Ashley Vega 0:05
You're on your way to your first meeting of the day. But when you get to the room, you realize that there's no space for your wheelchair around the table. Great. Now you have to get everyone's attention to ask them to move and pull some chairs out. So there's enough room for you. Your co workers do this all the time, even though they know you use a wheelchair, you were ready to get started. But now you feel frustrated. And like your needs, once again weren't considered.

Uh, they booked this room? The one where that one light flickers, and the ventilation system rattles. You try to focus but you can already feel yourself becoming more and more anxious. Every new sound a pencil tapping... a chair squeaking... makes the sensory overload you're experiencing, worse, and worse.

None of your other colleagues have PTSD, but they've definitely heard you bring up your triggers before. You thought that maybe they start taking them into account when booking meeting rooms. Apparently not. Every time you're faced with seeming difficult by asking to switch meeting rooms, or you risk having a full blown panic attack in the middle of a meeting.

This morning, you woke up and found that you're barely able to set up right. You have a meeting and you know your co workers are expecting everyone to physically come in. You've tried in the past to get your team to adopt a more flexible schedule, at least some of the time, but it hasn't gone well. "Listen, I've got two kids. So I know what chronic fatigue feels like. Even if you've had a rough night, we still need everyone to come in. It's better for collaborating." You feel trapped and upset. You physically feel awful. But you've already gotten the impression that your co workers will think you're faking it or not being a team player if you dial in instead.

Situations like these are daily occurrences for the more than 1 billion people around the world with a disability. In the US alone, disability affects one out of every four people. That percentage might surprise you. After all, that's a huge portion of the population. But the term disability actually covers a broad range of conditions. It's important to understand both the range of disabilities that exist and how common they are. Because most workplaces aren't as inclusive or supportive as they could be. More than just ensuring ADA compliance and inclusive workspace is one where all of us have the space support and accommodations to bring our unique skills and perspectives to the workplace. It's about creating an environment where we feel safe, respected, and valued. Disability is complex. And we'll cover a lot more in this module. We'll explore the range of disabilities that exist. We'll discuss systems and processes that your company or department can put in place to ensure your work environment is supportive and welcoming. But perhaps the most important, we'll discuss how you, yes you, can take actionable steps today to build a more inclusive and welcoming work environment.