Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities

10/22/2026

🎤 Local Voices

Meet Avi HaLevi, Employment Project Specialist and Community Advisory Council Chair at the Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities. As a disability advocate and leader with lived experience, Avi believes "Lived experience is expertise"
His work focuses on making employment more accessible and ensuring people with disabilities have a voice in decisions that impact their lives.

10/21/2026

💙 Join Us for an NDEAM Webinar! 💼

Making Work Actually Work for All

📅 Thursday, October 29
⏰ 12:00–1:00 PM ET
💻 Virtual | FREE

Join the conversation about creating more inclusive and accessible workplaces for everyone!

10/20/2026

Each October, during National Disability Employment Awareness Month, or “NDEAM,” we recognize the positive impact of people with disabilities in the American workforce. This year’s NDEAM theme will be "Celebrating Value and Talent," carrying the spirit of last year's celebration forward through 2026 in honor of America's 250th birthday.

10/19/2026

Get involved this NDEAM!

📰 Subscribe to our "Work Matters" newsletter.
🗣️ Join our Community Advisory Council and help shape our work.
♿ Try one new way to make your workplace more accessible and inclusive.

Visit us online to Learn more about SCDD’s Employment Focus Area

💙 Together, we can build a more inclusive workforce.

10/16/2026

Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities will be there! Come stop by and say hello!

PLEASE share, share, share and share!!!!! We hope you will join us on October 18th 😍

10/13/2026

🎤 Local Voices 🎤

Nico Santiago, an Industrial Designer at BZdesign in Rochester, shares how growing up with Myasthenia Gravis shaped his passion for accessible design.

“I realized the people engineering our world didn’t always have someone with a disability at the table. I strive to be that person—helping create a world that is more accessible and inclusive.”

Thank you, Nico, for sharing your story! 💙

10/13/2026

Employment access is still a big issue.

Only 38.3% of working-age people with disabilities in the US are employed.

As of July 2026, that compares with about 75% of people without disabilities.

The gap is even wider for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Inclusive Employers Make a Big Difference.

10/08/2026

Do you know what Employment First is?
Employment First (E1st) means competitive, integrated employment should be the first and preferred option for people with disabilities.

Who benefits from Employment First? EVERYONE!
👪 Families: See a family member in a fully competent role in the workplace.
🙋 People with disabilities: Gain employment, fair wages, benefits, and the dignity that comes with gainful employment.
💰 Taxpayers: Spend less than it costs to support someone in a segregated day program, and gain the economic contributions and tax revenue of fair wages.
🏘️ Communities: Feel the economic force of fair wages spent in the local economy, and see firsthand the many abilities of people with disabilities.
🏢 Businesses: Get talented employees and specialized support for job acquisition and retention. When we put employment first, our whole community wins.

10/06/2026

Celebrate value, talent, and inclusion this National Disability Employment Awareness Month! 💼💙

America works best when everybody has a chance to work.

This video highlights the many ways people with disabilities strengthen America’s workforce—in offices, on job sites, in our communities, and beyond.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qwOlvHcrKc

Learn more: dol.gov/ndeam

10/01/2026

Every October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM).
This year's theme, “Celebrating Value and Talent,” carries 2025's theme forward as part
of America's 250th anniversary—honoring the contributions of disabled workers, past
and present. Learn more at dol.gov/NDEAM.