From Fortune Small Business/CNN Money:

Debra Ruh’s TecAccess was named one of the Small Business Administration’s top ten success stories in 2008. The company places people with disabilities in technology jobs, and consults with organizations about making hardware, software and websites accessible to those with disabilities.

The mother of an adult daughter with Down syndrome, Ruh realized the value of technology for people with disabilities while volunteering in her daughter’s special education class. “Accessibility used to be about building ramps,” Ruh says. “Now it’s about building ramps to technology.”

Companies say accessible products allow them to be more competitive in the marketplace, and employers say that in some cases employees with disabilities are more motivated. Ruh says employees with disabilities are often more creative since they must solve problems daily, and the cost of meeting ADA requirements for employees with disabilities is usually lower than employers expect — median cost $600.

The company is set up as a for-profit firm because Ruh says “We didn’t want to be marginalized … we wanted to emphasize that this is good for business.” Her profits have grown every year.

See earlier post here.

(David Yellen photo/Fortune Small Business/CNN.com)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 at 9:04 am and is filed under accessibility, business, employment/jobs, personal stories, success stories, technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.