Blind contestant with autism leaves “America’s Got Talent” judges and audience in awe after inspiring performance

by Hip. | May 30, 2019 | News

Blind contestant with autism leaves “America’s Got Talent” judges and audience in awe after inspiring performance

BY CHRISTOPHER BRITO
MAY 30, 2019 / 12:31 PM / CBS NEWS

An “America’s Got Talent” contestant who is blind and has autism wowed judges on the show and received a standing ovation from the entire audience. With his mother alongside him, pianist and singer Kodi Lee delivered an inspirational performance for the ages, earning him a trip to the show’s final and becoming an overnight sensation.

During the show’s broadcast Tuesday night, Lee, 22, emerged on stage with his mom Tina and performed Donny Hathaway’s “A Song For You.” Some of the judges teared up during his act. Every single person in the audience stood up and clapped for Lee, who left everyone in awe.

America’s Got Talent
It looks like @Kodileerocks just proved to the world that talent is limitless!

Simon Cowell, one the show’s judges, considered the performance unforgettable. “What just happened there was really extraordinary. I’m going to remember this moment for the rest of my life.”

Before Kodi’s star turn, Tina shared her son’s origins with music and said he loved it “very early on.”

“His eyes just went huge,” she said. “He started singing and that’s when I was in tears because that’s when I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s an entertainer.'”

She added that music allowed him to excel despite his struggles. “Through music and performing he was able to withstand living in this world because when you’re autistic it’s really hard to do what everybody else does. It actually has saved his life, playing music.”

Gabrielle Union, a new mother herself, praised Tina for doing everything possible for her child.

“I’m a new judge this season and I’m also a new mom this year,” Union said. “It’s the toughest job I’ve ever had, it’s also the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. You just want to give your kids, the moon, the stars and the rainbows. Tonight I’m giving you something special.”

She then rewarded Kodi Lee with a golden buzzer, her first of the season, which ensures his bid in the show’s final round. All four judges, including Howie Mandel and Julianne Hough, hugged Lee.

Union told Kodi, “You just changed the world.” She later explained in an “AGT” video on Wednesday why she rang for Lee.

“I’ve been saving my golden buzzer for just this moment,” she said. “I wanted an act, I wanted a performer that was going to change the world… and I believe Kodi was that act.”

America’s Got Talent
There is no feeling quite like hitting your first #GoldenBuzzer.@itsgabrielleu breaks down why she chose to use hers on @Kodileerocks.

Kodi’s mother said, “Thank you Gabrielle, you just made Kodi’s dreams come true.”

First published on May 30, 2019 / 12:31 PM
© 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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What companies gain by including persons with disabilities

by Hip. | May 22, 2019 | News

More than one billion people in this world are living with some form of disability. That’s one in seven of us. Eighty percent of these people acquire their disability between the ages of 18 and 64 – the average working age for most – and they are 50% more likely to be unemployed.

At Davos 2019, a panel of business leaders including Accenture’s North America CEO Julie Sweet discussed the power of disability inclusion, led by Binc founder Dr Caroline Casey. At a time when there are more job vacancies than workers in several countries, businesses are realizing the advantages of recruiting from a diverse and inclusive talent pool. Companies in the US that are advancing disability inclusion are also achieving significant gains in profitability, value creation and shareholder returns. However, some companies are still not recognizing the importance – and potential business benefits – of hiring persons with disabilities.

In the US alone, there are 15.1 million people of working age living with visible and nonvisible disabilities, many of whom are un- or underemployed. If companies were to embrace disability inclusion, they would gain access to a new talent pool of more than 10.7 million people, suggests Getting to Equal: The Disability Inclusion Advantage, a recent report from Accenture in partnership with Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). This represents a significant opportunity to strengthen their business and the economy.

Why are companies not capitalizing on this untapped resource? Some buy into the misconception that it might be costly for businesses to accommodate specific needs of persons with disabilities. However, our research indicates the opposite – that those companies embracing best practices for employing and supporting persons with disabilities in their workforce are also outperforming their peers and achieving tangible financial benefits.

In fact, the research shows that more inclusive companies are twice as likely to have higher total shareholder returns than their peers, on average. Additionally, companies that have become more inclusive over time are four times more likely to have total shareholder returns that outperform those of their peer group. When it comes to profitability and value creation, these companies achieved 28% higher revenue, double the net income and 30% higher economic profit margins over the four-year period we analyzed, on average.

