Messages from our CEO: Kickin’ It with Kimberly
It’s essential to us that we keep you well-informed about current issues and barriers affecting people with disabilities. Our CEO, Kimberly Tissot, recognizes that you are at the heart of our efforts to promote disability rights, justice, and freedoms. Letters will be written to you, our key supporters, about the injustices we uncover and the solutions we can offer as a disability-led organization.
September 2026
Kickin’ It with Kimberly: The Good, the Bad, and the Truth About Disability Employment
Next month (October) is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and every year we hear a lot of the same messages: Hire people with disabilities. Recognize talent. Create opportunities.
I believe in all of that. But I also think we need to have a much more honest conversation about disability and work.
I’ve spent my career in disability rights, and I’ve experienced employment discrimination myself. I’ve seen what happens when someone is finally given a chance and proves everybody wrong. I’ve also watched incredibly talented disabled people get overlooked because someone made assumptions about what they could or couldn’t do.
The truth is that disability employment has a good side, a bad side, and a side most people never see. And that’s the part I want to talk about.
Work is about independence. It’s about earning your own money, building a career, supporting yourself and your family, and having the opportunity to contribute. That shouldn’t be a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. It’s something we should all be able to agree on.
Disabled people aren’t asking employers to lower the bar. We’re asking for the opportunity to reach it. We want to compete, be judged by what we can actually do vs. assumptions, and have unnecessary barriers moved out of the way.
We’ve made progress. A lot of it.
But we still have a long way to go, and some of the biggest barriers facing disabled workers today probably aren’t the ones you think.
The Good: We Are Winning
There has been real progress. More employers are recognizing that disability does not mean inability, and more disabled young people are growing up expecting careers—not being told to settle for a program, a sheltered setting, or whatever opportunity someone else decides is “good enough” for them.
And South Carolina has made some pretty big moves of its own. We became an Employment First state, making competitive, integrated employment the expectation for disabled people who want to work, instead of assuming we can’t. Not every disabled person will work, and employment should never determine someone’s value or right to participate in their community. People are outside the workforce for all kinds of reasons, disability or not. And in 2022, South Carolina ended the practice of paying disabled people less than minimum wage simply because they have a disability. And guess who led the fight to get that law passed with an almost unanimous vote in the General Assembly? Able SC and other disabled South Carolinians. And almost all agencies serving the disability community signed and supported the bill. The final General Assembly votes were 39–0 in the Senate and 101–2 in the House–only two lawmakers voted against the final passage; one is no longer there, and the other is not seeking reelection.
Those weren’t small changes. They represented a fundamental shift in expectations: disabled people belong in the workforce, earning real wages for real work, and disabled people belong at the table leading the change. I get to see what that looks like every single day at Able SC. We have built an organization where disability isn’t something we work around. It is part of our expertise. Our staff are talented, educated, creative, strategic, and really darn good at what they do.
And I’m going to brag about them for a minute: Able SC’s staff can run circles around a lot of people working in the disability field. I mean that.
Disabled people have spent decades at tables where everyone else was considered the expert on our lives. We’ve been studied, assessed, treated, trained, placed, and “helped” by systems full of professionals without disabilities, while our own knowledge was too often treated as a personal story instead of professional expertise.
That is changing. And it needs to change more
Able SC gets underestimated sometimes, too. People hear “disability-led organization” or “Center for Independent Living” and don’t always expect serious policy expertise, sophisticated systems-change work, innovative programs, high-level training, and professionals who know exactly what they are doing. Yet we produce outcomes that rival organizations many times our size.
Then they work with us.
And the assumptions tend to change pretty quickly.
Some of the most challenging groups are sometimes the very agencies that serve disabled people. There is national data showing that disability bias remains a problem even within systems and professions designed to serve our community. There is research behind this, too. Lived experience is not simply a personal story; it is professional expertise. Research on disability services and peer-to-peer shows that disabled professionals bring experiential knowledge, trust, connection, and understanding that can strengthen how disability services are designed and delivered. That doesn’t mean nondisabled professionals can’t be excellent at their jobs. It means lived disability experience brings an additional form of expertise that cannot simply be learned.
But one of the best parts of progress: we don’t have to convince people that disabled professionals and advocates are capable. We get to show them when we get a chance.
The Bad: Being Qualified Isn’t Always Enough
Here is the part of disability employment that is harder to put on an October poster: you can do everything right and still be passed over because you are disabled.
You can have the education, the experience, and the résumé. You can be more qualified than the person who gets the job. And sometimes none of that matters once someone sees your disability and starts making assumptions about what you can do.
