Each October, we mark National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), a time to raise awareness about disability employment issues and celebrate the contributions of America’s workers with disabilities. The theme for 2014 is “Expect. Employ. Empower.”

Helen Keller is 'listening' to a debate at the United Nations. Keller's companion Polly Thomson manually signs into Keller's hand, interpreting the debate, November 1949

As world leaders gather for the United Nations General Assembly, it is interesting to read the speech that Keller wrote for the United Nations in 1950.

"Dear Friends:

Note: The following is testimony made by Mark Richert, AFB's director of public policy, on how copyright law affects those with vision loss. For a primer on this topic, please see All Rights Reserved—How Copyright Law Can Leave People Who Are Blind Out. Video of this testimony is also available from the U.S. House of Representatives.

Laura Bridgman Laura Bridgman, photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Ever heard of Laura Bridgman? Bridgman is generally acknowledged as the first deaf-blind child to be successfully educated. Here's an interesting article from Slate about her life titled "The Education of Laura Bridgman. She was Helen Keller before Helen Keller. Then her mentor abandoned their studies."

You may have recently read the Wall Street Journal article by Lauren Weber about bosses asking employees to disclose whether they have a disability. Ms. Weber frames the issue pretty accurately, and I loved the comments included overall. Starting next week, all federal contractors (i.e., companies that do contract work for or with the U.S.

Blogger Emily Coleman, enjoying a family bike ride with her husband and three children.

Editor's note: We recently asked Emily to write this post for us, discussing the importance of specialized services. You can also read Joe Strechay's thoughts on specialized employment services here.