Dispelling Myths about People with Disabilities

The U.S. Department of Labor indicates "the major barriers to achievement by people with disabilities in our society continue to be attitudinal barriers, stereotypical thinking, and assumptions about what people can and cannot do". These roadblocks usually result from a lack of experience and interaction with people with disabilities. By eliminating our stereotypical images, we can view each person as an individual. Listed below are the kinds of assumptions that can be barriers to employment for persons with disabilities:  
 
Assumption:  
All Persons with disabilities are inspirational, courageous, and brave for being able to overcome their disability.
Reality:
Persons with disabilities are carrying on normal activities of living when they drive to work, go grocery shopping, pay their bills, or compete in athletic events. They do what it takes to participate in the full range of human experience. People with disabilities may be inspirational for reasons related, or unrelated, to their disability. 
 
Assumption:
Persons with disabilities need to be protected from failing.
Reality:
Persons with disabilities have a right to participate in the full range of human experience including success and failure. Employers should have the same expectations of, and requirements for, all employees.
 
Assumption:  
Persons with disabilities have problems getting to work.
Reality:  
Persons with disabilities are capable of supplying their own transportation by choosing to use a car pool, drive themselves, use a personal care assistant, take public transportation, or a cab. Their modes of transportation to work are as varied as those of other employees. People without disabilities may have trouble getting to work also!
  
Assumption: 
Considerable expense is necessary to accommodate workers with disabilities.
Reality:  
Most workers with disabilities require no special accommodations and the cost for those who do is minimal or much lower than many employers believe. Studies by the Office of Disability Employment Policy’s Job Accommodation Network have shown that 15% of accommodations cost nothing, 51% cost between $1 and $500, 12% cost between $501 and $1,000, and 22% cost more than $1,000.
 
Assumption: 
An individual with a psychiatric disability cannot work in a stressful environment where tight timelines have to be met.
Reality: 
All individuals perceive stress differently and their responses vary. Individuals with certain psychiatric or mental disabilities can perform effectively in jobs that require specific timelines and structure.
 
Assumption: 
Employees with disabilities have a higher absentee rate than employees without disabilities.
Reality: 
Studies by firms such as DuPont, show that employees with disabilities are not absent any more than employees without disabilities.