This highly requested workshop has attendees explore and exercise best practices and tips for engaging with people with all types of disabilities in both personal and professional settings.

Using mini-lectures, videos, and case studies, participants will be able to:

• Articulate the importance of and difference between ‘person-first’ and ‘identity-first’ language
• Demonstrate related language do’s and don’ts
• Describe basic norms for interacting with co-workers with specific types of disabilities including apparent disabilities such as vision, hearing, and mobility impairments as well as mental health, learning, and other non-apparent disabilities
• Practice positive and effective strategies for handling diverse situations, offering to help, and avoiding unintentional offense

EVALUATION COMMENTS/TAKEAWAYS

“The passion exhibited on the topic via the presenter. How receptive and knowledgeable – incorporating her own life experiences. Actually creating an environment for us to admit past experiences that illustrated lack of tools – the most simple approaches.” Cambridge Health Alliance employee

“Yesterday’s session was perfect…  the way you presented the material and engaged a very large group of people, keeping everyone interested and focused is not easy to do. Thanks so much for partnering with us and providing such excellent professional guidance.” – Donald J. Scacco Jr., Vice President of Electric Field Operations, Eversource Energy

“The presentation was excellent!  You kept the attendees engaged the whole time, providing a whole lot of useable information and helpful guidance in one hour! We look forward to furthering our partnership with you in the future!” – Paula Parnagian (she/her), Manager, Diversity & Inclusion, Eversource

“The strategies shared are immediately actionable for me as a leader.”

“I liked the interactive nature through use of the chat box, case studies, and polling questions. Bonnie also took clear steps to make it an inclusive and safe space for learning and asking questions. It also didn’t feel rushed, which also helped make it feel like a safe space.” – Newton-Wellesley Hospital employee

“On behalf of the disAbilities Awareness Network and Wellington Management, we want to sincerely thank and express our gratitude to you for taking time to speak with us this morning about disability etiquette. We all benefitted from the engaging session and your deep expertise and took away many lessons about disabilities in the workplace, how we can have an impact by being person-first (#ATP!), and best practices for hiring. We wish you all the best in the coming months, and look forward to connecting again soon!”

“I liked the questions being asked which provoke thought and best actions. She talked a lot about proper terms to use and not use when speaking to or about a disabled person.” – Newton-Wellesley Hospital employee

“Power-packed hour. Extremely effective use of time. Fit a lot of excellent content into a narrow window.” – State Street employee

“I like that we got the opportunity to test our knowledge with the case studies.” – Boston University employee

“I think this is something that everyone, everywhere should take as a course on personal/professional growth.” – State Street employee

“That session was truly awesome and super helpful in terms of providing education and awareness for employees.  Loved all the scenarios and it’s a great way to really help folks understand etiquette around this topic.” – Shauna Thompson,  Assistant Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion- Human Resources @ Brown Brothers Harriman

Disability Etiquette training is required as a prerequisite.

This targeted workshop gives clarity and confidence to supervising professionals in preparation for and during performance reviews with employees with disabilities. Participants will receive a concise review of the essentials of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including key terms and considerations such as essential job functions and the interactive process for determining reasonable accommodations.

Using mini-lectures and case studies, participants will be able to:

• Address conduct issues and performance improvement plans with confidence
• Navigate the disclosure of a disability during a performance discussion and engage internal and/or external resources at appropriate times
• Manage what to do when performance does not improve

EVALUATION COMMENTS

“I think this should be a required training for any supervisor.”

What Attendees Liked Best:

“Content, presenter’s delivery style, and the options to engage (polls, chat, writing on the slides).”

“The scenarios and interaction from participants. It is very helpful to have the comments and us participating to hear how others are thinking through the scenarios.”

“#ATP … I’m still startled by how many times my gut instinct to be kind/respectful ends up being the wrong thing to do.”

Key Takeaways:

“It ONLY costs $500 per person for the average accommodations. It seems like a great investment on building a better team.”

“No retracting performance warning from past poor performance just because personnel tells you of a disability for the first time at the time of the warning.”

“Essential functions was a very helpful conversation.”

Disability Etiquette training is required as a prerequisite.

This targeted workshop gives clarity and confidence to hiring professionals in preparation for and during interviews with candidates with disabilities.

