Wells Fargo Partners with University of Connecticut for Much-Needed Neurodiversity Training Program, By: Jason Hahr

  


Above is a picture of the Wells Fargo corporate logo. It is red and white text. 


Last October, Disability Scoop published an article in observance of Disability Employment Awareness Month, which takes place every October. The article focused on a new partnership between Wells Fargo Bank and the University of Connecticut. The program aims to increase training in corporate America and help employers better accommodate their neurodivergent employees.

According to the article, there is a large portion of neurodivergent people in America who are either unemployed or underemployed. Indeed, Judy Reilly, the executive director of UConn's center for neurodiversity, said the partnership with Wells Fargo shows promise and is the first of its kind to focus specifically on neurodiversity.

The article is brief, but I have attached it at the bottom of this post for those who are interested in reading the full version. However, it got me thinking. If a partnership like the one between Wells Fargo and UConn is possible for corporate America, isn't it time that similar partnerships occur in other aspects of employment? America and society are, in general, "woke". I use the term here, even though I don't like it. Oftentimes, society forgets to include people with disabilities or people who are neurodivergent. It's almost as if we're an afterthought.

Don't believe me? After reading the article in Disability Scoop, it prompted me to reflect on my personal experience with teaching. I think that the school I attended at the time I was pursuing my Master's and teacher's certification was looking for every excuse not to include people with disabilities. If they had realized that my aide is there to help me with tasks that I physically cannot do, they would have understood that any aide I would have used during my student teaching would not have impacted the quality of the work. However, because they were not open to neurodiversity, they shut down the opportunity before I was even allowed to attempt teaching.

I am not looking backwards; I am happy with my life now, and I believe I have found my true purpose through journalism. I bring up the teaching example to argue that if schools and other parts of society were more open to neurodiversity, the world might be a better place. In closing, I applaud Wells Fargo and any other organizations that engage in similar partnerships in the future. Perhaps what Wells Fargo started can be duplicated, and corporate America can lead the way as an example for not only the rest of America on how to be inclusive, but also for the rest of the world. Only time will tell.

Until next time, your friendly neighborhood, super advocate, Jay

Resource: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2024/10/22/major-corporations-to-get-neurodiversity-training/31124/

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