Inclusion and more

  Approximately 95% of people with disabilities are unemployed and underemployed.  People with autism and other special needs simply want to be employed. Companies like Sodexo, Microsoft and Apple all hire people with disabilities.  I remember when I watched my sisters secure jobs out of high school. They worked at restaurants and picked up nannying jobs. I was happy for them but I had wondered what my future would be like.  I started to imagine what I wanted to do for a job.   My high school Chaparral High School offered a transition class for people with disabilities called Practical Assesssement Exploration Systems. In PAES, I was able to explore jobs in various fields like cooking and fcood management, office work and wood-working and machinery. The goal of PAES was to secure an internship. My parents would with Best Buddies Arizona to create and internship opportunity for me. I helped at the Best Buddies office with tasks like data entry...

 People without disabilities have opportunities to do the following: go to college and get a degree in whatever field they want to work in. Secure and retain competitive employment that fits their skills. Live independently in houses or apartments.  BUT unfortunately people with disabilities often have limited opportunities to achieve their dreams. This has had me thinking about: What happens when the yellow bus stops coming? What do you do we do to make the world more inclusive for those with disabilities?  I remember my time at Chaparral High School like it was yesterday. Chaparral made me into the person I am today. I was part of our Life Skills Center Special Education program and loved it. While I loved my special education classes, I really enjoyed all the mainstream classes I took like Web Page Design, Cool Stuff Technology, Yearbook Production and English 1. I was fortunate enough to have classes with students who were willing to help me. One of my friends was Cal...

My name is Lindsey Eaton and I am 28 years old. I have autism but it hasn't stopped me from achieving my dreams and helping me realizing my potential. I have many abilities including the ability to fix technology and teach people how to use computers and public speaking. I have spoken in front of groups that range in size from 20 to 3,000 about topics that range from my journey with autism to how I have found employment success. I honestly can say my education at New Way Academy for middle school and Chaparral High School have made me the person I am today. At Chaparral, a campus of 2,000 students seemed overwhelming, but because of the fact our school was inclusive towards people with disabilities like autism as a result of having a Best Buddies club on campus, I instantly felt like I fit in. It didn't take long for a once-shy freshman to open up and make friends. In all humility, I started to make friends with athletes from our football, basebal...

  John 1:10-13 reads:  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  He  came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.   But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,   who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. I remember the day I was baptized by Pastor Lance Rauhoff in my parents pool like it was yesterday. We had family and friends including my YoungLife leader David Thames. The temperature of the pool was cold but the fellowship of the special moment outweighed the fact the pool was cold. The minute I was officially baptized was special as I got to begin a relationship with God. I got to begin allowing God to guide my life- a life of trials and celebrations. A life of growing  closer to God through all times.    Once I got baptized, I started going ...

  Autism is a spectrum. One person who has autism might be able to express themselves. While another person with autism might need help with basic everyday needs like communication. As the phrase goes: If you've met one person with autism, you have met one person with autism. Individuals with autism want to be accepted and valued, not judged and excluded.  I was first diagnosed with autism at a young age and remember asking God what I did to be diagnosed with autism as there were frequent struggles with making friends, dealing with change and dealing with taking things literal. I did however realize that Autism is not a bad thing and that God designed me the way he did so I could create a more inclusive world for people with autism through involvement in organizations like Southwest Autism Resource Center.  A few years after my diagnosis of Autism- or as I like to call it- Diagnosis of AWESOMENESS, I got to work finding my stre...

  More and more companies are committing to hire people with disabilities. Companies like Ernst and Young, Sodexo, Microsoft and Walgreens all have big corporate programs that allow them to hire people with disabilities. Sodexo's program: Sodexo Organization (for) DisAbilities Resources allows Sodexo to expand their disability hiring practices by creating necessary resources for employees for people with disabilities.  Here are some tips of creating inclusive hiring practices 1. Open recruitment to neurodivergent people  Companies often hesitate to open up the application process to people with disabilities like autism as they want to recruit employees who have prior experience within the field they are recruiting for. HR professionals and employers can pass along potential job leads to local agencies/organizations like First Place, SARRC, HOPE Group and the Centers for Habilitation. All these organizations have clients or participants who ar...

Dear employers, My name is Lindsey Eaton and I have autism. Autism doesn't define me.  It makes me driven to pursue my dreams. My dreams are to continue as a person, make the world a more inclusive for people with disabilities by sharing my journey with autism through speeches and presentations during workshops. My personality is described as outgoing, funny and compassionate.  Unfortunately, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is a staggering 90%. It's devastating for people with disabilities to be told they are not fit for a job. Companies like Sodexo, Ernest and Young and Microsoft all hire people with disabilities.  While we're making significant progress towards lowering this statistic of unemployment for people with disabilities, there is still tons of progress to be mad e. Here is my employment journey,  I have been working various jobs throughout my life. I worked as an intern for Best Buddies Arizona and assi...