10/08/2026
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
Awareness matters. But the goal is expectation.
People with disabilities should be considered for roles based on their qualifications, just like anyone else.
Accommodations, job coaches, support systems, and different ways of working should not be seen as risks. They are tools that help people succeed.
Accessible employment is still too often viewed as charity, when really it is about mutual benefit: the right candidate finding the right job, just like anyone else.
There will always be an important place for supported employment and nontraditional work options. But disability should not automatically determine where someone is expected to work.
I want us to move from “Isn’t it nice that they hire people with disabilities?” to simply, “Of course they do.”
Because employing people with disabilities should not be remarkable.
It should be expected.