Some time ago, a young girl was in line with her mother at the grocery store. Ahead of them, some other shoppers were teasing a man for the way he talked. The man clearly had a disability. So the 5-year-old marched up to the shoppers and said, “That’s my friend. You need to be nice to him.”

When I heard this story, I was awestruck by the young girl. She sees that each person has gifts to share, regardless of their ability. And she’s fearless about standing up for what she knows is right. In fact, her lesson is one that we should all remember: It’s what’s inside that counts.

Unfortunately, many childcare programs, schools, recreational programs and employers have difficulty seeing what’s on the inside when there is a perceptible disability on the outside. Families of children and adults with disabilities repeatedly encounter barriers as they seek environments where their children can be truly welcomed — and the end result is a lack of inclusion and engagement in our community.

For infants and preschool children with disabilities, barriers to individual attention can often mean further delays in development. In the right environment, with inclusion and therapy, the effects of many conditions can be mitigated — and the course of a child’s life can be changed.

Teenagers with disabilities ask the same questions as their peers when dreaming about their future. “Can I go to college?” “What kind of a job am I qualified for?” But they’re always forced to ask an additional question: “What are my options, given the barriers I face?” In a supportive environment, people with disabilities can perform as well as or better than their peers, but community environments do not always welcome teens who are perceived as different.

For adults in the North Puget Sound, misperceptions about disabilities become hurdles to employment and independence. People with disabilities, especially developmental disabilities, have a much higher unemployment rate than the rest of the population: between 65 percent and 70 percent. Yet businesses that choose inclusion report that their employees with disabilities are staff models for loyalty, dedication and hard work. And the business is more successful by being inclusive.

The communities of Arlington and Marysville can be exemplary in the region by providing environments like the ones I mentioned above, where people of all abilities can thrive. An environment can be a workplace, school, home or entire community — any place where people engage and interact with each other.

Creating inclusive environments means looking beyond what you think you know about people with Down Syndrome, Autism or Cerebral Palsy — and finding out more about the person behind the label. If you do that, you’ll likely learn that adults with disabilities work, pay rent and buy groceries. And that kids with disabilities love to sing, learn and play with their friends. I’m sure you see those same activities happening at your house, so perhaps you’ll find that you can easily relate to people with disabilities.

Another way to promote inclusion is by getting involved in Northwest Center’s awareness campaign, which is launching this month in conjunction with Disability Awareness Month. My first hope as you see our It’s What’s Inside That Counts message is that you will take the initiative to learn more about people with disabilities than you knew before. If you’re willing to take it one step further and become an advocate, I have the perfect opportunity for you.

Northwest Center has posters for the It’s What’s Inside That Counts campaign, which feature replications of the billboards we’ve created. I’m asking you to contact us for one of the posters, and then hang it at your workplace, grocery store or coffee shop. If you and I — and all the other people who care about people with disabilities — work together, we can ensure that stories like the one about the girl in the grocery store become an everyday occurrence.

Tom Everill is the President & CEO of Northwest Center and will be writing monthly columns for this publication. Contact him at inside@nwcenter.org if there are topics related to people with disabilities that would interest you.