LITTLE ROCK – Easterseals Arkansas joins Easterseals Crossroads (in Indianapolis) and Easterseals Southern California to highlight the benefits of employing people with disabilities during National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). The three affiliates are hosting a webinar with award-winning speaker Aaron Likens, an autism ambassador for the Easterseals affiliates and will highlight his inspiring journey to the Indy 500. It will also feature tips and suggestions from a number of businesses on the hiring of people with disabilities.
The Zoom webinar takes place at 3 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Oct. 27. A brief Q&A with Aaron and CEOs from the affiliates will follow the webinar.
“The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is twice as high as the general population; however, over 60 million Americans – or one in four – are identified as having a disability,” said Ron Ekstrand, CEO of Easterseals Arkansas. “We wanted to celebrate NDEAM in an attempt to bring more awareness to the subject and to encourage businesses to contact us for support on their journey in hiring people with disabilities.”
Aaron is author of the book “Finding Kansas” and recently was named flagman for the NTT INDYCAR Series – his dream job. Diagnosed with autism later in life, Aaron will share his journey in an effort to help businesses better understand the talents and value that individuals with disabilities bring to the workplace. Based on his experiences, he will also share useful approaches to address recruiting/interviewing, orienting/onboarding, supervising, and including people with disabilities and other special needs who are seeking employment. His inspirational story also provides hope to those with a disability who are seeking employment.
The webinar highlights the benefits of employing people with disabilities among employers and helps job seekers with disabilities find employment and support. It is ideal for businesses looking for talent, people with disabilities interested in seeking employment, disability providers (especially those who offer employment services), educators, and parents.
Use this link to register for the webinar:
More information about Aaron Likens is available on his website, https://www.aaronlikens.com/.
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About Easterseals Arkansas:
For more than 75 years, Easterseals Arkansas has provided exceptional services to empower children and adults with disabilities to live, learn, work and play in their communities. The purpose of Easterseals Arkansas is to change the way the world views and defines disabilities by making profound, positive differences in people’s lives every day. Easterseals Arkansas’ services include developmental preschools in Little Rock and Stuttgart; speech-language, physical, and occupational therapy; and independent living programs; and transition programs to promote employment.
