The Job Market for People with Disabilities is a personal journey of Steve McEvoy who was born with mild to moderate cerebral palsy and non-verbal learning disability. In the beginning of this article he mentioned four hallmarks that hold the best chance of improving the discouraging unemployment rate that people with disabilities face. Here is his Personal Journey:

The unemployment rate of people with disabilities has far outpaced that of people without disabilities. In order for people with disabilities to transition to employment, they need an awareness of how their disability affects them, a support network, knowledge of their strengths and practice in disability disclosure.

While IDEA has done much to integrate students with disabilities into education and society as a whole, IDEA is an entitlement law based, with no need for students to disclose their disability or self advocate to receive services, the majority of students with disabilities, have little idea what their disability is, how it affects them, or will affect them as they move from education to employment. So when they graduate from high school, or reach age 22, and must self-disclose to receive services under Section 504, they are completely unprepared and all too often end up living in poverty… read more at Education Update.

It is important for people with disabilities to understand Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 when transition from education to employment. Know the Rights that Protect Individuals with Disabilities from Discrimination, provided by the Office for Civil Rights, will give you important information.

The New York State Department of Labor, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides information to businesses and job seekers/unemployed.

JAN’s (Job Accommodation Network) Accommodation and Compliance Series provides specific information for various types of disabilities.

ADA.gov United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division provides Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The above resources will help people with disabilities understand their rights in the workplace and learn more about accommodation needs and ideas.

For information on education and employment. please visit Job Search Central at 188 Madison Avenue and 34th Street.