2023 Employment Summit

The Employment Summit provides the opportunity for employment professionals with any experience level, people with disabilities and their families, and others interested in improving employment outcomes to:

• Identify and navigate unique employment barriers

• Deploy proven strategies for quality placements

• Spark creativity using assistive technology and natural supports

• Unpack the relationship between poverty, employment, and benefits

This is a chance to network with your colleagues, learn from industry professionals, and hear from people with disabilities about their lived experiences.

Summit Cost: $75 per person

Registration fee includes continental breakfasts & networking luncheon.
Register 3 people from your organization and get 10% off!

Summit Dates and Time:

December 6, 2023 (9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. ET)

December 7, 2023 (9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. ET)

Summit Location: 502 East Event Centre
502 E. Carmel Drive
Carmel, IN 46032

Employment Summit Highlight

Barry Whaley works at the Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University. He is the Co-Principal Investigator and Project Director of the Southeast ADA Center, Principal Co-Collaborator with the University of Leeds (UK) Inclusive Public Spaces project, Co-Collaborator with the University of Queensland (AU) Gender, Equity, Disability, and Social Inclusion Mainstreaming Short Course, and Principal Investigator of the Mid-Atlantic Youth and Self-Advocacy project. His current research is examining the impact of intersectionality of race and disability, on three ADA-related issues: 1) employment, 2) access to digital technology, 3) long and short-term poverty.

Barry is an alumnus of Indiana University and holds a Master of Science in Mediation, Arbitration, and Alternative Dispute Resolution from Sullivan University.

How the ADA Applies to Job Seekers with Additional & Recovery

• Barry Whaley

In this session, we’ll explore how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to job seekers throughout the employment process, starting with the application and continuing on the job. The session will cover the rights of both job seekers and their eventual employers.

Transportation & Mobility Management Network Part 1 & 2

• Judy Shanley

This session will focus on strategies to build the capacity of interdisciplinary teams, including vocational rehabilitation professionals, to identify and implement mobility services for youth. The session will include a focus on a pilot program, funded by the National Science Foundation, that educates youth about sidewalk accessibility, teaches youth advocacy skills to communicate this information to community planners, and use this knowledge to identify career opportunities. Attendees will acquire tangible learning content that can be replicated within their own programs.

In Our Own Voices

• NAMI Indiana 

This presentation will change attitudes, assumptions, and ideas about people with mental health conditions. We will share a personal perspective of mental health conditions, as leaders with lived experience talk openly about what it's like to have a mental health condition. Attendees will hear open and honest perspectives on a highly misunderstood topic. You will also have a chance to ask leaders questions, allowing for a deeper understanding of mental health conditions and dispelling stereotypes and misconceptions.

Lunch & Learn

Our October Lunch & Learn recording is now available, you can watch the webinar and our previous Lunch & Learns on our website by clicking the button below!

Latest Video: Navigating Emotions at Work: Self-Management and De-Escalation Strategies 

There are many factors that can contribute to emotional reactivity. For example, autism and ADHD can affect emotional regulation in unique ways. For some people, it can be especially difficult to regulate their emotions and it can have significant impacts on their life. Angry outbursts, self-harm, substance use, and depression are some examples of how emotional dysregulation can look. Disorders related to emotional dysregulation include bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In this webinar, participants will learn about the importance of differentiating between whether emotional reactivity is related to a symptom or trying to communicate needs through behavior. Additionally, participants will learn about: 

• The range of ways mental illness and disability can affect emotional regulation 

• Self-regulation strategies for managing our own emotions 

• De-escalation techniques for when someone else is in distress 

• Accommodations and considerations related to emotional dysregulation in the workplace

Lunch & Learn Schedule

Triggers and Employment:

Considerations and Strategies to Support Individuals 

November 17th, 2023

Sensory Processing: Creating an Environment to Thrive 

December 15th, 2023

Cognitive Distortions:

Unhelpful Thinking Patterns and Their Effects on Employment Part 1 

January 19th, 2024

Cognitive Distortions:

Unhelpful Thinking Patterns and Their Effects on Employment Part 2 

February 16th, 2024

Dissociation: How It Can Look and Be Managed 

March 15th, 2024

Addiction's Impact on Employment and Coping Skills 

April 19th, 2024

Mental Health, Employment, and Executive Dysfunction Part 1:

Memory, Flexibility, and Control 

May 17th, 2024

Mental Health, Employment, and Executive Dysfunction Part 2:

Planning, Reasoning, and Problem Solving 

June 21st, 2024