- Journalist Milette Millington's cerebral palsy diagnosis makes it difficult for her to get around throughout the day.
- Millington says disability shouldn't be seen as 'a bad thing' just because able-bodied people don't understand it.
It's time to do away with stereotypes surrounding disabled employees and listen to their needs instead, says one worker.
Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at a young age, journalist Milette Millington, 24, now advocates for the disabled community in her work. Millington opened up to Insider about the difficulty of working while disabled and covering such a misunderstood topic.
"Many people don't know what it's like to live with a disability because they don't know anything about it, or they don't know anyone in the community," said Millington, noting that October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
"Without having a connection to someone in the community, or without educating themselves on the subject, many people see stories on disability that project this stereotype that being disabled is a bad thing or that disability is a bad word."
According to Millington, transportation is a "major challenge" she and other face daily. For Millington, remote work has been a lifeline that allows her to comfortably and efficiently perform her job.
"For many of us, including me, to be in multiple places throughout the day is a lot. That's why I'm always with another adult family member," Millington told Insider. "It takes lots of planning ahead of time."
Every boss should understand that "disability is not one dimensional," and it affects everyone differently whether its visible or not.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion expert Mandy Price and disability rights advocate John Register echoed Millington's sentiment, adding their own recommendations to better accommodate disabled employees:
- Understand the many types of disabilities – both visible and invisible
- Make it safer for employees to disclose their disabilities
- Allow employees to work remotely
- Encourage employees to not use offensive language
- Listen fully to employees' concerns about their work environment
An estimated 42.5 million "noninstitutionalized" Americans live with disabilities, according to 2021 Census data. A National Trends in Disability Employment report from the Kessler Foundation found that the group has seen an 5% increase in labor-force participation between April 2020 and August 2022.
"The employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities has remained steadily above historic highs for the past twelve months," said Director of the Center for Employment and Disability Research John O'Neill.
"This is encouraging for now considering the growing concerns about recession," he added.