I’ve experienced it myself. Our staff have experienced it. And through Able SC, we work with thousands of disabled people across South Carolina. We hear these stories all the time. Different people, different disabilities, different employers, but a lot of the same experiences. And it isn’t just happening in South Carolina. Talk to disabled people anywhere in this country, and you will hear the same frustration.
There is nothing quite like walking or rolling into an interview knowing you can do the job and realizing you are being evaluated on something completely different. You can almost see the questions: Can they really do this? Will they need too much help? Will accommodations be expensive? Is this going to be complicated?
Meanwhile, nobody is asking the nondisabled applicant to prove that their body won’t somehow interfere with their ability to do the job.
That is the part that gets me. Disabled people are still expected to prove our competence in ways other people simply aren’t. And discrimination usually isn’t obvious. Employers know better than to say, “We aren’t hiring you because you’re disabled.” It is much easier to say someone else was a “better fit” or that they “decided to go in another direction.”
Sometimes you watch someone with less experience get the opportunity. Sometimes you are offered less responsibility because someone assumes you can’t handle more. Sometimes people love your disability story and call you inspirational, but suddenly get uncomfortable when you want authority, a leadership position, or a seat where decisions are actually being made.
And here is one that disabled professionals know all too well- sometimes you are invited to the table to share your “lived experience,” while the nondisabled person sitting next to you is treated as the actual expert. That, my friends, is discrimination, too. And often so wrong.
We can talk all day about getting disabled people into the workforce, but we also have to talk about what happens when they get there.
And Then Employment Gets Harder Through Policy
There is another contradiction we need to confront this Disability Employment Awareness Month: we keep telling disabled people to work while making it harder for them to do exactly that.
Look at the recent federal workforce debate. Major changes have happened recently that have put us back many years. We are hearing a lot about “merit” and getting rid of preferences in hiring. That conversation should make all of us pay attention. There are laws that have affirmative action for qualified people with disabilities because of the barriers we face. Again, it’s not special treatment. And notice the word I used: qualified.
These policies do not mean someone gets a federal job because they are disabled. They still have to be qualified for the position. This is where I hope people have an aha moment.
Removing a barrier is not lowering the bar.
If someone uses a wheelchair ramp to get into the building, we don’t say they cheated their way inside. So why do we suddenly call it “special treatment” when we remove a barrier in a hiring system? That same contradiction runs throughout disability policy. Good gracious- just having to type some of this is cringeworthy.
Disabled people are told to Get a job. Be independent. Earn a paycheck. Don’t rely on government.
Okay. Then stop cutting the things that make that possible.
Home and Community-Based Services aren’t just “care.” For many disabled people, HCBS is workforce infrastructure. A personal care attendant may be the reason someone can get out of bed, shower, dress, and get to work. Transportation may be the difference between having a job and losing one. Assistive technology and employment supports may be what makes a career possible.
Take those supports away and the disability didn’t suddenly make the person unable to work. But they no longer have the support to just go out and get a job. And I laugh about this because for someone with a disability to “just go out and get a job” – that’s sometimes close to impossible due to all of the barriers and discrimination that occurs.
And we are punished like we created the barrier.
Cut Medicaid and a worker may lose the personal care that gets them ready for work. Cut transportation, and they may not be able to get there. Cut employment supports, and someone may lose the assistance that helped them succeed. Weaken disability rights, and accommodations become harder to enforce. These laws are used. Not through lawsuits, but by advocating for our rights.
Then, when that person can no longer work, we point to their unemployment as evidence that disabled people are dependent on government.
That is the contradiction we need to stop ignoring. We cannot demand independence while dismantling the infrastructure that makes independence possible.
And it doesn’t stop with the disabled worker. When formal supports disappear, somebody usually fills the gap. Often, that is a spouse, parent, sibling, or adult child who must now cut their own hours or leave their own job. Then the people providing community supports lose their jobs. That’s not a small number of people.
Now we may have pushed people out of the workforce.
There are fewer paychecks. Fewer taxes are being paid. Less money is being spent at local businesses.
And if the person is forced to live in a nursing facility or other institutions because we eliminated the support that helped keep us in the community, taxpayers end up paying for a much more restrictive and expensive system. Like double the cost of community services. Does this make sense?
So please don’t tell disabled people that the answer is simply to “go to work” while dismantling the very things that allow them to work.
If some people believe in work, personal responsibility, economic freedom, and reducing dependence on government, then helping disabled people get into the workforce and stay there should be one of the easiest things for us to agree on.
