Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Kristin Light Of K•Light Digital Charisma On How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Have a Disability
An Interview With Eric Pines
You don’t have to be an expert at everything. Pick your niche and learn there. I thought I had to be the shining beacon of DEI supremacy to function in this space. This is simply not possible. You can work hard to learn, grow, and tackle your own internal bias, but your professional life will benefit most from a single focus.
As we all know, over the past several years there has been a great deal of discussion about inclusion and diversity in the workplace. One aspect of inclusion that is not discussed enough, is how businesses can be inclusive of people with disabilities. We know that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. What exactly does this look like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experience about the “How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Are Disabled “.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Kristin Light.
Kristin is an employee engagement and workplace neuroinclusion specialist based in Toronto, Canada. She is a published author and award-winning speaker and is currently working on a federal grant-funded project to build a neuroinclusion and suicide prevention program for the rail construction industry.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you ended up where you are?
Of course! I came to this field of work the same way many others do — through lived experience. I struggled for years with undiagnosed mental illness, non-apparent autoimmune conditions, and unaccommodated neurodivergence. I worked hard to mask my challenges behind a sunny, vivacious exterior (I was a professional vintage dancer and instructor) however that behavior drove me towards a brush with suicide and subsequent 8-week stay in a psychiatric hospital. I now speak out to provide tangible solutions and to demystify the real facts behind non-apparent disabilities of the mind to help prevent others from having the same experience.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Persistence. Working in any aspect of diversity, equity, inclusion or accessibility can be especially isolating and demoralizing, more so if you come at it from lived experience. It can be an uphill road to convince others of the importance of this work if they do not personally experience the barriers you speak of. I lived this dichotomy years ago when I sprained my knee in a dance accident. My superiors and co-workers were so helpful while I navigated the cubicles on crutches. They carried my photocopying for me, rearranged my cubicle to allow me to elevate my sore leg, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t have to fetch my own coffee for a week! But my invisible struggles? Those were clearly “all in my head.”
Vulnerability. It’s incredible the difference it can make for others when we are open and transparent about our own challenges. It takes the material away from academic or theoretical and makes it personal. Recently, I gave a talk at my organization’s Town Hall event. I spoke of my own experience and the neuroinclusion project I was now helming. Afterwards, a colleague admitted to me that they’d thought me snobby and unapproachable, but that my vulnerability completely changed their perception of me. You catch more flies with honey, and you gain more allies with truth.
Creativity. As much as I’d love it if simply describing the issue would bring about necessary change, this isn’t always the case. Generally, I’ve had to be really creative in how I get my issues on the meeting agenda. Whether aligning with a national holiday, building a convincing business case, or incorporating play-based methodology, you’ve often got to come at it from new angles that no one has tried before.
Can you share a story about one of your greatest work related struggles? Can you share what you did to overcome it?
With neuroinclusion in particular, I’m up against some pretty strong public opinion. With the new prevalence of ADHD social content, an assumption has developed that implies folks are diagnosing themselves from a single TikTok video. This is simply not the case. A formal diagnosis takes many hours and is only carried out by specialized professionals (generally clinical psychologists). A TikTok video might result in someone’s first lightbulb moment, but the truth is, you’re seeing more and more people with ADHD simply because diagnostic practices are getting better. Women and non-binary folks are finally being included in studies and literature. Generally, when faced with some version of “yeah but everybody thinks they have ADHD these days” I can simply form a rebuttal rich with actual data.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
As part of my grant-funded project, I’m exploring the possibility of incorporating the LEGO® Serious Play methodology into workplace onboarding, team building, focus groups, and conflict resolution, as a way to encourage more equitable participation from all employees. I’m still quite early into this exploration, however early results are quite positive!
I am also designing an outreach campaign aimed specifically at the traditionally ‘tough’ workers in the rail construction industry. The suicide rate in construction is well above other industries (nearly doubling the national average) so I’m engaging members of the workforce themselves to share their stories of mental health struggles and other emotional or cognitive trauma in a new video series. We’re hopeful that hearing the vulnerable shares of others will help stop the silence and encourage folks to take advantage of support services.
Fantastic. Let’s now shift to our discussion about inclusion. Can you tell our readers a bit about your experience working with initiatives to promote Diversity and Inclusion? Can you share a story with us?
When I first started at this organization, the onboarding slide deck included one on DEI that stated, “We treat everyone equally.” Now I know from my work and inclusion training that treating everyone equally is not actually the goal here; that equity is the goal, as we don’t all have the same needs or come from the same starting point. But this was a brand-new concept to many of my colleagues. I had to have nearly a year of delicate (and not so delicate) conversations before it was finally changed, but changed it was. The company was already doing a great job of ensuring diversity in their hiring practices but were falling behind on post-onboarding inclusion. Together, we’ve made huge strides this year.
This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have an inclusive work culture?
Neuroinclusion in particular is far more than just “the right thing to do.” We’re not looking for charity here, we’re looking for progress. For opportunity. An Australian study found that neurodiverse teams were 30–50% more productive than strictly neurotypical ones. That’s a huge degree of improvement that no savvy business person can ignore. Optimizing for neuroinclusion empowers your diverse workforce to flourish in ways that suit their brains and their workstyles, to maximize their output potential without increasing staffing costs. And with educated neurodivergent professionals facing between 30–80% unemployment, there’s a huge talent pool just waiting for you to tap into. Neuroinclusion is just good business sense.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what this looks like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Can you please share a few examples?
