A new job can do wonders for self-esteem, not to mention, your bottom line. But imagine if you're a worker with disabilities. Getting a job means overcoming the odds that often seem stacked against you.

Tricia Sloma recently met a young woman who not only does a great job for her new employer, she does a great job teaching others about accepting people with different abilities.

Emily Rudlaff graduated in 2008 and has worked at Linton's Enchanted Gardens as an office assistant ever since.

"I love Emily. She is just going to be a great addition to our office. When I met her I fell in love with her immediately," said Jennifer Fultz of Linton's Enchanted Gardens. "I wish more and more people in the community would recognize that when you focus on the people's abilities, their disabilities become unimportant."

"People don't understand. The word disability," Emily said. "They think the word disability means you don't know how to do anything. That's not true. It just means that we have trouble doing certain things, but we're really smart in other ways. Just give us some more time and just be patient with us. And we'll do great."

Emily keeps busy on the job, too.

"It's not a gimme job," Fultz said. "I have a lot of tasks that need to be done on a regular basis that are taking away from things I could be doing for Linton's. And they're things that Emily is fully capable of doing."

Having a job makes Emily and her family very proud.

"They've been the best support system I could ever ask for," Emily said. "My parents, my sisters. When my sister found out I got the job. She went out and bought me flowers. She's the best sister in the world to me."

Emily got her job through the employment assistance program at ADEC, an organization that helps disabled residents with jobs or social activities.

Linton's is holding a fundraiser that benefits ADEC this weekend, October 15-16: pumpkin bowling! For more details about that, click on the Big Red Bar.