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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey (please refer to the chart below), only 29 percent of people with disabilities are in the labor force and only 18 percent work full-time. Meanwhile, 82 percent of all working-age Americans are in the labor force, and 65 percent are working full-time. In that survey, 4.2 million people reported being limited to the kind or amount of work they could do, and only 714,000 Americans with disabilities reported having an accessible work environment, including hand rails or ramps. It is clear that the benefits of AT have yet to reach many segments of the American workplace.
Two-thirds of those unemployed people with disabilities have a desire to work. For many of those, the key to finding and retaining work is AT.
Both federal and state government have realized the importance of AT in the lives of people with disabilities and the impact on their ability to work and live independently.
AT can have a direct impact on the productivity of a person with a disability in the workplace. Devices range in costs, sophistication and universal application. Twenty-nine percent of accommodations, such as these inexpensive devices, made by employers cost less than $100. Even more complicated AT, such as voice recognition or screen-reading software and Braille typewriters, can cost less than $500.
Normal Accommodation: As in the case with a simple telephone, models are available with large buttons, volume control, or a headset. Other simple AT can include a talking calculator, a “lazy Susan” file holder, or a can opener that can be used with one hand.
Universal Design: Further, AT includes some universal design technologies that are useful to everyone, such as instant messenger, speaker-phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), lever door handles, and automatic door openers.
The most well-known law regarding the rights of people with disabilities in the workplace is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed by President George Herbert Bush in 1990. The ADA is a federal law that makes discrimination in the workplace based on disability illegal. The ADA and subsequent laws were designed to fully integrate people with disabilities into society, including the workforce.
Important articles of legislation include the following:
To gain ADA protection, a worker must be:
Under the ADA, a worker has the right to request reasonable accommodations to help in performing the job. Reasonable accommodations
The worker and the employer share responsibility in helping the employee be productive. Though the employee has rights, he or she may need to educate the employer on his or her rights and the needs and costs of accommodation, including the purchase of AT devices.
The following organizations can provide assistance in assessing the needs of an individual with a disability:
The worker and the employer share responsibility in helping the employee be productive. Though the employee has rights, he or she may need to educate the employer on his or her rights and the needs and costs of accommodation, including the purchase of AT devices.
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Employers were also fearful of the cost of making those accommodations. Forty percent of employers surveyed believed that providing accommodations for workers with disabilities may be difficult or costly.
Because of a lack of knowledge of ADA compliance laws, many employers scrutinized a person with a disability prior to hiring because they feel it would be difficult to terminate them if the employment did not work out. Workers are often placed in a tough position of asking for accommodation that could be construed as “special treatment.”
Funding is probably the biggest barrier for AT in the workplace. Though, as indicated earlier, many AT devices are relatively inexpensive, there are significant issues when obtaining AT to be used at work.
Supplying AT as an accommodation to the worker is an expense to the employer. However, in focus groups conducted by the Community Research for Assistive Technology (CR4AT) project, 100 percent of respondents who had their AT devices funded through their employer reported a positive experience. If the employer doesn’t want to pay for the equipment, there are several options.
There are also state and federal tax breaks that can ease the burden for employers who are trying to purchase AT for their employees.
People with disabilities are an untapped labor pool for employers who are willing to learn about and become comfortable with the potential benefits of AT. While the law requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations, advocates, lawmakers, and people with disabilities need to help businesses overcome the stigma of disability and fully embrace the hiring of people with disabilities.
Both employers and employees can access the Pacific Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (PDBTAC) at 1-800-949-4232 (www.pacdbtac.org ). Their mission is to build a partnership between the disability and business communities and to promote full and unrestricted participation in society for persons with disabilities through education and technical assistance. PDBTAC serves the business community and public or private entities, who need to know how to better accommodate their clients or employees with disabilities, in accordance with the ADA.
The Job Accommodation Network (800-526-7234) (www.jan.wvu.edu ) works on the accommodations side of employment. They facilitate the employment and retention of workers with disabilities by providing employers, employment providers, people with disabilities, their family members, and other interested parties with information on job accommodations, self-employment, small business opportunities and related subjects.
Resources are available from PDBTAC, Job Accommodation Network, DOR, California’s 29 Independent Living Centers, and the AT Network to help educate employers and help workers with disabilities obtain gainful employment.
Dixon, K.A., D. Kruse, and C. E. Van Horn. 2003. Restricted Access: A Survey of Employers About People with Disabilities and Lowering Barriers to Work, Heldrich Work Trends Survey, v3.6: Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
The AT Network is dedicated to protecting the rights of our consumers and allowing them to remain independent in the community. If you have a question, concern, or a story to share with us then please don't hesitate to contact us:
Toll-Free: 800-390-2699
TTY: 800-900-0706
E-mail: info@atnet.org
Another piece of technology which will work with the computer, a scanner, lets Rache scan class and homework worksheets into the computer. Rachel can then complete the sentences, answer questions, and color in pictures using word processing and painting programs
