October marks National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), a month dedicated to honoring the invaluable contributions of employees with disabilities and highlighting the importance of creating an inclusive workforce. NDEAM reminds employers to foster workplace environments that embrace diversity and inclusion and provide equal opportunities for everyone. 

In recognition of NDEAM, I interviewed Tally Botzer, a neurodivergent subject matter expert in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) who is currently engaged with LMD to provide DEIA training to our team. Our conversation focused on exploring ways to build more accessible and supportive workplaces for all.

In our training, we discussed “visible” and “invisible” disabilities. Could you explain what those terms mean? 

Tally: Visible disabilities are fairly self-explanatory: they can be seen. But visible doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as physical. Many physical disabilities are invisible, like chronic pain and chronic illnesses such as diabetes, to name a few. 

The Americans with Disabilities Act defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities—things that humans do every day to get through life, things like eating, communicating, learning, or remembering. It covers any visible or invisible condition that substantially limits day-to-day activities. The ADA’s definition also includes people who may have had an impairment in the past or who may be perceived as having an impairment. 

We also need to consider that someone’s disability is protected, private information. You don’t owe it to your employer to share that you have a disability, and your employer can’t ask if you have one, unless you ask for an accommodation.

How do invisible disabilities show up in the workplace? 

Tally: I saw an Instagram post recently that said something like, “I keep offending my friends, but they just don’t understand that I’m ‘speaking autistic’”—meaning that the person with autism doesn’t intend to offend, but they might respond to a situation or question differently than a neurotypical person would. A lot of invisible disabilities show up like this: meeting or not meeting expectations and how people respond. Maybe the person with the invisible disability isn’t following through, meeting deadlines, responding to emails, or showing up on camera for virtual meetings; maybe they don’t respond to situations or questions the way you’d expect.

As you pointed out, employees with disabilities aren’t required to tell their employer that they have a disability, and employers can’t ask if they have one. But invisible disabilities may make it seem like people aren’t doing their jobs. How do we navigate the complexity of disability and accountability in the workplace? 

Tally: This is where creating an inclusive workplace can really help because you can extend grace to others, no matter what—whether they have a disability or are just having a bad day. Inclusive workplaces make it easier for all employees—including people with disabilities—to be themselves and ask for support. 

For employees with disabilities, that support may take the form of what the ADA calls “reasonable accommodations”—changing the workflow, function, or physical environment to help them be more effective in their job. For example, a person with severe ADHD may ask to move from a cubicle to an office with a door so they can focus better. Their co-workers may say, “We’re all in cubicles; why do they get an office? Their job didn’t change.” But it’s a reasonable accommodation to help them do their job and manage something others can’t see from the outside. An inclusive workplace gives all employees access to support that helps them do their job well—which can alleviate feelings of “unfairness” if someone is treated differently.

Inclusive workplaces also make it possible to have difficult conversations in a supportive environment. If you think a co-worker may need a reasonable accommodation, you can tell them, “I notice you’re struggling with meeting deadlines [or whatever the issue is]. Let me know if you’d like to talk to HR about a reasonable accommodation.” Or you can go to your HR representative and ask if they can have a conversation with the employee. 

How do you think inclusion enhances and strengthens the workplace? 

Tally: Inclusion of people with disabilities adds another layer of diversity and different and important points of view to the workplace. The more identities, life experiences, and points of view represented in a workplace, the more creative, productive, and effective we'll all be at our jobs. 

When it comes to disabilities, inclusion can make a huge difference by encouraging us to look at disabilities as an opportunity vs. a deficit, and as society’s challenge to overcome vs. an individual problem. In the deficit model, people with disabilities are seen as “less than” and worthy of pity. When we use the social model, disabilities are a neutral characteristic. A person with a disability is simply someone who might need an accommodation so they can do their best work. 

Another way the inclusion of people with disabilities benefits all employees is known as the “curb-cut theory.” This is the idea that when we provide a tool for people with disabilities that gives them better access, it often benefits everyone, including people who don’t have disabilities. A real-life example would be providing a meeting agenda to all attendees prior to a meeting. For people with ADHD, being able to review the meeting agenda and having time to prepare can help them greatly. But it’s also helpful for all attendees because then everyone can know what to expect. 

It’s very helpful to frame disabilities this way because it makes us more aware of our perception of disability and the language we use to describe it. As communicators, we’re very interested in language at LMD. Can you talk a little bit about how the language we use contributes to inclusive workplaces? 

Tally: In the deficit model, we might use words like “a setback” as synonyms for disability, or describe someone as “high functioning” or “afflicted with” a condition. This language is paternalistic and diminishes the humanity of people with disabilities. We should always talk about a person’s abilities vs. their limitations and only mention a disability when and if it’s relevant to the conversation. People with disabilities are just people living their lives. They don’t live to be pitied or inspire others, and we shouldn’t talk about them that way. 

I always encourage communications professionals to monitor shifts and trends in language. In spaces around disability and access, there are lots of small ways you can use language to show you are working on being more inclusive of people with disabilities. For example, think of the difference between “handicapped parking” and “accessible parking.” The two sound like the same thing, but to a lot of people, the word handicapped comes with a lot of stigma. "Accessible parking" focuses on the function of the parking space vs. labeling the people who need the space. 

And always try to learn from people within the community! The disability rights movement has paved the way for this conversation with the phrase “Nothing about us without us,” and there are lots of content creators on social media sharing strategies for being inclusive.

In addition to changing the way we talk about disabilities, what are some other tangible ways we can create more inclusive workplaces? 

Tally: There are several ways to build inclusion; the most important is being communicative. For example, remind employees that accommodations are available, through employee onboarding, performance reviews, and other touch points. 

I also suggest incorporating DEIA initiatives into your organizational goals to get everyone working toward a common goal of inclusivity. Organizations should also periodically review company communications and policies to remove assumptions, bias, or gendering or ableist language you may not even realize is there. 

And of course, training—which is how I’m working with LMD now. Education helps break down biases, stereotypes, and misconceptions and gives employees the skills they need to work toward common goals of inclusion and diversity. 

Thanks so much to Tally for generously giving her time for this interview and our training sessions! Check out her LinkedIn profile to learn more about her experience and DEIA expertise.