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R5: Improving Employment Outcomes for Individuals who Require
AAC
Lead Institution: Pennsylvania State University
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| PURPOSE |
| The goal of the research is to investigate
key barriers to employment, as well as strategies for overcoming
those barriers, as identified by three groups: individuals who
require AAC and are successfully employed, their employers, and
vocational rehabilitation professionals. |
| TARGET POPULATION |
| Persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(ALS), cerebral palsy (CP), autism, aphasia, or traumatic brain
injury that use AAC and are employed, their family members, and
employers and co-workers. |
| PROBLEM |
| For individuals with severe
physical disabilities, employment has remained an elusive goal.
The most recent U.S. Census Bureau data from 1997 indicate that
less than 10% of individuals with severe physical disabilities
are employed. AAC users may face a wide variety of employment
barriers, including technology and skill limitations, lack of
education and job preparation, transportation and architectural
barriers, and attitudinal barriers within society. Individuals
who use AAC and are seeking employment, and the individuals who
support them in this effort, need information on successful strategies
for obtaining and maintaining employment. |
| PROGRESS |
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Projects R5-1 and R5-2: Individuals
with ALS or CP who use AAC and are employed. We completed
an internet-based focus group discussion in which employed individuals
with ALS (Project R5-1) and CP (Project R5-2) who use AAC discussed
supports and barriers related to employment. From the discussion,
we identified key supports and barriers to employment, employment-seeking
strategies, and recommendations to assistive technology manufacturers
to improve the performance of technology in the workplace.
Project R5-3 and R5-4: Employers,
co-workers, and family members of individuals who use AAC.
We completed telephone and email interviews with individuals
who are co-workers and employers (Project R5-3) and family members
(Project R5-4) of individuals who use AAC in the workplace.
Project R5-5: Individuals with autism
who use AAC and are employed. We conducted telephone
and email interviews with the employers, family members, and
employment support professionals of individuals with autism
who use AAC in the workplace.
Project R5-6: A prospective analysis
of supports and barriers to employment for individuals who use
AAC. This study was designed to investigate supports
and barriers to employment as identified by 10 individuals who
use AAC and are seeking employment. Through interviews and record-analysis
we will document the job seeking activities of 10 individuals
who use AAC as they look for a job. To date, we have 3 individuals
scheduled to participate in the study and currently are engaged
in recruitment activities.
Project R5-7: Development of a website
for individuals who use AAC and who are seeking employment.
Using the information obtained in projects 1-5, we are developing
a web-based information site that provides information on supports
and barriers to employment for individuals who use AAC. The
site will provide information in four main categories:
- Research summaries of projects 1-6
- Summaries of other important research
articles and presentations
- "Guided Tours" organized presentations
of information to meet the needs of specific audience members,
including AAC users, employers, family members, manufacturers,
vocational rehabilitation professionals, speech language pathologists,
and educators
- Links to other relevant websites
The individuals participating in Project R5-6 will provide feedback
on the Employment Website, which will assist with the iterative
development of the website. |
| KEY FINDINGS |
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Project R5-1: (ALS) Participants
were employed in a variety of jobs, all involving the use of
computers. Factors described as important to the participants'
continued employment included the nature of employment activities,
necessary supports to employment activities (e.g., the availability
of information and services), and access to appropriate communication
systems. Recommendations to manufacturers included reduced learning
demands, smaller and more portable systems, and more diversity
of function.
Project R5-2: (CP) Participants
were employed in a variety of jobs, most working for government
or public service organizations. Factors identified as key to
preparation for successful employment included appropriate education
and vocational experiences. Community networks, government policies,
and computer technology were identified as important supports
for obtaining employment. Personal characteristics, technology,
supportive co-workers, personal care assistance, and family
supports were described as important supports for maintaining
employment. Recommendations to manufacturers included faster
methods of input that would facilitate spontaneity, including
the development of speech recognition systems for individuals
with dysarthric speech. Participants were also interested in
devices that could interface more effectively and reliably with
other technologies, for example the ability to have private
telephone conversations using an AAC device.
Project R5-3: The benefits
noted were expertise of AAC users in disability-related issues
and a strong work ethic. Barriers to employment included difficulty
with communication, poor access to office technology, inadequate
education, and difficulty arranging personal care in the workplace.
The recommendations to manufacturers were to increase the rate
of communication, increase the number of functions of technology,
and improve the ability of AAC technology to interface with
other technology.
Project R5-4: The key support
of employment was personal characteristics of the individual
using AAC. Barriers included inadequate education and preparation
for the workplace. Recommendations to manufacturers were to
improve the durability of technology and improve the ease of
learning.
Project R5-5: Key supports
of employment were strong work ethic, adequate communication
skills, and positive social skills. Barriers were lack of support
services, unreliable transportation, and negative public attitudes.
Recommendations to manufacturers were to improve the durability
of technology, improve portability, and reduce cost.
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| PARTNERS |
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(the links below will open in a new window)
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| FOR MORE INFORMATION |
David McNaughton, Ph.D.,(Principal Investigator):
dbm2@email.psu.edu
Janice Light, Ph.D: JCL4@psu.edu |
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