U.S. President George W. Bush has proclaimed October 2007 as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The proclamation declares that "National Disability Employment Awareness Month is an opportunity to recognize the contributions and accomplishments of Americans with disabilities and to underscore our Nation's commitment to advancing employment opportunities for all our citizens."

Read the complete Press Release dated September 29, 2007.

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced "Workers with Disabilities: Talent for a Winning Team" as the official theme for October 2007's National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Read the complete Press Release dated May 29, 2007.

The Library of Congress, through its National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), compiled an extensive bibliography which explores myths and misconceptions that continue to exist and ways to interact with and write about people with disabilities to foster greater sensitivity and understanding.

View the complete bibliography listing.

DMD is a large-scale, broad-based effort to promote career development for students and job seekers with disabilities through hands-on career exploration, job shadowing, and internship or employment opportunities throughout the United States and also abroad. Hosted nationally by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), and made possible by many generous national corporate and public sponsors, DMD has participants in all 50 states and many international locations. DMD is observed every year on the third Wednesday of October, in conjunction with NDEAM.

Participate in Disability Mentoring Day (DMD).

 Download the Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) brochure.

Note: This download requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

JAN's mission is to facilitate the employment and retention of workers with disabilities by providing employers, employment providers, people with disabilities, their family members and other interested parties with information on job accommodations, self-employment and small business opportunities and related subjects. JAN's efforts are in support of the employment, including self-employment and small business ownership, of people with disabilities.

Visit the Job Accommodation Network.

The Institute for a Competitive Workforce (formerly the Center for Workforce Preparation), a nonprofit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the U.S. Department of Education collaborated to produce the guide Disability Employment 101. The Department of Education most recently revised it in August 2007. This guide provides information for business, industry and service providers about how to hire people with disabilities and access available programs and resources to better meet the growing need of business for a skilled workforce. (Note: File size is approximately 3.1 MB.)

 Download Guide from the U.S. Department of Education.

Note: These downloads require Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The National Organization on Disability created a Public Service Announcement and several variations which were sent out to television stations nationwide to combat negative stereotypes of people with disabilities. Each features a group of well known celebrities with and without disabilities. They discuss both something they cannot do, and far more importantly, what they can do. "It's about Ability, not Disability."

See AbleTV.Net at AT508.com to view captioned versions of the PSA.

Note: AbleTV.Net archives are now available on the AT508.com website.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued fact sheets (read the latest Press Release) on the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to people with specific disabilities in the workplace. There are now a series of six fact sheets addressing particular disabilities in the workplace and the ADA in a question and answer format. Select a specific disability to learn more:

The 2007 National Disability Employment Awareness Month artwork was developed by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) in the U.S. Department of Labor. Patches of color (blues, greens, browns and purple) serve as the backdrop to the 2007 National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) poster. The theme, "Workers with Disabilities: Talent for a Winning Team," is depicted by a runner’s legs, one of them prosthetic, sprinting to success while crossing the patchwork. The words "October 2007 is National Disability Employment Awareness Month" appear in the upper right corner of the poster. The lower right corner includes the words "U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy" and the agency’s web site address. (Note: File size is approximately 110 KB.)

 Download the 2007 NDEAM poster in printable PDF format.

Note: This download requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

WorkWORLD^TM is software designed to help people with disabilities find employment-based solutions to higher net income through best use of federal and state work incentives and benefits. It takes into account the complex interaction of income, benefit programs, and work incentives while providing individualized alerts and recommendations that help a person discover solutions to low income.

 Learn how to get WorkWORLD software now.

 Use the WorkWORLD Help/Information System on the Internet.