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good employees. When you are faced with individuals that have those type
of questions, you pull the numbers out and show that hiring individuals with
a disability is financially feasible for your company, it’s a great uplifting
morale booster for your company culture, and you are actually getting a great
employee who loves working for
your company. I just try to show the
numbers as statistics, and they don’t Systematically strengthening
lie. You also try to highlight your
employees. Whether it’s shooting the ties between the school and
out social media blasts saying this
employee has been here for so long potential employers appears
or they are doing a great job, and to be an excellent opportunity
it begins to shape culture when
they can see that they are doing a for ensuring that well-prepared
great job. (Participant 7, personal
communication, February 22, 2021) graduates with IDD will become the

The results from the surveys, checklists, successful employees of the future.
and virtual interviews demonstrated that,
although those who employ individuals
with IDD may have some concerns, they
will ultimately hire the individual. Many of the participants viewed the applicants
as capable and an asset to the organization. The employers believed the individual
could do the work no matter the specific intellectual or developmental disability
reported. In addition, employers reported societal influences were not a high concern
in hiring the applicants.

Limitations
Studying a small number of people might create a bias as participants were
reacting to specific attributes based on personal rather than professional experience.
Perhaps they had a relative with IDD or had a friend who had become disabled.
The modest number suggests that the participants’ answers are not necessarily
generalizable to all employers who hire individuals with IDD. However, the results
were generalizable to the target group of employers.
As with all data provided by individuals, trustworthiness is critical. Because
the researchers were relying on the information that the employers shared, they had
to trust that the obtained information was accurate. Independently verifying each
person’s experiences would have been difficult as memories can sometimes reflect
biased answers and an exaggeration of information.
One method for dealing with the limitations of this study might be to conduct
this same study exploring the perceptions of participants without a history of hiring
individuals with IDD. Perhaps their stories might better expose the strategies needed
to address low employment rates. Understanding this alternate point of view might
prove beneficial in increasing hiring and subsequent success for individuals with
IDD.

Summary
Schools and businesses often benefit from the establishment of partnerships in
which the needs of both organizations drive the relationship. For individuals with

Educators’ Choice 23