Using mini-lecture, large and small group exercises and impactful videos, participants will be able to:

• Implement a disability inclusive interview environment, mindset, and techniques
• Recognize and differentiate between interview skills and the skills to do the job
• Identify questions you can and cannot ask
• Practice when and how to discuss accommodations and the interactive process

EVALUATION COMMENTS

“As an HR practitioner with decades of experience, I found the training to be wonderful.” – Museum of Science employee

“The real-life scenarios helped open my eyes as to the perspective of candidates with disabilities.” – State Street employee

“The case studies were helpful in bringing the content to life. Talking through the different options, so we understood the rationale and could think about how it would be applied. I also really appreciated the resources provided.”

“More managers need this training. This whole series has been phenomenal.”

“Very informative. It was very helpful to understand the correct way to ask about skills and abilities. Learning the appropriate phrasing was a key takeaway for me.” – Work Without Limits Career Fair recruiter

“This should be mandatory for hiring managers and talent acquisition teams everywhere. Thank you for making us better!”

“The trainer is very well versed in this field. She has made the 2 sessions I have attended extremely informative and made me feel more confident on how to handle these situations.”

This informative workshop examines current disability statistics, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) definitions, and the value proposition for employing individuals with disabilities. Together, participants collaborate and document the positive impact including individuals with disabilities in your specific organization’s recruitment and workforce development strategies has on your staff, customers, suppliers, and the community.

Using mini-lecture, a small group interactive exercise and videos, participants will be able to:

• Challenge a personal misconception that surrounds persons with disabilities and employment.
• Define disability and identify at least 3 benefits to including persons with disabilities in the workplace.
• Share at least one disability statistic and one promising practice of leading employers.

EVALUATION COMMENTS

“I didn’t realize the sheer volume of people that would be classified as having a disability. It made me realize there are way more family/friends that fall into the category and the importance of ensuring our programs are accessible and that our hiring practices are equitable towards those who do have disabilities.”

“For an hour-long training, I learned a lot more than I would have expected.”

“I liked the content (versatile and comprehensive, yet not too much); the presentation style; and the additional information to read up on.”

“The videos showed during the training really brought home the points being discussed. The statement that we need to look at people for what they CAN do and not what they can’t do.”

“Seeing how many people with disabilities would really prefer to be working and how it helps them with their self-worth. Also that so many people with disabilities may have talents that you are not aware of.”

“As a parent of a child with disabilities, I am proud to work for a company that is promoting this information and embracing this topic.”

“You are a resource that has curated excellent content to help us. Thank you!!”

“Great start to the conversation. I wish we had more time to cover even more. We should have more of these!” – Elastic employee

“I appreciate the interactive quality of the training. Keeps participants engaged.”

This highly interactive and impactful workshop examines the common fears, misconceptions and stereotypes that surround people with disabilities. This experience demonstrates how easily emotional reactions to disabilities can be transferred to the work setting, and how attitudes can affect the willingness to hire individuals with disabilities. Taken from the Tilting at Windmills disability awareness and sensitivity training program, this experience is guaranteed to evoke participation ranging from simply raising one’s hand and being counted to sharing personal and professional experiences and insights with the group.

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Recognize personal attitudes about disability
• Challenge personal and public stereotypes, myths, and misconceptions that surround persons with disabilities and employment
• Articulate the impact our attitude about people with disabilities has on building a culture of inclusion

This interactive workshop increases attendees’ comfort level and knowledge of disabilities. Attendees will also increase their understanding of how to effectively educate job seekers with disabilities on corporate disability inclusion practices, characteristics of disability inclusive employers, and navigating self-identification and disclosure during the interview and employment process. The workshop is best suited for staff of universities and community colleges, one stop career centers, state agencies, and community-based organizations that provide job search support and placement assistance services to job and intern seeking students and adults with disabilities.

Topics covered include disability etiquette and awareness, disability sensitivity (in-person only), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, self-identification, disclosure and interviewing, leading recruitment practices used by employers, and the value proposition for employers to include individuals with disabilities in their recruitment and workforce development strategies.

After completing this training, participants will be able to:

• Challenge personal and public stereotypes, myths, and misconceptions that surround persons with disabilities and employment.
• Articulate the importance of and difference between ‘person-first’ and ‘identity-first’ language.
• Describe basic norms for interacting with individuals with specific types of disabilities including apparent disabilities such as vision, hearing and mobility impairments as well as mental health, learning and other non-apparent disabilities.
• Explain why disability is important to business and identify at least 3 benefits to including persons with disabilities in the workplace.
• Differentiate between self-identification and disclosure and counsel job seekers on sharing this information with an employer.
• Identify at least 3 characteristics of a disability inclusive employer.
• Coach job seekers on successful interviewing techniques to increase focus on their ability, not their disability.