In October we celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) by spotlighting people with disabilities who are out in the workforce.
As we celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) we are going to highlight Michael Lincoln-McCreight who works as a scare actor at SeaWorld Orlando's Howl-O-Scream and a delivery driver.
Michael lives in Orlando where he works and serves as a self-advocate locally and statewide. He serves as the parliamentarian on the FL SAND board of directors and is the president of MAGICAL, FL SAND's self-advocacy group serving Greater Orlando. Earlier this year Michael was instrumental in advocating for the passage of the Supported Decision Making bill in the Florida State Legislature.
Hometown: Orlando
Employer: SeaWorld Orlando
Position: Scare Actor for Howl-O-Scream
Past Employment: Universal Orlando Resort and security officer
What is the best advice or encouragement you’d give to a fellow self-advocate about accessing or keeping employment? The best advice I can give is if you love your job and you want to keep doing it, do anything you put your mind to.
What advice would you give employers about hiring a person with a disability? The best advice I would give to employers is to understand your employees who have disabilities.
What is the most significant employment-related challenge you've faced as a person with a disability? I would say making friends and having people understand about disabilities.
How should we be advocating for better employment practices in Florida? I would say disability training and autism awareness. Training is a big thing.
Which agency (VR, APD, CIL, etc.) was the most helpful to you in accessing and maintaining employment? Vocational Rehabilitation was very helpful, but I mostly found all my jobs on my own.
In your opinion, how does employing a person with a disability help their quality of life? It basically makes them feel good about themselves, knowing that they make an impact, and make a difference in people's lives.
Florida Self-Advocacy Central would like to thank Michael for his time and thoughtful answers.
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