These gains more than offset the cost of accommodating persons with disabilities. A separate study by the Job Accommodation Network revealed 60% of workplace accommodations can be made for free, while the remaining cost is $500 per employee, on average.

Of course, the benefits of disability-inclusive hiring practices extend far beyond the bottom line. Persons with disabilities must be creative to adapt to the world around them. Strengths such as problem-solving skills, agility, persistence, forethought and a willingness to experiment – all of which are essential for innovation – are an inherent part of reality.

More inclusive workplaces also perform well when it comes to staff retention. Studies show that working alongside employees with disabilities makes non-disabled individuals more aware of how to make the workplace more inclusive and better for everyone. Staff turnover is also lower – by up to 30% – when a well-run disability community outreach programme is in place.

Then, of course, there are the reputational benefits. A survey undertaken by the National Business and Disability Council in 2017 found that 66% of consumers will purchase goods and services from a business that features persons with disabilities in their advertising, while 78% will purchase goods and services from a business that takes steps to ensure easy access for individuals with disabilities at their physical locations. Diversity-inclusive supply chains are also correlated with stronger financial returns, brand enhancement and innovation.

Several companies are raising the bar for disability employment and inclusion. T-Mobile has started sponsoring National Wheelchair Basketball Association youth events, where staff speak with children about what it means to work at T-Mobile, opening children’s eyes to new opportunities. Bank of America has created a support services team comprised of 300 people with intellectual disabilities to manage fulfilment services and external client engagement.

At Boston Scientific, the onboarding process includes a virtual tour and videos from leaders speaking about their diversity and inclusion (D&I) commitments, sharing valuable information for individuals to understand resources available to all employees. CVS Health has refocused its training programmes, from philanthropy to skill search, to capitalize on the unique qualities brought by persons with disabilities, such as creativity, problem-solving and loyalty.

Many companies have seen tangible benefits from disability inclusion, and they are finding that employing persons with disabilities isn’t as challenging as often assumed. For example, Microsoft has built a successful disability hiring programme specific to people on the autism spectrum. The goal of this programme is to attract talent and build an inclusive approach to support individuals on the autism spectrum that will contribute to the way they work as a company in building and servicing its products. The Hiring Program is a multiple-day, hands-on academy that focuses on workability, team projects and skills assessment. The event gives candidates an opportunity to showcase their unique talents and meet hiring managers and teams, while learning about Microsoft as an employer of choice.

At Accenture, we found that being honest about where you stand can be a hard yet crucial first step toward becoming a more inclusive company. As one of the first companies to publicly disclose the demographics of our US workforce by gender, ethnicity, veterans and persons with disabilities, we learned that transparency creates trust.

In 2018, 4.5% of our people in the US have voluntarily self-identified as having a disability, up from 3% the previous year. Accountability and creating an environment of trust where employees feel comfortable self-identifying as having a disability are important measures of inclusion.

Understanding the experiences of our people at Accenture was a critical first step to learning more about how to make disability inclusion an advantage. In partnership with Disability:IN and the AAPD, we analyzed the disability practices and financial performance of the 140 companies participating in the Disability Equality Index. The study Getting to Equal: The Disability Inclusion Advantagerevealed four key actions that companies should take to bring about change.

Employ

Organizations must ensure that persons with disabilities are represented in their workplace and in their talent pipeline. Beyond hiring, employers should implement practices that encourage and progress persons with disabilities.

Enable

Leaders must provide employees with disabilities with accessible tools and technology and/or a formal accommodations programme. To improve awareness and integration across teams, companies should consider introducing formal training programmes for employees without disabilities to learn about the tools and accommodations available to their colleagues.

Engage

To foster an inclusive culture throughout the organization, companies must invest in awareness-building through recruitment efforts, disability education programmes and grassroots-led efforts (for example, employee resource groups) and events.

Empower

Companies must offer mentoring and coaching initiatives, as well as skilling/reskilling programmes, to ensure that persons with disabilities continue to grow and succeed. Persons with disabilities should occupy roles at all levels, including top leadership positions.

