Go to previous article
Go to next article
Return to 2005 Table of Contents
Presenter(s)
Sarah Endicott
Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA) at Georgia Tech
490 10th Street
Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone: 404-894-1411
Fax: 404-894-9320
Email: sarah.endicott@catea.org
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 21.3 million people, or 11.9% of the U.S. workforce-age population has a disability that affects their ability to work. Additionally, there are 4.5 million people age 65 and over who are still employed - more than 1-in-8 people in this age group.
For these individuals, workplace accommodations can be essential to their employment. Research and practice have shown that workplace accommodations, including assistive technology, can help people with disabilities find and maintain employment. Data collected from assistive technology users for a 1993 survey for the National Council on Disability indicated that:
• 90% of employed persons with disabilities reported that assistive technology helped them work faster and better
• 67% reported that assistive technology helped them to obtain employment
• 15% reported that the equipment enabled them to keep their jobs.
Legislation is in effect that requires employers to provide accommodations for employees with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act mandate the need to provide workplace accommodations, barrier free environments, and access to electronic and information technology.
This presentation will introduce the process of making workplace accommodations. Accommodations examples will be presented for commonly encountered barriers in the workplace, including strategies, environmental modifications and application of assistive technology. Information on resources will be distributed.
The Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA) has more than fifteen years experience in evaluating and accommodating clients in the workplace. Clients to the Center pursued or were employed in a variety of job types, including Office and Administrative Support, Sales, Production, and Food Preparation and Serving. Accommodation recommendations were implemented using both off-the-shelf and custom designed and manufactured solutions. Rehabilitation engineers, industrial designers, occupational therapists, and rehabilitation counselors learned through their experiences in providing accommodations who needed to be involved in the process and the information needed to successfully complete the task.
Case studies developed at the Center feature former CATEA clients and describe their experiences in receiving accommodations in the workplace. A video series has been created from these case studies looking at the use of assistive technology in office, production and food service settings.
The award of the Workplace Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center to CATEA has allowed more in-depth study of workplace issues. Current research projects include a study of user needs in today's workplace, and a retrospective study of former CATEA clients to determine the outcomes of accommodations that were implemented. Development projects include redesign of user interfaces for CNC machinery, and design and construction of a supine workstation that allows a person to work on a computer in positions from seated upright to fully reclined.
Session attendees will benefit from CATEA's experiences in the area of workplace accommodations by:
• Increasing their knowledge of the reasons accommodations are needed
• Learning a process for evaluation of user needs in the workplace
• Making better informed decisions regarding workplace accommodations based on outcomes of past experience
• Learning the needs of current workers with disabilities and their solutions for barriers in the workplace
• Obtaining resource information for future reference.
Go to previous article
Go to next article
Return to 2005 Table of Contents