This isn’t about giving disabled people something extra. It is about making sure our own policies aren’t the reason someone who wants to work can’t.
The Challenge: Awareness Is Not Enough
Here is my challenge to employers, policymakers, and anyone who says they support disability inclusion:
What are you willing to change?
It is easy to post a message during Disability Employment Awareness Month. It is easy to attend a panel, add disability to a statement, or say that your organization welcomes everyone. The hard work begins when inclusion requires time, money, accountability, and a change in how decisions are made. And when I say “money,” accommodations are inexpensive.
Look at your hiring process. Are disabled applicants able to find, understand, and complete it? Are you evaluating qualifications fairly, or are assumptions about disability influencing your decisions?
Look at your workplace. Can employees request accommodations without fear of being judged, demoted, or fired? Are meetings, technology, transportation, and communication accessible? Are disabled employees represented in leadership, not just in the low-paying jobs?
Look at your policies. Do they support people in staying employed when they need flexibility, medical care, personal assistance, or time to recover?
And look at your results. How many disabled people have you hired, promoted, and retained? What are you doing when the numbers do not match your promises?
My challenge is simple: Do not tell us you support disability inclusion unless you are willing to measure it, fund it, and be held accountable for it.
Awareness is a beginning. It is not the finish line.
Employers win as well, too.
Businesses win when they hire people with disabilities because inclusion strengthens the entire organization. They gain access to an often-overlooked talent pool, bring different perspectives and problem-solving approaches to the table, and build products, services, and workplaces that work for more people. Disability-inclusive businesses are also better positioned to understand and reach disabled customers and their families, which represent a significant part of the marketplace. Research has also associated disability-inclusive employment with stronger business performance, and employers frequently report benefits such as retention and dependable attendance. And we need to bust another myth: having a disability does not automatically make someone a greater safety or workers’ compensation risk. In my more than 16 years leading our disability-led workforce with a good number of employees, we have had only two workers’ compensation claims, and one involved a disabled employee, and one involved a nondisabled employee. When businesses create accessible systems, flexible practices, and a culture where people can bring their full talents to work, those improvements often benefit everyone. Hiring people with disabilities isn’t simply the right thing to do; it can mean more talent, stronger retention, different perspectives, greater access to customers, and a better business.
Our Win Is What Happens When You Stop Underestimating Us.
Able SC is living proof of something I wish more employers understood. When you stop focusing on what disabled people supposedly cannot do and start creating environments where people can actually use their talents, you get extraordinary results.
We have not built what we have built despite disability. Disability has helped shape how we lead, innovate, solve problems, and understand systems. Our lived experience gives us knowledge that cannot be learned from a textbook or acquired through a disability-awareness training. When that lived expertise is paired with training, education, professional experience, and high expectations, the result is an incredibly powerful workforce.
That is the lesson I want employers to take from October, and it is exactly why we are going to dive deeply into these topics at the South Carolina Disability Employer Summit.
We will talk honestly about what disability inclusion looks like beyond slogans like recruiting and retaining disabled talent, addressing bias in hiring and promotion, creating accessible workplaces, understanding accommodations, supporting employees through policy and practice, and recognizing the value of disability expertise and leadership.
This summit is an opportunity for employers, human resources professionals, business leaders, workforce partners, educators, advocates, and disabled professionals to learn from one another and leave with practical strategies they can use immediately. We will have meaningful conversations about the good, the bad, and the truth about disability employment and what it takes to move from simply talking about inclusion to building workplaces where disabled people can succeed.
Get your tickets and join us at the South Carolina Disability Employer Summit. Bring your questions, your experiences, and your willingness to challenge old assumptions. This is where we turn awareness into action.
Do not hire someone with a disability because it is Disability Employment Awareness Month. Do not hire us because you feel sorry for us, and please do not hire us because you need a picture to show you accept everyone.
Hire us because we are qualified. Promote us because we are good. Pay us because our expertise is valuable. Protect our rights because access is not optional. And stop being surprised when we outperform your expectations.
I have spent enough of my life watching disabled people be underestimated. I have also spent enough of my career watching what happens when we are finally given the opportunity to prove those assumptions wrong.
I will take that win every single time.
This conversation doesn’t end here. We’re going to dig into all of it at the 2026 Hire Me SC Employer Summit—the good, the bad, the uncomfortable, and what employers can actually do differently. I can’t wait to see leading Employers and Disability Service Providers there. Get your tickets now before they’re gone!
Kimberly Tissot, Able SC CEO
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