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Tallahassee Man Exemplifies Disability Employment Awareness Month

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Matt Lafollette is a happy, content state employee. The Tallahassee man also has a developmental disability. During October, which is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Florida's Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) is putting the spotlight on Floridians like Lafollette who have careers and fulfilling lives.

Lafollette is diagnosed with Down syndrome, which can cause cognitive disabilities. The outgoing young man has successfully made the transition from school placement to a job at APD. He has worked as a clerk in the agency's Central Office in Tallahassee for over three years, performing a variety of filing tasks, sorting mail, collating resource binders, and handling the office's paper recycling program.

"Matt is very dependable and meticulous," says J.B. Black, the agency's supported employment and training manager. "He follows directions to the most minute detail. He enjoys socializing and gets along well with everyone. He's become part of our office family."

According to Black, being employed has helped Lafollette to strive and make progress. "I think it's given Matt an opportunity to become more mature," he says. "And it's definitely introduced him to different activities that he hadn't done before."

"I love it here," says Lafollette of his APD workplace. "Everyone treats me right, and they call me by the right name."

During the summer, Lafollette was one of several people with disabilities that acted in a play called "Mystery at the Dodge City Disco," sponsored by Pyramid, Inc.---a nonprofit organization providing creative opportunities to people with disabilities. The Tallahassee show was such a big hit that he and three other actors recently gave an encore performance at a conference in Daytona Beach.

Lafollette has two ties with APD. Not only does the agency employ him, it also has been providing him with services so that he can live and work in his community. These services include support coordination, supported employment, adult day training, and transportation.

"My hope is that, one day, employers will hire folks like Matt as a matter of course," Black asserts. "People with disabilities aren't disabled---especially when they're getting the job done!"

The Agency for Persons with Disabilities currently serves more than 35,000 Floridians with developmental disabilities of mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and Prader-Willi syndrome. For more information on the agency, call 1-866-APD-CARES or visit www.apd.myflorida.com.

CAPTION FOR AVAILABLE PHOTO---Matt Lafollette collects wastepaper for recycling at the Tallahassee headquarters of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.

REMINDER FOR MEDIA---When reporting on stories about people with disabilities, remember to use language that puts the person first, rather than the disability. For example, use phrases such as "persons with disabilities" (instead of "the disabled") and "person who uses a wheelchair" (rather than "wheelchair-bound").