Our schools, nonprofits, government agencies, dedicated October as a time to discuss and educate ourselves about the issues related to disability and employment.
1945 – Congress declared “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week,” which was to occur the first week of October.
1962 – The word “physically” was removed to put the emphasis not on disability, but ability.
1988 – Renamed to “National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM),” and celebrated all 31 days of October.
While we at INDATA use our blog and other social communication methods to share our knowledge of assistive technology services, we also participate in several resource fairs and provide free trainings at our location in Indianapolis. From October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010 we participated in over 100 public awareness activities across the state of Indiana.
To learn more about what you can do to educate yourself or others about current issues, visit these web sites:
- Office of Disability Employment Policy subpage to the United States Department of Labor
- Library of Congress lists their Braille and audio materials catalog, profiles famous people with disabilities and provides classroom materials for teachers
- Presidential Proclamation from Barack Obama