ADA Sign Depot Blog

When Glynis Harvey and Mark Cagley opened Hidden Manna Cafe four years ago, the couple did not set out to hire people with disabilities.

But then a social service agency asked: Might the Matteson restaurant employ a woman with cerebral palsy? How about a man with mild blindness? A customer asked for an application for her sister, who has an intellectual disability.

Harvey and Cagley were good people to ask. They have twin sons, now 28, with autism, and so they understood how difficult it is for people with disabilities to find jobs. They also knew how hard they worked once given the chance.

“As long as you are willing to work,” Harvey said, “we are willing to work with you.”

“Words matter, and President Trump’s choice of words highlight his disregard for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who have made it clear for decades that the term retarded is considered a slur against them,” said Marty Ford, senior executive officer for public policy at The Arc. “This incident should not go unchecked, it should be a reminder that the civil rights of people with disabilities matter, and that hateful language that degrades them should not be accepted in schools, in places of work and certainly not in the highest office of our government.”