June 8, 2001

ON THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL OF JOB-SEEKERS WITH DISABILITIES

Despite recent helpful legislation such as the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of last year, not to mention the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, many barriers still exist to gainful employment for people with disabilities.

The fact is that some 75 percent of people with disabilities in this country are unemployed, while, of those, 72 percent want to be employed.

Despite legislation, physical barriers and obstructions still exist in many workplaces to make access difficult for those with mobility impairments.

As formidable as any physical barriers are attitudinal barriers, usually in the form of outmoded, negative perceptions on the part of employers that people with disabilities can't perform on an equal basis with the able-bodied.

It's past time such patently false beliefs were permanently retired. All of us at MDA are firmly of the view that employers -- and the business community at large -- will greatly benefit by recognizing and calling upon the considerable talents of those with disabilities, that indeed their abilities represent a great untapped labor resource.

It's been a point of particular pride to me that, through our Telethon, MDA has been able to present positive portraits of scores of individuals affected by neuromuscular diseases who are making their marks in various professions, from teaching to engineering to country music.

What's more, in the pages of Quest, our bimonthly magazine, MDA has been able to highlight the abilities of many more such individuals. A recent article in Quest highlights the efforts of six people with neuromuscular disorders who got new training and overcame transportation, accessibility and bathroom challenges to obtain and hold down meaningful jobs.

Other issues of Quest have focused on the art of interviewing for a job, the role of technology in the workplace, and ADA workplace accommodations, as well as on remarkable persons with neuromuscular diseases who've carved out careers in business, the Internet and the media.

Mike Neufeldt on his graduation from Marquette University, May 20, 2000

For every success story, there are still deserving individuals who are striving to find niches in the workforce. Once such individual is Mike Neufeldt, a 23-year-old man from New Berlin, Wis., with Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy. I know what an outstanding person he is because of the voluntary service he's given to MDA, first as MDA National Goodwill Ambassador when he was a boy in the 1980s, and currently as a member of MDA's National Task Force on Public Awareness.

Recently, Mike wrote a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, detailing his job search struggle. This letter casts such a sharp light on the challenges facing job-seekers with disabilities that, with Mike's permission, I'm quoting it here at some length:

My name is Michael Neufeldt and I am a 23-year-old resident of New Berlin, Wisconsin. I graduated in May, 2000 from Marquette University with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcasting and Electronic Communication and minor in Marketing. From 1996 to 2000 I attended Marquette as a Burke Scholar. The Burke Scholarship is awarded each year to five Wisconsin-native high school seniors, based on both academic performance and community service.

In order to maintain the scholarship, a Burke Scholar must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average and perform 450 hours of community service each year. I exceeded both of these requirements by earning a 3.3 GPA and doing over 2000 hours of community service during my four years at Marquette.

I received the scholarship because of my academic performance in high school and my volunteer work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I have Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy.

In 1987 and 1988, I had the privilege of serving as the Muscular Dystrophy Association National Goodwill Ambassador. I traveled around the United States with my family and represented MDA at different events hosted by MDA's corporate sponsors. I spoke publicly and nationally on MDA's behalf and told audiences that their continued support of MDA was very important.

I had many wonderful experiences as National Goodwill Ambassador. I twice appeared on the National Telethon with Jerry Lewis, did a McDonald's commercial with Michael Jordan, and met President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office. Serving as National Goodwill Ambassador is an experience that changed my life.

In the summer of 1997, I had an internship with Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation in Wauwatosa. I designed a template for their quarterly newsletter, created flyers for fund-raising events, entered data into a computer and attended fund-raising events.

In the summer of 1999, I had an internship in the News Department at WDJT CBS 58 in Milwaukee. I edited video for their Noon Newsbreak and Five O'Clock News, digitized video and assisted the senior news editor.

Currently, I am on the marketing committee for Wisconsin's Community Health Charities. I took classes this winter at UW Milwaukee to receive certification in Web page and Website Design.

With a degree from a top school, several great internships, a lot of friends with connections, and many life experiences, I thought that it would be easy for me to get a job. I was wrong. I have had many, many first interviews, but only one second interview. I know how to conduct myself in an interview and am very comfortable in an interview situation, as people have been interviewing me since I was six years old.

When I enter the room to be interviewed, I can sense that the person is intimidated by my presence. Since I am frequently told that I have a warm and understated demeanor, could it be my wheelchair and my ventilator that intimidated them? Of course, they do not directly ask me about my disability, and those who try to discreetly address it say that my disability will not be a problem. They do the interview by the book, but I sense they want to get me out of there as soon as possible.

After the interview, I am lucky if I get a call or a letter saying that the company is going with someone else. Although I recognize that there are many talented young individuals seeking employment, I find it curious with my background and experience that each and every time they find someone "more qualified."

The education system is very "disability friendly," but the workplace is not. My transitions from elementary school to middle school to high school to college all went fairly smoothly. The education system works to accommodate any need that a disabled person has because it is a person's right to get an education, and the education system is mandated to accommodate any needs that a person might have.

The workplace is a different story. They too must make accommodations for a person with a disability, however they view it as a burden rather than as an opportunity. Companies are not supposed to take disabilities into consideration with hiring decisions, and I was never told that I am not being hired because I am disabled.

Over the years the school system -- both public and private -- has assisted me though accommodations or, as in the case of Marquette, a full and well-deserved scholarship. It is now my time to pay back and become a contributing part of society. I am well prepared, eager and ready. But is the workplace ready for me?

Mike Neufeldt and many other capable, talented individuals with disabilities are more than ready to take their rightful places in this nation's workforce. The burden now falls on members of the business community to have the vision and the common sense to take appropriate action.

With every best wish . . .

The Ross Report Archive