Research - Moon Rider 7 Project

Employees with Disabilities Working Professionally at Store ~Costco Part 2~

Through my observation at the warehouse, I found that Costco has created an inclusive working environment where people from different background can work together. In Japan, many positions that require you to serve customers or people from outside of the company in a face-to-face situation are still not open for people with disabilities. I wonder why. Do employers in Japan think that people with disabilities cannot do customer service face-to-face? Or do employers think that it is embarrassing to show employees with disabilities to their customers? Or both? In some business fields such as retail or food industries, the majority of positions would require you to serve customers directly. How can those industries promote hiring people with disabilities?

Employees with Disabilities Working Professionally at Store ~Costco Part 1~

The last company I visited in Seattle is Costco. The headquarters is located in Issaquah, which is 30-minute drive east from Seattle. I interviewed Brenda Weber, Assistant Vice President of Human Resource. At Costco, the vast majority of employees work at warehouses, which requires more physical movements as an essential function of the job. Those jobs might not link with employment for people with disabilities in Japan. However, Brenda estimates that there would be at least one employee with disabilities at each warehouse of Costco. Unlike Japan, US does not have a quota system for hiring people with disabilities. Then what kind of hiring process does Costco have to hire talented applicants including ones with disabilities?

All Employees Can Take and Expand Their Possibilities ~Amazon~

In Seattle, I visited a company which I cannot live without. It is Amazon. There are two big interesting findings at Amazon. First, is the procedure of providing reasonable accommodation, and the second is rich accessibility in internal training programs. At Amazon, I have found that there are various choices and opportunities that all employees can take and expand their possibilities. And of course, employees with disabilities are included.

Women and People with Disabilities Are Key Persons to Change A Working Environment

Being a person with disabilities may be a disadvantage in workplace. Being a women also may be too. Professor Lisa Iezzoni, whom I visited in Boston, works for the Massachusetts General Hospital, a major teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. She has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair for all mobility needs. She shared her experiences of difficulties to build her career because of her gender and disability, and explained how change of law and education gave an impact to workplace in US.

Self-advocacy Is One of the Most Essential Skills but Least Trained ~University of Washington, DO-IT Part 3~

In the next day of DO-IT interview, I was invited to a pizza networking gathering which is held 3 times a year to get all Scholars and parents together. The rooms for students and parents are separated. In that way, students can talk with students about their updates, and parents can exchange information.

It is very good idea to make an opportunity for parents to stay connected. Parents have so many worries because they don’t have enough information or experiences, and eventually they overprotect their kids. By providing a place where parents get together, they can share their worries and difficulties, and other parents can give advice and think ways to resolve the issues together. This is a huge power.

Self-advocacy Is One of the Most Essential Skills but Least Trained ~University of Washington, DO-IT Part 2~

Though DO-IT hosts many programs, the most remarkable is the ”Scholars Program”. Once the selected, students can learn about college life throughout the school year and the upcoming summer. By experiencing real college life, students with disabilities notice things they need assistance with and think of what kind of support they need. They also practice how to communicate with faculty to ask for accommodations.

In English, “self-advocacy” means that people with disabilities speak up for themselves to ask for what they need to resolve issues around them. Kids learn that naturally through their daily life at home and school. However, for kids with disabilities, sometimes adults intervene too much at home and school. Then kids with disabilities miss opportunities to learn to self-advocate themselves.

Self-advocacy Is One of the Most Essential Skills but Least Trained ~University of Washington, DO-IT Part 1~

In February, I visited DO-IT in University of Washington. Dr. Sheryl Burgstahler, a founder and director of DO-IT, got interested in “assistive technology” which supports people with disabilities throughout her first career as a junior high mathematics teacher. In 1984, when Macintosh came to the world, Sheryl felt that IT would change the society dramatically. Then she started thinking how to reduce the gap between people with and without disabilities by utilizing her knowledge, experience as a teacher, and IT.
To students with disabilities, there is a big difference in learning environment between college and high school which is mandatory education in the US. Sheryl had found this issue, and decided to start DO-IT which supports students with disabilities to transit smoothly from high school to post-secondary education.

Do You Disclose Your Disability on Your Résumé? ~Boston Center for Independent Living Part 2~

To me, it is very normal to disclose my disability on my résumé because it is very common in Japan. However, I was shocked when I heard Sarah’s perspective about what résumé should be focused. In Japanese society, disclosing disability in job interview and carrying the ID for persons with disabilities are required. I am sure some Japanese people get benefits because of the system. But because of the system, I wonder if many people have incorrect assumption toward people with disabilities’ work performance and value of résumé. How do you think?

“Dignity of Risk” – Failure Helps People Grow Stronger ~Boston Center for Independent Living Part 1~

In Boston, I visited Boston Center for Independent Living and interviewed Allegra Stout and Sarah Kaplan. Through the interview, I became interested in Transition Internship Program which provides paid internship opportunities for high school students with disabilities. The internship sites vary, and include profit and non-profit organizations, local companies, educational institutions, and governmental agencies. The important point is that Transition Internship Program gives an opportunity based on what trainees want to do, not what they can do. What would be the reason for that?

The Future of Learning Environment -Power of Diversity-

In February, I have visited a non-profit private school, Academy for Precision Learning (APL) in Seattle. APL offers K12 (kindergarten to high school) education and has 109 students in total, including students with disabilities. The largest number of disability is autism spectrum disorder which accounts two thirds of the total students. Other diagnostic representations include intellectual disabilities, Learning Disabilities, ADD/ADHD, and Depression. The specialty of APL is fully inclusive education and individualized curriculum. From a general Japanese education perspective, people might feel “What is the meaning of putting students with with disabilities with students without disabilities in the same classroom although they cannot study the same subject at the same speed?” There are actually important values and benefits of including all students from various backgound to learn in the same environment.