How to Celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month — Part 2

This piece follows my prior piece, titled “How to Celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month — Part 1,” and discusses additional ways to observe and commemorate National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM).

To recognize NDEAM, your agency can hold NDEAM public events, including:

• General NDEAM events — For example, on October 7, 2026, the Massachusetts’ Permanent Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities planned its biennial “National Disability Employment Awareness Month Celebration.” This hybrid event at the Massachusetts State House included speakers and a presentation of awards relating to employment of people with disabilities
• Employment First Summit — These multi-faceted events can help foster inclusive workplaces in your community. Washington, D.C., has been hosting Employment First Summits for the past several years.
• Career fairs for people with disabilities — These provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities to meet employers and potentially interview for jobs. Such fairs could include skill-building sessions for people with disabilities that could cover networking, interviewing, and more.  
• Events discussing government initiatives regarding employment of people with disabilities — For example, in October 2026, the Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Commission for the Blind and Oregon Department of Education held a webinar series to highlight disability employment services and the contributions that people with disabilities bring to jobs and communities. The first webinar in the series was called “Oregon as a Model Employer: Promoting employment and career advancement for people with disabilities in state and local government.”
• Training events to educate the community about employing people with disabilities — Oregon’s webinar series in October 2026 included a session called “What is ableism and why it matters in the workplace.”

At these public events, your agency can honor self-advocates (i.e., people with disabilities), offices, and allies who have done important work regarding employing people with disabilities. For example, the District of Columbia’s 2026 Employment First Summit included a ceremony recognizing the following 2026 Employment First Champion Awards:

• Employment Support Professional Excellence Award — recognizing someone “such as a Job Coach, Job Developer, or Direct Support Professional, who provides exceptional support to people with disabilities in achieving their employment goals”
• Trailblazer Award — recognizing an individual with a disability “who has demonstrated innovation, leadership, perseverance, and achievement throughout their employment journey”
• Inclusive Workplace Award — recognizing an employer or department “that demonstrates a strong commitment to creating an inclusive workplace where employees have the opportunities and resources they need to succeed”

Award recipients can be motivated to continue their important work while others are motivated to make their offices more welcoming for people with disabilities.

You and your workplaces can externally commemorate NDEAM by:

• Issuing a proclamation and posting it in your office and other areas. — The U.S. Department of Labor provides a “NDEAM Sample Proclamation” online. For example, recently, under the leadership of Ohio’s Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jim Tressel, Ohio released an NDEAM proclamation, which recognizes Ohio “as a Disability Inclusion State and Model Employer of Individuals with Disabilities” (established by Executive Order 2019-03D).
• Issuing a press release and/or article that discusses how your agency is commemorating NDEAM and encourages employment of people with disabilities. — The U.S. Department of Labor provides an “NDEAM Sample Participation Press Release” online. For a state-specific example, on September 21, 2026, the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) released an article, titled “October Will Celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month,” that discusses DRS NDEAM-related work. The article quotes DRS Executive Director Sterling Zearling as saying, “But individuals with a disability often face barriers when it comes to finding a job. So, during this month, and really all year long, we want employers to know hiring someone with a disability can be one of the best decisions they make.” For another example, a Missouri Disability Portal article contains many links and information on the month’s 2026 theme, “Background & History of NDEAM,” as well as sections called “Missouri celebrates NDEAM,” “Ideas to celebrate NDEAM,” “Employment Resources for Missourians with disabilities,” “Other Resources,” and “Public Service Announcement Campaigns.”
• Posting on social media. — When posting on social media, your agency can use the #NDEAM hashtag. The U.S. Department of Labor also provides graphics to use in social media posts. Human-Solutions.net provides example Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter (now X) posts. For example, one tweet is “What does workplace inclusion look like? Share your images during National Disability Employment Awareness Month. #NDEAM.”
• Creating and posting videos about NDEAM in general, contributions of employees with disabilities, or both. — The U.S. Department of Labor posted a 2026 NDEAM-related video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdrG4kItOKs.

Although NDEAM is just one month, government agencies should treat employees with disabilities well all the time. Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) understands that NDEAM’s 2026 theme is not really just about October 2026. The department wrote, “In Oregon, we see this theme play out every month of the year in the countless ways people with disabilities bring value to their jobs and communities.”

Miriam Edelman, MPA, MSSW, is a Washington, D.C.,-based policy professional. Her experience includes policy work for Congress. Miriam’s undergraduate degree is from Barnard College, Columbia University, with majors in political science and urban studies. She has a master’s in public administration from Cornell University, where she was inducted into the national honorary society for public administration. She has a master’s of science in social work (focusing on policy) from Columbia University. She is a commissioner of the DC Commission on Persons with Disabilities. Miriam aims to continue her career in public service. She is especially interested in democracy, civic education, District of Columbia autonomy, diversity, health policy, women’s issues, and disabilities.