Regular work can be a source of empowerment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), such as autism and Down syndrome, writes Kalena Thornhave for The Keystone.
Yet the stigma surrounding some disabilities can make it hard for those individuals to find work. When work is available, it’s often tedious or low-paid.
Fortunately, there are businesses and companies in Pennsylvania that have made disability inclusion a priority, and are hiring people with IDD. Two of those companies are from Montgomery County.
A Montgomery County nonprofit GETIncluded Inc., which is focused on the disability community, opened the coffee shop, GET Café in Narberth, in which most of its workers are people with disabilities.
The workers serve locally sourced food and coffee. They receive training and pay for their work and use their experience to either continue working at GET, or to move to other food service jobs.
Vertex Inc. in King of Prussia sells tax compliance software. It also hired neurodivergent workers.
It works with an organization called The Precisionists, which trains people with autism and other disabilities for jobs at local businesses.
The jobs are significant, often within tax processing or customer onboard.
See what other companies in Pennsylvania are focused on disability inclusion in The Keystone.
