BOB WOODS' DAYS are not only a blur of activity but of shapes and colors, too. Woods, director of global IT for Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Ampacet, a plastics manufacturer with $750 million in annual sales, is legally blind. With the aid of adaptive technology, such as screen magnifiers and e-mail-text-to-speech readers, and with a nearly flawless memory, Woods not only copes, he surmounts his visual limitations.

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"Bob succeeds because he does not think of himself as disabled," says Woods' direct report, Mohammed Kermanshaghi, Ampacet's system administrator. "Nor do we. Since he does not ask for or expect special treatment from us, we treat him the same as everyone else," he says.

Woods dispels the public's widely held view of the disabled population. The reality, say advocates for the disabled, is that people with functional limitations often work harder than their nondisabled colleagues, provided they have the opportunity to work. Only about 30 percent of people with mobility, hearing, speech, or vision limitations work regularly, according to a 2000 Harris Poll.

Who, or what, is to blame? Some say it's a lack of job opportunities for some disabled people. Others blame a lack of commitment by the general population to overcoming workplace challenges that those with limitations face. Others point to transportation that's inaccessible, inconvenient, or unavailable to the disabled.

Some studies suggest that it's simply too hard for disabled people to get a job, and others conclude that it's too easy to not work and to accept government or private assistance instead.

In the past 10 years, federal disability rolls for various types of disabilities have more than doubled to nearly 11 million people. That figure climbed despite technology advances that now make it easier for people with disabilities to work, especially in IT. Adaptive equipment, such as magnifying screens, text-to-speech converters, and sticky keyboards, can help level the playing field by enabling workers with physical limitations to take orders, solve customers' problems, operate machinery, and handle other job functions -- much like the working population at large.

"My vision has not improved but adaptive technology has," says Woods, who was promoted from director of IT services to global IT director this year. "When I first started here nine years ago, I used closed-circuit television so I could write code. I put my writing pad under the camera and it enlarged the writing. Today, I have software and hardware products that allow me to do anything that anyone else can do." Woods, now 40 years old, has been legally blind since the first grade. He started his career with Ampacet as a programmer and became director of IT services four years ago.


One of the most important adaptive aids for Woods is Magnifier, a free utility that Microsoft bundles with Windows. "Before, if someone needed to show me something on the monitor they had to come to [my workstation] because I had special equipment on my computer. Now because of this simple utility, I can go to their desk," Woods says.

Not all adaptive equipment is free, but most is comparatively inexpensive according to information available at the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a not-for-profit group affiliated with the University of West Virginia in Morgantown, W.Va. JAN (www.jan.wvu.edu) provides advice on accommodations for disabled employees, employers, and entrepreneurs. JAN's ongoing research reveals that 80 percent of companies who have installed special accommodations to assist handicapped employees report that the average cost was less than $1,000 per person. JAN also reports the companies had an average return of $29 for every dollar invested in making the accommodation.

Ampacet spent about $5,000 for Woods' equipment. Bob DeFalco, Ampacet's president, says that investment combined with Woods' work ethic has repaid Ampacet many times over. "The desire to succeed is the very characteristic a knowledgeable employer looks for [in a candidate]. For employees with disabilities, an employer should also be willing to level the playing field to a reasonable extent," DeFalco says.

But technology can only go so far in compensating for a physical limitation. Woods has also developed a secret coping weapon.

"Bob compensates for his lack of vision with a fantastic memory. It is absolutely amazing what this man can remember and he never needs to take notes. Such a memory is an asset in a business where things change so rapidly," says Yves Carette, who worked with Woods and is now the general manager of Ampacet's office in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

"I don't believe my memory is a God-given talent," responds Woods. "It happened because I had no choice. With my level of vision, I had to commit everything to memory."

Getting a break

Statistically, Woods is one of a fortunate few. He found employment at a company where management was not put off by his disability. Many other disabled job seekers with similar IT skills are not so fortunate.

The 2000 Harris Poll of 1,000 adult Americans with disabilities reported that "Employment continues to be the area with the widest gulf between those who are disabled and those who are not." The poll also found that although two out of three working-age people with disabilities would prefer to work, only 32 percent are employed full or part-time compared to 80 percent without disabilities.

The Harris poll found that more survey respondents with physical limitations are working now than ever before. For example, 56 percent of respondents with disabilities who say they are able to work are working, compared to 46 percent in 1986. Moreover, almost 80 percent of people with disabilities have graduated from high school today, compared to 60 percent in 1986.

Most of the people with disabilities who work or who want to work but aren't have encountered barriers from an actual or potential colleague or supervisor who has questioned whether they could do the job.

"I know there are jobs that I didn't get. They just weren't willing to give me the chance to prove myself," says Woods. "When I applied here, I could imagine the interviewers asking themselves, 'Can this man do the job? Can he be as effective as someone else?' I brought in samples of my work [to Ampacet interviewers]. They saw that I could produce what they wanted. They were satisfied then. I believe they still are."

"Originally, there were a lot of questions about Bob's ability to do the job," says Carette. "He acts, and I see him, as a person with no limitations. He tries and succeeds at everything. He always finds a way."

Ampacet President DeFalco reinforces that conviction and adds that when a worker is comfortable with his or her disability, he or she can outwardly redirect the strength that was called on initially to help him or her deal with the resulting challenges.

Good for business

Managers at companies that hire disabled workers know that such workers often come to the table with a greater willingness to work than do other employees.

"It has been my experience that when people who have a disability are given the chance to prove themselves, they produce more than someone who is not challenged," says Robert Oakes, director of Ampacet's human resources department.

The practice of hiring employees with physical limitations can increase good will and sales, too. "Studies show that people are more likely to purchase goods and services from companies that are disability-friendly," says Craig Gray, director of employment programs for the National Organization on Disability.

"When you're physically challenged you must bust your butt every day to show your company that their confidence in you was deserved," says Woods. "And as situations change, you have to show them nothing will ever stop you from doing the job you were hired to do."