Disability Mentoring Day 2009

Each October Kessler Foundation participates in Disability Mentoring Day, a day that promotes international awareness of the tremendous untapped potential of people with disabilities. On Disability Mentoring Day, 20,000 job-seekers with disabilities connect with thousands of employers in more than 300 locations in every US state and territory and in more than 24 countries. This year Kessler Foundation hosted three students from Horizon High School a private school in Livingston, N.J., that serves 76 students with disabilities, aged 14 to 21. The school offers an integrated educational and therapeutic curriculum aimed at helping students live as independently as possible.

Ryan, Tina, and Florangel learned about the Foundations work and the kinds of people who are employed here. The students toured the laboratories of the Research Center, where they saw how research is conducted and met with researchers working on ways to help people regain their abilities to walk, drive, and learn. Hands-on experiences were most memorable for our visitors. The students enjoyed taking turns at simulated driving using the virtual reality equipment in the Human Performance and Engineering Lab. They practiced their interviewing skills on camera and learned the steps necessary to purchase equipment and supplies. The medical librarians guided them through the types of work done in the Kessler Medical Library, a major resource for the researchers. During lunch they learned about wheelchair sports from athlete Dave Lowell. Lowell, who has a spinal cord injury, competes on the WheelBlazers, the wheelchair racing team sponsored by Kessler Foundation.

Disability Mentoring Day, which is held annually during Disability Awareness Month, promotes career development and for students with disabilities through job shadowing and hands-on career exploration. By making the connection between school and work, students are better able to evaluate their personal goals and plan how to enter the workforce. Employers learn how the talents of people with disabilities can be utilized the workplace, and employee see the benefits of a diverse work environment.

Learn more about Disability Mentoring Day by visiting http://www.disabilitymentor.net/

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Kessler
• Foundation
• Research
• Center
• stroke
• sci
• tbi
• human
• performance
• neuropsychology
• Program