Blog #284: Company CEO’s Should Attend Supported Employment Conferences/Trainings
- Jeffrey Snyder
- Oct 19, 2022
- 2 min read
On Wednesday October 19th, I had the honor of introducing the keynote speaker on behalf of the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism at the Massachusetts Association of People Supporting Employment First Conference in Worcester. During my time following what I had to do, one of the activities we did was having to go from table to table and discuss a specific topic that the moderator had on a projector.
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One of the topics was about how to promote DEI more in the workplace and a lot of us agreed that there needs to be more awareness and understanding when it comes to major companies. If there is to be a major impact in this, then many of us agreed that the company CEO needs to be hands on at these conferences and trainings.
It really doesn’t take much for a CEO to devote his or her time to attending a supportive employment training. Sure they have busy schedules, but if you are going to set an example for your company when it comes to DEI, then how else are you going to know…through the newspapers?
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The truth of the matter is, CEO’s need to attend trainings and conferences like those hosted by APSE1. A lot of companies overlook DEI because they view disabled/neurodiverse candidates as liabilities and risks to their business.
There’s a reason why the job market is low right now and one of those reasons is because there are many disabled/neurodiverse individuals who want to work and yet, companies are refusing to hire them. We want a chance to make a name for ourselves, but we are constantly refused due to CEO’s not being able to attend these conferences/trainings simply because of their schedules or just because they don’t want to attend because it’s a waste of their time.
Now, if conferences aren’t their thing, CEO’s can reach out to self-advocates like myself to speak to them and their workforces. I’ve already had the honor and privilege to present to several companies and if you are a CEO eager to bring someone like myself in, please DO NOT hesitate. The more the merrier and you don’t have to be the CEO of a major company. You can run a small business and have someone come in to help your staff understand neurodiversity. It can happen to anybody, why not your company?
Remember that hearing from disabled/neurodiverse self-advocates can mean a world of difference and quite possibly land a company or business long term success.
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Catch you all later!!
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