Dear AccessWorld readers,
In this issue of AccessWorld, we celebrate October as Disability Employment Awareness Month. We are taking this opportunity to focus on employment and provide information about employment resources, strategies, and insider perspectives for getting the most from vocational rehabilitation services. We will also shine a spotlight on the working world by highlighting the career of New York State Assistant District Attorney and Deputy Bureau Chief, Rackets Division, Celeste Lopes, to see how she found her job and how she uses technology to accomplish her daily work.
Since Congress designated each October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, it has become a time to celebrate the skills and accomplishments of American workers with disabilities. Further, it is a time to illuminate and discuss the employment barriers that still exist and to pursue with renewed vigor their removal.
This effort to educate the public about issues related to disability and employment began in 1945, when Congress enacted a law declaring the first week in October as "National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week." In 1962, the word "physically" was removed to acknowledge the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. In 1988, Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to "National Disability Employment Awareness Month."
This issue of AccessWorld also includes "An Introduction to Twitter," from J.J. Meddaugh, and the third installment of our series on illuminated magnifiers, "Lighting Up Your World: A Closer Look at Illuminated Magnifiers, Part 3," from Morgan Blubaugh.
I hope you enjoy this issue, and I hope you will join AccessWorld in recognizing and celebrating the inroads individuals with vision loss and all types of disabilities have made into the world of employment.
Sincerely,
Lee Huffman
AccessWorld Editor-in-Chief
