December 3 is the UN’s designated International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
December 3 is the UN’s designated International Day of Persons with Disabilities. I was excited to see that one of events scheduled to celebrate this is a Zoom meeting on December 5 in New York (9 – noon, EST) that is focused on “Innovation for disability inclusive development in employment (SDG8).” The deadline to register for this free event is November 30 – I think it would be relevant for all career development professionals. Register above for the event.
Such a wide range of disabilities and differing abilities impact one’s capacity to secure and maintain work. Some of our clients come to us with developmental disabilities that may benefit from periodic or ongoing support from job developers or supported employment coaches. Other clients come to us with physical disabilities – sometimes they have lived with the disability for their whole lives and have used assistive technologies to achieve success at school, in work, and in many other life roles.
For other clients, however, their disability may be a recently acquired result of a life-changing illness or injury – learning to live and work with it is still new and may be overwhelming. Still other clients may temporarily experience a disabling condition – although they anticipate a full recovery or remission, they can’t currently manage their work without some degree of accommodation or assistance.
Career development professionals are well-positioned to offer support, referrals, and advocacy to help many persons with disabilities to optimize their employment opportunities and success in the workplace.