CEO Blog

Celebrating Disability Employment Awareness Month: Discovering Hidden Abilities Through Person-Inspired Planning

Tullio Orlando

Each October, we recognize Disability Employment Awareness Month—a time to highlight the valuable contributions that people with disabilities bring to workplaces and communities. It is also a call to action: to continue building environments where individuals are seen for their strengths, supported in their goals, and celebrated for the unique talents they bring forward.

At the heart of this movement is a belief we hold deeply: when people are truly understood, encouraged, and supported, their abilities flourish in ways that may have once seemed hidden.

Through our person-inspired planning process, we don’t just look at challenges. Instead, we explore the whole person: their passions, strengths, and aspirations. This approach creates a “montage” of possibilities—illuminating how diverse abilities can transform barriers into opportunities.

For example:

• A young adult with limited verbal communication discovers expressive creativity through digital media, opening new doors to vocational opportunities.
• Someone who once felt overlooked in traditional work settings thrives when their problem-solving skills are recognized and valued.
• An individual navigating anxiety finds meaningful employment in a supportive environment that encourages gradual growth and celebrates progress.

Each story is a reminder that capacity emerges when people are accepted, encouraged, and supported.

Employment is more than a paycheck—it’s an avenue for belonging, identity, and purpose. When people with diverse needs are given space to be themselves, their talents shine and ripple outward:

• Workplaces grow stronger with innovative perspectives.
• Communities benefit from a culture of inclusion.
• Individuals find empowerment in knowing that they are valued not despite their differences, but because of the unique strengths those differences bring.

As we reflect on Disability Employment Awareness Month, let us recommit to creating pathways that honor the abilities within every individual. By embracing person-inspired planning, we can move beyond seeing “limitations” and instead foster environments where people are free to be purposeful in their work, their growth, and their lives.

When acceptance and support meet hidden potential, challenges transform into opportunities—and people thrive not only as employees, but as valued contributors to a more inclusive world.