René
Pellerin - Taking his Show on the Road! - Story Synopsis
|
 This is a special story -
the story of René Pellerin.
For the past
five years René has been an active and valued member of the GCEPD. Unfortunately for us, he has just decided to
step down from the committee, effective August 31st, 2010.
Why? He's too busy pursuing his new profession as an entertainer /
educator!
Oh, and I should add that René
happens to be deaf since birth and has limited vision due to retinitis
pigmentosa. The combination of these two
conditions is known as Usher Syndrome.
click here to read more
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"The ADAA and Accommodations - It's All About Attitude!":
a presentation by the GCEPD
- Story Synopsis
|
On July 21, 2010, the GCEPD had the opportunity
to share our message when we presented "The ADAA and Accommodations - It's All
About Attitude!" to approximately 100 human resources professionals at the
monthly meeting of the Vermont Human Resources Association (VHRA).
The program was led by Committee member April Tuck, Senior
Vice President for Human Resources & Compliance at Copley Health Systems,
who  guided participants to look beyond the often daunting and misunderstood statutory
aspects of employing and accommodating a person with a disability.
The powerful, personal voices of a panel of
four employees (including two members of the GCEPD) - who discussed their own
disabilities and accommodation needs - allowed the audience to see and
appreciate the real people the ADAA is intended to serve and the importance of
open communication with a positive attitude.
As a result, participants learned that making accommodations could be
rather simple, inexpensive, and most importantly, a rewarding, creative and
collaborative process that provides a win not only for the individual employee but also for the organization itself.
We invite you to click below to read more and access links to some videotaped portions of this presentation.
click here to read more
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Final Words on the Recent Amendments
to the
Americans with Disabilities Act
- Story Synopsis
|
As mentioned, one focus of
the GCEPD's recent presentation to the VHRA was how the Americans with
Disabilities Act has been changed by recent legislative amendments. In our last two issues of Abilities we
discussed many of these changes. We'd
like to conclude this topic with some practical tips for employers in complying
with the amended Act, courtesy of the Jan Accommodation Network's "Accommodation
and Compliance Series; The ADA Amendments Act of 2008". (see www.askjan.org)
click here to read more
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MORE ON René
Pellerin's Story
| This is a special story -
the story of René Pellerin. For the past
five years René has been an active and valued member of the GCEPD. Unfortunately for us, he has just decided to
step down from the committee, effective August 31st, 2010. Why?
He's too busy with pursuing his new profession as an entertainer /
educator! Oh, and I should add that René
happens to be deaf since birth and has limited vision due to retinitis
pigmentosa. The combination of these two
conditions is known as Usher Syndrome.
 Reports say that most people
are less afraid of dying than of public speaking, yet René has had a long held
passion since his youth of acting and putting on performances. Story telling is an integral part of Deaf
culture. During holiday Deaf Club
celebrations he was renowned for his presentations of the "Grinch who Stole
Christmas". ASL students clamored for
his clear visual renditions of ASL folklore. Thus began his lifelong love of story telling,
a great source of fun and pleasure for René.
As a youth in his teens, René
thought he was just like everyone else - playing sports, driving, attending a
public college in New Hampshire
where he studied industrial engineering. Although he had night blindness, he thought everyone had it. However, a staff member at his college in New Hampshire (who had graduated from Gallaudet College)
noticed his problems at night and encouraged him to see a doctor. At this time his Usher Syndrome was
diagnosed.
After this diagnosis René
decided to attend Gallaudet
University himself, where
he majored in social work. Upon
graduation he returned to Vermont
and found work in a group home helping people with developmental disabilities. From there he went to work at the Vermont
Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired as an outreach and peer
counselor. After a few years there and a
stint in Massachusetts as a coordinator for Independent Living at DEAF, Inc., René
began a 17 year career with Vermont's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation,
first as a rehabilitation counselor for the deaf and then as the State
Coordinator for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Most recently, René worked
for the Vermont Center
for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which began as part of the Austine School
for the Deaf in Brattleboro,
Vermont. René's job was to set up support programs in
the northern part of the State. He
completed this work in April of 2009 when his program ended.
Suddenly René found himself
in a new situation. With the end of his
extensive career in serving the deaf and hard of hearing population, he faced
the question many of us have: "Where do
I go from here?" Initially he was a stay
at home Dad - he called himself "Mr. Mom" - which made him stir crazy. Traditional employment opportunities were
hard to find. Yet in the back of his
mind he kept remembering his love for telling stories. So he decided to meet with the counselors in
the State's Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI) to discuss his
options for performing and doing acting and drama. From this a star has been born.
