I have empathized and seen the struggles that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) face in obtaining a standard education. These individuals have many obstacles that they need to overcome when adjusting to social situations in school and/or college. Upon the completion of their schooling, the next struggle begins when the individual needs to make a living and become financially independent. This is where we, as a society, have to make every effort to help individuals, with unique diverse learning styles, transition their skills to ensure their financial independence.
With this thought in mind, I wanted to do my part, in my community, to help people with disabilities to find employment. To do this we would need to know if our employment establishments are accommodating universally to all populations. It would be important to know what accommodations are present currently; and, to evaluate if these accommodations are substantial, sustaining and equitable. We would need to know what more needs to be done. Once we know what accommodations, in the job force, can be offered, we can make this information available to individuals with a disability. We can make this match process easier, and offer hope for life enduring employment.
I visited and surveyed local employers in independent locations and town squares across the suburban Philadelphia area, ranging from companies, grocery stores, appliance stores, retail stores, and pharmacies. Of the 86 stores that were asked to fill out the survey, 53 participated. Managers that participated did so for a variety of reasons: they either had a personal connection to the topic of disabilities, their company allowed them to participate in the survey, or they simply wanted to contribute to a benevolent cause. Some of the managers were very encouraging and supportive of my efforts. In retrospect, I had more success in getting a survey answered in less affluent neighborhoods.
Many of the employers choose not to participate because they indicated that they would need corporate and human resources approval. Some places were just simply too busy and declined the survey. Some asked that I return on a later date, which I did without, success. I made several phone calls to HR departments of major companies, frequently with no connection to human contact, simply automated service. Furthermore, I was shunted from one headquarters to the other. Two nationally known companies indicated that it was their policy not to participate in such surveys; and, they were doing different things for equity and inclusion.
Reviewing the data collected from the survey demonstrated that most places accommodate people with disabilities; and, generally are accepting of people with all differences. The coronavirus epidemic had a huge impact on the ability to work from home. While 96.2% of the 53 employment places offered flexible work hours, only 19% (of 53 employment institutions) of employers offered their employees the opportunity to work from home. Working from home may not be applicable for all kinds of jobs; but, we could give another look at the positions which can be performed remotely. 79.2% of employers had accessible parking but 17% of employers did not have space for wheelchairs. The absence of braille was also very common in stores, which can be worrisome for blind people trying to find employment. Elevators are not present in all stores, but in the stores which had them, they were the appropriate width for someone with a wheelchair’s girth. A topic where results widely varied was restructuring and modification, such as job equipment and assistance. About 75.5% of employers were willing to train employees with disability and offered adaptations as needed for certain jobs. Furthermore, 51% of employers were willing to restructure jobs while only 32.1% of employers would modify existing equipment to make them disability friendly. Many employers were more open to accommodating limited areas of their workplace, such as parking, wheelchair space rather than making a more global change in their workplace. Survey questions and analysis of responses is made available for review. This is a good starting point to see where we are and what more we can do.