But if you’re against quotas, you’ve got to be in favour of something else. So, what does work?

Attitudinal change leads to meaningful reform.

Not quotas. Not condescending ‘othering’. Rather, reaching people at a level where they’re able to see that not only is change necessary but in their interests as well.

Like most others, I support those things I believe in. I believe in the capacity of people with disability to work alongside their non-disabled peers in everyday workplaces. Fortunately, many other people also believe this. Employers, teachers, parents and people with disability themselves believe in the enormous capacity of the of people with disability.

We need to spread the word!

Currently community attitudes towardsare well ahead of governments of all stripes and all levels. One exception is the NSW Department of Family and Community Services who are keen to employ people with disability. Their policies reflect their human decency. They demonstrate both a positive attitude and practical application. However, overall, the world lacks leadership when it comes to changing attitudes about the capacity of people with disability to work in meaningful careers that 

The current attitudes of charity and/or compulsory inclusion don’t work. As a person with disability, I don’t need  I don’t need to be ‘allowed for’. This only reinforces the sense of ‘the other’.

You only need to be charitable if you don’t understand the  of the product itself. In this case, ‘the product’ is people with disability.

What works?

Support.  early and often until the worker feels comfortable in the workplace completing their tasks to their employer’s expectations. Support so that person becomes a fully valued member of the team, not someone who snuck in on a quota.

 – Martin Wren