Working with the DBVI
counselors, René identified his resources and connections for accessing
opportunities with area theaters. He
began developing a business plan for his self employment work, complete with
the requisite budget. He researched the
equipment and technology that would he would need. Soon he was off and running.
VSA Vermont encouraged René's
artistic pursuits which lead to an offer to do a pilot pre-show for "The
Miracle Worker" at Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier. He was well received by the general audience in attendance. He used the feedback from that performance to
continue fine tuning his show.
Now René has a busy and
growing calendar of scheduled events. With a mission of "learning through laughing",
he shares his stories of his experience as a member of the deaf blind culture
in a humorous way that will also educate the audience about Usher Syndrome. His show is intended for all audiences -
both deaf and hearing, blind and sighted. He uses an interpreter to convey his
message. He hopes, among other things, that employers
who see this show will leave with a better understanding of how individuals
with Usher Syndrome adapt in the workplace.
Recently René presented his
show to over 400 people from all over the northeast who were in Albany, NY
attending a conference of sign language interpreters. In October of 2010 he
will perform at Holyoke College in Massachusetts
and also in Lansing, Michigan.
The grand opening of René's show
in the Burlington area will be on September 25th
at the University
of Vermont as part of
Deaf Awareness Week. This will be the
start of his year long effort towards raising funds for the American
Association of the Deaf- Blind (AADB). He
hopes to raise significant monies for the support services requisite for many
deaf-blind persons to attend the Association's semi-annual symposium in Kentucky in June
2011. The 2011 Rainbow Alliance
convention in Colorado
has also requested that René perform.
So it's pretty obvious why René
has stepped down from the GCEPD - the show must go on! In fact, his show is called "The
Unstoppable"; unstoppable indeed! And the
best part of this story? With his
performing, René has been able to couple his life's passion with a real source
of income. We should all be so lucky.
- - - - -
To contact René or learn
more about his appearances, send him an email at info@ReneTheUnstoppable.com or look for his soon to be launched website, www.ReneTheUnstoppable.com.
To
learn more about Usher Syndrome, go to http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/usher.htm
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MORE ON the GCEPD's presentation -
"The ADAA and Accommodations - It's All About Attitude!"
|
On July 21, 2010, the GCEPD
had the opportunity to share our message when we presented "The ADAA and
Accommodations - It's All About Attitude!" to approximately 100 human resources
professionals at the monthly meeting of the Vermont Human Resources Association
(VHRA).
The program was led by Committee member April Tuck, Senior Vice President for
Human Resources & Compliance at Copley Health Systems, who guided
participants to look beyond the often daunting and misunderstood statutory
aspects of employing and accommodating a person with a disability.
The
powerful, personal voices of a panel of four employees (including two members
of the GCEPD) - who discussed their own disabilities and accommodation needs -
allowed the audience to see and appreciate the real people the ADAA is intended
to serve as well as the importance of open communication with a positive
attitude.
As a result, participants learned that making accommodations can
be rather simple, inexpensive, and most importantly, a rewarding, creative and
collaborative process that provides a win not only for the individual employee but also for the organization itself.
The program began with an
overview of recent amendments to the ADA
by attorney Kerin Stackpole of Bergeron, Paradis & Fitzpatrick, LLC. April Tuck then spoke to the practical
realities of making accommodations from the human resources perspective.
Rounding out the presentation was the shared
wisdom and experience of our panelists:
 S. Sam Sepah,
Human Resources Partner, IBM, a
GCEPD member, and a person who has been deaf since early childhood;
Steve Cothalis, Pulmonary Rehabilitation Therapist, Copley Hospital
Systems, and a person with a severe traumatic brain injury as a result of a
serious fall while hiking.
Dave Lawrence, Radiology Technologist, Copley Hospital Systems, a
veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a member of the Vermont Army National
Guard, and a person with post traumatic stress disorder and a mild traumatic
brain injury as a result of his military service.
Owen Milne, Director of Development, Vermont Businesses for
Social Responsibility, a GCEPD member, and a person who uses a wheelchair as a
result of an automobile accident;
The presentation included many
important messages about making effective accommodations, which can be
summarized as follows:
1) Employers should know the Act and utilize the
resources available to them in this regard such as the GCEPD, VocRehab Vermont, the Vermont Department of Labor, the Job Accommodation Network, and your
employment attorneys.
