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PurposeEmployers increasingly seek a competitive advantage through inclusive hiring practices and recruitment of persons with disabilities. Early research indicates when employers consider individuals for their strengths rather than solely for their needs, the organization prospers. However, details about how companies pursue a disability inclusive workplace and the effect of those efforts are poorly understood.Design/methodology/approachAn inductive qualitative case study approach was utilized to understand one biotechnology corporation and their approach to recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees with disabilities. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted.FindingsResults suggest that when the company lives its mission around wellness and inclusivity, they benefit from working with and learning from a range of perspectives, furthering their growth. Placing equal emphasis on hiring a diverse workforce and prioritizing supports and wellness practices lead to greater productivity and innovation.Practical implicationsThis study illustrates how one company successfully recruits and hires persons with disabilities, resulting in benefits to their financial bottom line and to the organizational culture.Originality/valueThis paper offers insights for other companies intentionally hiring persons with disabilities, providing accommodations in the workplace, and creating an organizational culture where all employees feel valued and supported. These steps have a direct impact on employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

Youth and adults with autism are being recognized for their ability to contribute to the labor market. This recognition has led to a growing number of employer-driven initiatives to recruit and hire from among this population. This descriptive case study presents a company-driven collaboration between a global consultancy management firm and a private human services provider to implement effective disability-related employer practices to hire and retain an employee with autism. Perceptions of implementation, effectiveness, and outcomes were collected. Results suggest that the changes made to accommodate a worker with autism were perceived positively by employees and had the potential to increase company performance. Company characteristics and proactive modifications to the workplace were identified as keys to success. Positive impacts on company performance, employee perceptions of the company, and overall perspectives regarding disability were reported across different levels of the company. Recommendations for future implementation and replication are discussed. This case study implicates a potential model for companies to use when working to recruit and retain employees with autism. Rehabilitation counselors have an opportunity to help this growing number of motivated employers create effective initiatives that benefit both the company and the employee with autism.

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School-to-community living transition programs aim to support students with neurodiversity to achieve productive community living and participation, including employment, leisure and recreation, learning and knowledge acquisition, interpersonal relationships, and self-care. Neurodiversity refers to variations in ability on the spectrum of human neurocognitive functioning explained by typicality in brain activity and related behavioral predispositions. Students with neurodiversity are three to five times more likely to experience community living and participation disparities as well as lack of social inequity compared to their typically developing peers. School-to-community transition programs for students with neurodiversity are implemented collaboratively by schools, families of students, state and federal agencies, and the students’ allies in the community. Each student with neurodiversity is unique in his or her school-to-community transition support needs. For that reason, school-to-community transition programs for students with neurodiversity should address the student’s unique community living and participation support needs. These programs address modifiable personal factors of the student with neurodiversity important for successful community living, such as communication skills, self-agency, and self-advocacy. They also address environmental barriers to community living and participation premised on disability related differences, including lack of equity in community supports with neurodiversity. The more successful school-to-community living transition programs for students with neurodiversity are those that adopt a social justice approach to full community inclusion.