WHAT'S HAPPENING PEOPLE WITH IDD OVERLOOKED FOR JOBS
WORTHY INVESTMENT: When employers take the time to teach individuals with IDD and modify the job to best meet their needs, they're often rewarded with a productive and long-term employee.
Even in the midst of a hiring crisis, many employers are hesitant to hire people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. However, as IntellectAbility's Dr. Craig Escudé explains, hiring these individuals often results in motivated, dedicated employees who contribute greatly to their employer and society as a whole.
According to recent estimates, the United States has about 10 million job openings, yet over 8.4 million unemployed individuals are still looking for work.1 As business owners complain about staffing issues and Americans are confronted with longer wait times for services due to inadequate staffing, there is a way to help alleviate the labor shortage. Dr. Escudé says, "People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) can be valuable assets to our workforce. Unfortunately, many businesses and employers are reluctant to hire these individuals, even though, in many cases, they perform as well or even better than other employees."
Employers may pass over people with IDD because they: 2
- Are concerned about negative coworker reactions to the hiring of a person with IDD,
- Assume it will cost more to hire, train, and maintain employment for people with IDD,
- Believe people with IDD won't be as productive or will never develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to complete job tasks,
- Fear litigation associated with the hiring and firing of people with IDD,
- Hold on to negative stereotypes about people with IDD,
- Want to avoid negative customer reactions which may lead to fewer business transactions, and
- Won't gain any economic incentives, such as tax credits, for hiring people with IDD.
But many people with IDD are successful at work. In Australia, a McDonald's employee with Down Syndrome retired after 32 years of loyal, productive service.3 In Colorado, a thrift store chain employs around 350 people with IDD in various roles, including donation coordinators, clothing hangers, and room attendants.4 Perhaps most notably, a café in Middletown, NJ, is staffed almost entirely by