2) The attitude of the human resource staff sets
the stage for how managers, supervisors, and other employees will react; people will look to you as to how to respond.
3) Be inclusive in your hiring practices; allow your
organization to reflect your community at large.
4) Communicate, communicate, communicate. Stay in touch and connected with the employee
after you have made the accommodation; don't simply say "good luck, God bless,
get going". Communication is far more
valuable than titles and money and in some ways more valuable than the
accommodation itself. Checking in allows
the person to feel a part of the community and will also keep you aware should
the accommodation need to be modified.
We invite you to click on
any of the links below to see videos of this presentation.
PT 1 - Intro and HR to the Rescue
PT 2 - Accommodations
PT 3 - Accommodations cont'd
PT 4 - Panelists Steve Cothalis & Dave Lawrence
PT 5 - Panelists Owen Milne & Sam Sepah
PT 6 - Advice re Accommodations
PT 7 - April Tuck's final words
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|
MORE ON our Final Words on the Recent Amendments
to the Americans with Disabilities Act
|
As mentioned, one focus of
the GCEPD's recent presentation to the VHRA was how the Americans with
Disabilities Act has been changed by recent legislative amendments. In our last two issues of Abilities we
discussed many of these changes. We'd
like to conclude this topic with some practical tips for employers in complying
with the amended Act, courtesy of the Jan Accommodation Network's "Accommodation
and Compliance Series; The ADA Amendments Act of 2008". (see www.askjan.org)
1) Review job descriptions, qualification
standards, and accommodation procedures to ensure compliance with the ADA.
While the ADA doesn't require an employer to hire an
unqualified applicant, it does prohibit an employer from using unnecessary
qualifications to weed out applicants with disabilities. It also prohibits the use of an inaccurate
job description to determine that an employee with a disability can no longer
perform the job.
2) Focus on performance and conduct.
The Amendments Act broadens
the definition of disability and places the focus on the actions of
employers. One problem employers can
have is making assumptions or comments about an employee's medical condition,
which in turn could lead an employee to believe that employment-related decisions
were made based on his or her real or perceived disability - even if that is
not the case. To help avoid this
problem, an employer should focus on performance or conduct problems and apply
company policies in a uniform manner rather than assuming that a medical
problem or disability is contributing to or causing the problem. In general, it is the employee's responsibility
to let the employer know that a conduct or performance problem is disability
related and to request an accommodation. Therefore, there is usually no reason for an employer to bring up
medical issues first.
3) Train frontline supervisors and managers.
Frontline supervisors and
managers usually have the most contact with employees on a daily basis, and so
employers should train them to refrain from mentioning medical conditions
unless relevant. They should also be
trained to recognize accommodation requests and to know the person associated
with the company who is to be contacted for assistance.
4) Document actions and decisions.
Because the focus of the ADA will shift away from
the definition of a disability and toward whether employers complied with their
obligations, documentation of actions and decisions can be very important in
the case of an allegation of discrimination. Accurate records can help employers remember what has transpired, and
written records are generally considered more reliable than memory alone.
Another important aspect of
documentation is effective communication with employees. Many problems occur because employers don't
let employees know if and how their performance needs to improve, the status of
their accommodation requests, or why a particular accommodation request may
have been denied. Employees need to be
informed so they can have the opportunity to address performance problems or
suggest alternative accommodation options.
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Disability Employment Awareness Month is Coming
| October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), a
time that Congress has designated to increase the public's awareness of the contributions and skills of
American workers with disabilities. Various programs carried out
throughout the month highlight the specific employment barriers
that still need to be addressed and removed.
The theme for NDEAM 2010 is "Talent Has No Boundaries: Workforce Diversity Includes People With Disabilities".
According to the Office of Disability Employment Policy, in August 2010 the percentage of people with disabilities in the
U.S. labor force was 22.0. By comparison, the percentage of persons with
no disability in the labor force was 70.2. Furthermore, the unemployment rate for those with disabilities was 15.6 percent,
compared with 9.3 percent for persons with no disability, not
seasonally adjusted.
Our hope is that with continued education and awareness, we can all work together to implement effective practices that will increase employment opportunities for people of all abilities and ultimately radically change these statistics.
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