Unemployment Followup

I reread what I wrote yesterday about different kinds of unemployment / employment figures. It has occurred to me that the two kinds of figures suggest two kinds of employment goals for the disability community:

1. More people with disabilities working, and
2. More people with disabilities actively looking for jobs.

In theory, we should try to reduce the unemployment rate for people with disabilities to be closer to that for non-disabled people, while at the same time, increasing the number of people with disabilities looking for work. Initially, this would actually raise the unemployment rate, because more people would he counted who are looking but not yet hired. The goal would be to close both gaps.

Does that make sense?

A Bio And A Blog

Being A Blind Teenager

Kody Keplinger, Disability In Kidlit - July 8, 2013

Yesterday, I read this fantastic short biography by a Young Adult (YA) fiction writer, who also runs a collaborative blog of YA writers … Disability In Kidlit, described as, "Reviews, guest posts, and discussions about the portrayal of disabilities in MG/YA fiction".

Here are two of the best bits from the piece:

"That’s the thing about disability, I think. You’re a normal person, you experience normal things, and then, every once in a while, you hit that wall. That reminder that you aren’t quite like the majority of your peers. Most of the time it’s small things ... but it can still hurt like hell." 

"Before I wrap up here, I want to note that none of the typical “blind person” cliches fit me. I am not a musician, I don’t feel people’s face (eww, so weird!), and my blindness really played a very small part in my life. It occasionally impacted my friendships, it sometimes changed the way I did things in class, but for the most part, I was your average middle or high schooler. Your average middle or high schooler who just happened to use a cane and push around a cart with a big CCTV on it."

One day I hope to invite other bloggers to contribute to this site, so I'm encouraged to see a collaborative blog in the disability field.