Meet Frank Torres, a Peak Performers associate who works as an accountant and lives with peripheral artery disease

We cover frequently asked questions on how to manage people with disabilities.

Talent Without Limits – A Peak Performers Content Series

Invisible Disabilities Recently, I was reading through a comment section below an article about what it’s like living with a disability. One contributor offered this example scenario: Scenario 1: A blind person is in a store. Through an mistake in their cane technique, they accidentally break a piece of merchandise Scenario 2:A person suffering from PTSD is in a store. They smell a cologne that was the same their attacker wore. They become very upset and accidentally break a piece of merchandise Who do you think the store owner will be more sympathetic toward? It might sound pessimistic, but my bet …

Disability and Employment Based on Census Bureau data from 2015, there were an estimated 1.6 million working-age Texans with one or more disabilities. In the same year, Austin was home to nearly 72,000 residents living with disabilities or roughly 8 percent of the city’s population. These are significant numbers, and they likely do not include many invisible disabilities as defined by the ADA Amendments Act (2008). While the situation is improving, many challenges remain for job seekers with chronic medical conditions in the United States. Discrimination in the workplace, lack of accessibility and inaccurate perceptions are all contributing factors to a disability …

Stories of Disability and Perseverance Imagine yourself walking or seeing or feeling, and then suddenly not. Most people without disabilities rarely think about how close we all are to switching categories. While it makes sense that most chronic medical conditions would develop later in life, we were surprised to learn that less than 15% of people were actually born with their disability (See No Pity by Joseph Shapiro). At the Peak Blog, we honor and celebrate those who have overcome shocking adversity and shattered glass ceilings all the way to the top of their professions. Here are a few less …

Diabetes Awareness November is Diabetes awareness month. Diabetes is estimated by the CDC to affect 12.2% of adults (More info) …

Everything you Know about Disability Inclusion is WRONG Summary of Event Everything You Know about Disability Inclusion is WRONG! In …

Peak Spotlight: Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Life Altering, Not Life Defining Like Jack in the video, many adults come by …

A Historic Piece of Civil Rights Legislation Passed by Congress in 1990, and eventually signed by President George H.W. Bush, …

After the Injury: The Rest of the Story Spinal cord injuries are perhaps the most visible and obvious disability. After …

Sheltered Workshops vs Competitive, Integrated Employment When you hear hear “employment for people with disabilities,” what do visualize? The first …

What is “Disability Pride Month?” On July 26, 1990, George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act. This laid …

Curiosity is Not the Problem Asking People About Their Disabilities Have you ever wondered: – How a wheelchair user drives …

Empathy for invisible disabilities Not all disabilities are visible The other day, I was having a conversation and a person. The conversation turned to our mission and they said “I don’t see your disability–it can’t be that bad.” To which, I wanted to reply “Well, that’s great but I have to live with it.” Some people without disabilities struggle to recognize the significance and impact of invisible and hidden disabilities. After all, if we can’t see it, can it really be all that bad? Invisible disabilities are very real The first thing to realize is that invisible disabilities are very, …

Labels matter Respecting what people call themselves It can sometimes be confusing when a group of people start calling themselves something different and ask you to do the same. Language changes and so too does cultural norms and the labels applied to people. Over time, we have seen people with disabilities (as well as other minorities) change what they prefer to be called. Once we used the word “handicapped.” Now many prefer to use the words “person with a disability” so as to put the person before their disability. Once we referred to people as having “shell shock.” This has …

You Must be Part of the Change Making Meaningful Change to Disability Inclusion and Hiring After explaining Peak Performers Staffing Agency mission of hiring people with disabilities to a new person, I experience a range of emotional reactions ranging from enthusiasm to curiosity to indifference. But my least favorite reaction is… “Well, good for you. I’m glad someone is helping those people.” While this seems like a benign statement, what is often implied here is “someone else is helping people with disabilities so I don’t have to.” Furthermore, the speaker usually makes it pretty clear in the statement that they …

Hiring for humans, not machines Disability hiring starts with considering all applicants There are certain patterns you can see in a resume that signal someone is dealing with a disability. Each resume leaves us hints about life events and perhaps what someone is currently going through. Each resume tells a story both in what is included as well as what is omitted. To be more inclusive in hiring people with disabilities, pause to dig into these resumes further. Resumes we see on a regular basis: A person is seeking employment after a 5 year employment gap. Perhaps they are recovering …