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're watching on the YouTube channel, you'll see that I'm on this website right now and it has a couple of videos, they have a poster, and then they also have some employer and employee resources.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Again, all of this information is going to be listed in the show notes.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: So why does this matter?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: While it's encouraging that NDEAM has been observed for eight decades, the numbers remind us how much work still needs to be done.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: From the website, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in February 2025 that in 2024, the employment population ratio, which is the percentage of the population that is employed, was 22.7% for people with disabilities compared to 65.5% for people without disabilities.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: For adults under 65 with a disability, the ratio rose to 37.4%, but still lags significantly behind.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Also, people with disabilities were more likely to be employed part-time than full-time.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: These statistics highlight both progress and the challenges that still remain.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: While many individuals with disabilities are working, the types of employment and access to meaningful, sustainable jobs remains unevening.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: So how are we building job readiness in Elle's participant directed program?
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: When Elle expressed interest in having a job during his person-centered planning, we worked it into his participant-directed program.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: While Elle currently does not hold paid employment, his individual support plan, or ISP, lists not only his current volunteer experiences, but also the types of jobs he's interested in pursuing.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: From there, we created goals that focus on the job readiness skills he'll need for success so that he can obtain paid employment.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: So here are some of the ways that we're supporting him.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: During speech therapy, Elle is working on his articulation and communication skills.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Some areas of focus are answering and asking questions, reading social cues, tone of voice, and handling conflict.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: We also embedded curriculum supports into his program.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: For the past two years, we have used the Unique Learning System Program to work on job readiness skills.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: For this year, we are researching some additional job readiness programs, more to come in future posts.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: These new programs will target both technical skills and those soft skills that employers value.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Third, we are exploring additional volunteer opportunities.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Using person-centered planning, Elle is exploring new opportunities that align with his interests and long-term goals, creating a path toward future paid experiences.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: These volunteer opportunities are providing real-life experiences for Elle to work on what he is learning in speech therapy.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: It is also allowing him to work on expanding the amount of time he can spend on a task and within a job setting.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Most part-time employment we were researching had a minimum of a five-hour shift.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: When Elle left school, he was comfortable with working for about an hour.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Since he has left that program, we have been slowly building up his shift times.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Is it at the fastest rate possible?
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: No, but it is growing at the rate that is allowing him to have success and to build upon it.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: So as you're thinking about what you are going to be working on with your person, remember it might be at a rate that is slower than what other people are doing.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: And that's okay.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: As long as you are building upon skills and setting goals, that's the important thing.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: We're also inspired by local businesses and organizations that are modeling inclusive employment.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: In future posts and episodes, I'll be spotlighting some of them, like The Boundless Bean, which is a local coffee shop in Bridgewater, Mass, Biddy and Bose Coffee, which is opening a branch in Providence, Rhode Island in November.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: This is a well-known coffee shop chain employing individuals with disabilities.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: And Sweet Inspirations is a candy shop in Milford, Mass that's embracing inclusion.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: So stay tuned for deeper dives into these organizations and the impact they're making in the community.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: October is a month full of awareness campaigns.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: In addition to NDEAM, here are a few others worth noting: Disability History Month, ADHD Awareness Month, Down Syndrome Awareness Month, National Dyslexia Awareness Month with World Dyslexia Awareness Day on October 8th.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: These are not all of the disability or all of the awareness highlights that are happening this month, but if there's one that's important to you, please let me know so I can update the list.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: So, what's our call to action?
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: As parents, caregivers, and advocates, we play a key role in shaping opportunities for our young adults.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: This month I encourage you to one talk with your young adult about their employment dreams and interests.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Two, explore volunteer or community opportunities that can build readiness.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: And three, support businesses that are actively hiring and celebrating the talents of people with disabilities.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Together, we can keep moving the needle forward.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, this is Cheryl, and thanks for listening to hashtag life without a filter.