Disability etiquette: Enhancing sensitivity and awareness in your office

There is an informative webinar about disabilities on BrightTalk titled, "Disability etiquette: Enhancing sensitivity and awareness in your office"

The presenter is Nadine Vogel, Founder and President, Springboard Consulting LLC

People with disabilities offer tremendous value to employers. Unfortunately, however, many businesses struggle when it comes to speaking, working and socializing with this segment of the workforce.

Here is a brief description:

In our upcoming webinar, we’ll explore the disability awareness and policy issues that are challenging businesses today. We’ll also provide guidance, based on social justice laws and proven best practices, for ensuring proper etiquette in your office.

Topics covered include:

• The growing number of disabled people in the workforce and shifts in demographic trends
• The importance of creating a welcoming and inclusive work environment while building cultural dexterity as a company
• Recognizing, respecting and valuing the various segments of disability
• How to handle conflict management and confidentiality

Originally presented on Oct 25 2012

View the on-demand webinar here (free, but registration is required)

Determining Your Social Security Disability Eligibility

Have you considered applying for Social Security disability in the past, yet refrained from doing so because you don’t believe you have a real claim? Lots of people each day are denied of Social Security disability benefits for a myriad of reasons, ranging from their applications aren’t complete to filing for a disability that isn’t covered under Social Security disability.

Before you spend hours filling out your application, it’s important to know the questions that the person reviewing your application will need answered in order to determine whether or not you should apply for Social Security disability. The best way to go about this is by contacting a disability lawyer who will know quickly whether you will be approved or not, but there are also other ways to determine whether you’re eligible without applying. If you’re curious as to whether you should apply for Social Security disability or not, ask yourself the following questions, just as the reviewer would when reviewing your application.

Are You Working?

Before even getting into the facts of your case, the person who is reviewing your claim will look to see if you’re currently working, if so how much you are currently working. There are limits as to how much a person applying for Social Security disability can make, because if that limit is exceeded the reviewer will assume that the claimant is suitable for working and not in need of disability.

That salary limit is called the substantial gainful activity, often abbreviated as SGA. In 2013, the SGA has been set at $1,740 for blind applicants and $1,040 for people applying with other types of disabilities. If you currently make more than that set number per month, you are likely not eligible for Social Security disability, although you should still consult with a disability attorney in order to see if you are.

Google+ Hangouts add sign langugage support

Google+ is a social media platform that is powered by Google.

Google+ Hangouts is a video-based interaction that is similar to Skype and Apple FaceTime where you can have several faces showing on the screen simultaneously.

Google has added a Sign Language Interpreter app for Google+ Hangouts.  Also, we now have keyboard shortcuts that let you navigate the interface easier.

You can read more about this here.