Sometimes this plays out as work hour flexibility, in permission to attend medical appointments, or in workstation ergonomics. With neuroinclusion, I’ve been exploring different assistance software to help with focus and reading comprehension. I’m a big fan of Texthelp’s Read&Write toolbar for this. It’s helpful for many folks, even those without any formal neurodivergence or disabilities. Installing something like this company-wide allows each worker to customize their workstyle to suit their needs, without the requirement of doctor’s notes or formal requests to Human Resources. It provides a tool for folks to be self-sufficient and adjust as needed with full dignity and discretion. We call this approach Universal Design and it’s a big part of my advocacy work.
Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities?
I’ll take meetings as an example, as that’s an aspect nearly every worker needs to take part in at some point or another. Are your meetings offered in hybrid format, or is in-person attendance mandatory? If the latter, is transportation assistance provided? Do the meeting invitations arrive in an accessible format to allow for the use of screen-readers and customizable reminders? Have you included a detailed agenda to allow folks to adequately prepare? Have you given multiple options for feedback (both written and verbal?) Do you have a process for order-of-speaker, like hand-gestures or another indicator? These are just a few examples of ways to tweak traditional team meetings to be made more neuroinclusive.
Can you share a few examples of ideas that were implemented at your workplace to help promote disability inclusion? Can you share with us how the work culture was impacted as a result?
Two colleagues and I founded out workplace’s IDEA-Group (IDEA = inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility) this past year. Together, we’ve hosted events for Pride, Caribbean and Latin heritage months, and Indigenous history. People aren’t Petrie dishes; approaching equity from these more familiar angles welcomes folks with disabilities and other intersectional identities. We were also helpful in pressuring for automatic door buttons and other accessibility basics.
I am also co-chair of our organization’s Mental Health Committee, with which we’ve hosted vulnerable events for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention weeks, shared resources on PTSD, offered training for supervisors, and encouraged folks to “buddy up” to encourage conversation. The result has been amazing. You’d be forgiven for thinking that big tough construction workers couldn’t be vulnerable about their mental health, but the reality is completely the opposite. Folks have leaned in hard, and this has opened further discussion on psychological safety and neuroinclusion.
We have a long way to go when it comes to disability inclusion. At least we’re on the path forward.
This is our signature question that we ask in many of our interviews. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started My Career”?
- You will cry. And that’s ok. Get it out, and then get back in there. The first time I vouched for neuroinclusion in a director’s meeting, I was told “That’s not a priority.” I escaped to the bathroom, cried it out, then came back stronger than ever and secured our federal grant funding.
- Join a Community of Practice with DEI pros from other organizations. You’ll need others to bounce ideas (and frustrations) off of. This work can be lonely and demoralizing at times. Find your people. They are all over LinkedIn, and we love getting messages from other DEI pros.
- You don’t have to be an expert at everything. Pick your niche and learn there. I thought I had to be the shining beacon of DEI supremacy to function in this space. This is simply not possible. You can work hard to learn, grow, and tackle your own internal bias, but your professional life will benefit most from a single focus.
- You will be continually learning every single day. Personal growth in equity and inclusion is never “done.” Right when I think I’ve got it figured out, another study will come out throwing everything I believed on its head, or I’ll learn of another form of bias I’ve been complicit in. Lean into this. Progress is bumpy. Enjoy the ride.
- This will be some of the hardest work you’ve ever done, and the most rewarding. Words cannot express what it will mean to you when that first person pulls you aside to say thank you. Live for those moments. Let them fuel your fire.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
Years ago, I heard a radio ad tagline that just stuck with me. I believe it was for a men’s weight loss service, but that’s not why I find it so poignant. The line was, “If you could do it alone, you would have done it already.” I share this quote near the end of every talk I give, as a means of encouraging folks to seek assistance from others and to resist the temptation to struggle alone. There is strength in seeking help.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I’m working on building the idea of living happily ever average. To reframe our measure of achievement from the lofty end goal to instead the very act of exploring. Of trying new things, regardless of whether we can excel at them or not. Disability inclusion is new and scary to many. Enjoy the experience of learning and growing, regardless of how ‘good’ at it you feel you are.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Absolutely. They can learn more about me at kristinlight.ca or on social media at the handle @kristinmelight. I’m most active these days on LinkedIn, posting multiple times per week.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
Mr. Pines has also served as a mediator for numerous federal agencies including serving a year as the Library of Congress’ in-house EEO Mediator. He has also served as an expert witness in federal court for federal employee matters. He has also worked as an EEO technical writer drafting hundreds of Final Agency Decisions for the federal sector.
Mr. Pines’ firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Atlanta, Georgia. His first passion is his wife and five children. He plays classical and rock guitar and enjoys playing ice hockey, running, and biking. Please visit his websites at www.pinesfederal.com and www.toughinjurylawyers.com. He can also be reached at eric@pinesfederal.com.
Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Kristin Light Of K•Light Digital Charisma On How Businesses… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.