To unleash the trapped value within the persons-with-disabilities community, organizations must assess where they are by leveraging benchmarking tools such as the Disability Equality Index, self-identification of their current employee base, and employee engagement and awareness surveys.

At the same time, CEOs and investors need to understand the strong qualitative and quantitative business case for robust disability inclusion programmes. By making companies aware of the potential gains, sharing success stories and demonstrating how to build a more inclusive talent pipeline, we can quickly get more persons with disabilities into the workforce.

Source: click here

Written by

Chad Jerdee, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Accenture

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Opinion: Celebrate, strengthen a disability rights law

by Hip. | Oct 10, 2018 | News

It’s been over a month since Uber and Lyft began operations in upstate New York, but not everyone has access to ridesharing yet. Wheelchair users are still waiting on these companies to provide accessible vehicles. Aleanna Siacon

This week marks an important milestone in the civil rights movement for people with disabilities: the one-year anniversary of the passage of the Stephen Komninos Law in New Jersey.

Named after a young man who died almost 10 years earlier to the day — due to inexcusable neglect by his group home staff — the landmark law established policies and procedures for protecting those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Specifically, it put in place several measures for helping to prevent further abuse and neglect in residential and day programs.

Among the most notable requirements:

Two unannounced site visits every year by a Department of Human Services (DHS) representative to community residential settings.

A two-hour timeframe for agencies to report injuries to families/guardians.

Injury verification within 48 hours by a DHS representative.

Drug testing of direct care staff.

Without question, the new law is a much-needed step forward that provides a level of oversight and accountability that has never before existed. It is also essentially the first official acknowledgment that abuse and neglect are a reality for many in the disability community.

But now, we need to take the Stephen Komninos effort to the next level and explore additional ways to provide protections to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Here are two such possibilities:

A class about Medicare at Passaic County’s Department of Senior Services, Disability and Veterans Affairs office in 2015.

Expand the law to cover children. Currently, the law only applies to adults over the age of 21. We don’t know the reason for this age restriction, but clearly, our children deserve the same protections in their group homes and in their after-school programs. This goes without saying.

Increased use of cameras in group homes, community programs and public transportation. Many people with intellectual or developmental disabilities do not have the capacity to report bad behavior or other concerns. In fact, many are non-verbal – meaning that they have limited ability to communicate. The use of video cameras could provide a much-needed set of eyes, particularly in potentially precarious situations. This could be a win-win approach – one that could be good for those with disabilities as well as those responsible for caring for them. Such cameras are already permitted by our state government.

Moreover, the use of cameras is not a new or even controversial idea. The Paramus-based Children’s Aid and Family Services has cameras in its adult group homes and just received permission to use them in its homes for children. And the Bergen County Community Transportation program, which serves people with disabilities, uses cameras in all of its buses.

Again, these are just two suggestions. Both practical. Both seemingly needed. But there are certainly other ways to strengthen the law, and we would welcome additional ideas for making sure that those with disabilities have the protections they need and deserve. Indeed, this should be an ongoing process that continues to evolve over time and as needed.

To that end, we should learn from the experience that got us to this important anniversary. We should follow the example set by parent-advocates, such as Martha Cray, Aileen Rivera and the Komninos family, who led the grassroots effort that brought the need for serious reform to the attention of government officials. We should recognize that it was state legislators – on both sides of the political aisle – who responded in kind and made the Stephen Komninos legislation a reality. And we should acknowledge that it was governors and their staffs – on both sides of the political aisle – that signed this landmark law and put into effect.

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Ultimately, everyone involved realized that there was not only a legal imperative driving this effort; there was a moral one, too.

Now, going forward, we should build on this solid foundation by working together and taking additional steps to safeguard those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Expanding the law to include children. Strengthening the law to include technology. And developing new and better ways to protect those who need protecting.

We not only owe it to Stephen, who would have been 33 years old this year. We owe it to all of our sons, daughters, brothers and sisters.

Thomas Komninos is a parent-advocate, who helped lead the effort to enact the Stephen Komninos legislation named after his son. Paul Aronsohn is New Jersey’s Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families.

Originally by Thomas Komninos and Paul Aronsohn, Special to The North Jersey Record. Published 12:26 p.m. ET Oct. 5, 2018