Cruise ships and kayaks: welfare and rehabilitation approaches for women with disabilities in poverty

Women with disabilities have low employment rates and about one-third live in poverty. They represent half of the population using either services of the vocational rehabilitation (VR) system or the welfare system, and many use both. Although both systems have made gains in improving their employment status, neither comprehensively addresses the needs of this population. Welfare policy has encouraged state level innovation and moved large numbers of people into employment in as little as five years. State welfare agencies offer a range of services specifically addressing the needs of families with children. VR agencies have decades of specific experience assisting people with disabilities gain employment. Welfare reform has been the cruise ship moving large numbers of people across an ocean. VR agencies have been the kayak builders designing specialized small craft to move specific people along tributaries. What can they learn from each other? Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Systematic evaluation of current control devices used by people with intellectual disabilities in non-immersive virtual environments.

Virtual environments have a role to play in facilitating the acquisition of living skills in people with intellectual disabilities, improving their cognitive skills and providing them with entertainment. However, the currently recommended devices to allow navigation in and interaction with the environments are difficult to use. Using a methodology established in an earlier study, the study aims to systematically document the performance of users with the currently recommended devices in order to (i) inform the design of a usable control device or devices and (ii) act as a baseline against which they can be evaluated. 40 people with severe intellectual disabilities aged 21-67 years used four environments with an equal number of sessions with the different devices being evaluated. Results indicate that when forward movement is provided by the software using the mouse for both navigation and interaction allows better performance both initially and after exposure than using the fire button on the joystick. When the user had to initiate forward movement with the navigation device, the joystick allowed better performance than the arrows on the keyboard. Preventing slippage of the joystick base would make its use much easier and it is suggested that separate devices are retained for navigation and interaction.     

Can I Make a Difference? Efficacy,Employment, and Disability

Political efficacy is a widely studied phenomenon and an important predictor of political participation, but little is known about the political efficacy of the millions of people with disabilities in the United States. This paper reports the results of a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,240 people—stratified to include 700 people with disabilities—following the November 1998 elections. Several measures of efficacy that help predict political activity were found to be significantly lower among people with disabilities than among otherwise similar people without disabilities. Although lower levels of internal efficacy and civic skills could largely be explained by educational and employment gaps, lower levels of other variables (external efficacy, perceived influence of people with disabilities, and perceived treatment of people with disabilities) remained after applying a wide range of controls, indicating that people with disabilities are less likely to see the political system as responsive to them. This perception is concentrated among non–employed people with disabilities. The lower efficacy levels linked to "disability gaps" in employment, income, education, and group attendance appear to account for as much as half of the disability political participation gap; hence, policies intended to increase employment and educational opportunities for people with disabilities have potentially important political effects.     

Diagnose von Intelligenzminderung

The diagnostics of intellectual disability is a complex process which must be carried out on several levels using different methods (multidimensional diagnostics). The expertise of the test leader is at least just as important as the selection of suitable procedures. The responsible use of test procedures requires comprehensive knowledge of test diagnostics and sufficient experience in the examination of people in the appropriate age group with intellectual disabilities and a good familiarity with the procedures used. This article provides information on the epidemiology of intellectual disability, supplies definitions and classification of the grade of severity of intellectual disabilities and describes the diagnostic pathway.     

Poverty and people with intellectual disabilities

Epidemiological studies have consistently reported a significant association between poverty and the prevalence of intellectual disabilities. The available evidence suggests that this association reflects two distinct processes. First, poverty causes intellectual disabilities, an effect mediated through the association between poverty and exposure to a range of environmental and psychosocial hazards. Second, families supporting a child with intellectual disabilities and adults with intellectual disabilities are at increased risk of experiencing poverty due to the financial and social impact of caring and the exclusion of people with intellectual disabilities from the workforce. It is likely that the association between poverty and intellectual disabilities accounts in part for the health and social inequalities experienced by people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Implications for policy and practice are discussed in relation to the funding of services for people with intellectual disabilities and preventative approaches to addressing the health and social inequalities experienced by people with intellectual disabilities and their families.     

Help Wanted: People With Disabilities and Recruitment Advertising

People with disabilities rely heavily on specialist agencies to find suitable employment. This research examines how agency consultants use recruitment ads in their work with clients. The authors analyzed the ads collected by consultants and learned that the ads were dominated by organization and job attributes. The ads contained less information about preferred applicant characteristics and selection procedures. Consultants used the ads to facilitate immediate matches between clients and employers, but they also used the ads to nudge clients in new career directions. The results reflect challenges consultants experience in balancing the long‐term needs of clients against the short‐term demands of employers.     

Disability and employment – overview and highlights

Due to the expected decline in the working-age population, especially in European countries, people with disabilities are now more often recognized as a valuable resource in the workforce and research into disability and employment is more important than ever. This paper outlines the state of affairs of research on disability and employment. We thereby focus on one particular group of people with disabilities, that is to say people with mental disabilities. We define disability according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) of the World Health Organization, by that recognizing that disability results from the interaction of person and environment. Key issues, including the complexity of defining disability, the legal situation in Europe and North America concerning disability at work, and barriers and enablers to employment, are discussed. For each of the topics we show important findings in the existing literature and indicate where more in-depth research is needed. We finalize with a concrete research agenda on disability and employment and provide recommendations for practice.     

Corporate culture and the employment of persons with disabilities

This article addresses key questions arising from the economic and social disparities that individuals with disabilities experience in the United States. For instance, “What role does corporate culture play in the employment of people with disabilities?” “How does it facilitate or hinder their employment and promotional opportunities, and how can corporations develop supportive cultures that benefit people with disabilities, non‐disabled employees, and the organization as a whole?” Corporate culture can create attitudinal, behavioral, and physical barriers for workers and job applicants with disabilities. This research concludes that if the employment prospects of people with disabilities are to be improved significantly, attention must be paid to the ways in which corporate culture creates or reinforces obstacles to employees with disabilities, and how these obstacles can be removed or overcome. Ultimately, we will make the case that corporate culture and societal attitudes must change if people with disabilities are to be accepted and incorporated fully into the workplace. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solidarity and Reciprocity Between People With and Without Disabilities

Governments of contemporary welfare states call upon citizens to care for people with psychiatric or intellectual disabilities. This is deemed sensible and morally just. However, social–psychological theory suggests that stereotyping may stand in the way of engaging into contact. Sociological theory suggests that the giving of help is based on either balanced or generalized reciprocity. Balanced reciprocity depends on one's ability to ‘pay back’, which people with disabilities may have trouble doing. Generalized reciprocity depends on close social bonds, while people with disabilities often have fewer social bonds than other citizens. The current study aimed to find out whether citizens—despite socio‐psychological and sociological theories expecting otherwise—enter into supporting relationships with people with intellectual or psychiatric disabilities. Although we found socio‐psychological and sociological theory to be largely correct, we also found people to be more creative than theory assumes. A smile can be experienced as a return gift, thus including people with intellectual disabilities in the web of balanced reciprocity. Some people create new social bonds to include people with disabilities: they feel close to them because they had a job in the healthcare sector or because they had a family member with a disability. In disadvantaged neighbourhoods, recognition of each other's problems can create feelings of similarity and concomitant reciprocity. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Why people fail to recognize their own incompetence

Successful negotiation of everyday life would seem to require people to possess insight about deficiencies in their intellectual and social skills. However, people tend to be blissfully unaware of their incompetence. This lack of awareness arises because poor performers are doubly cursed: Their lack of skill deprives them not only of the ability to produce correct responses, but also of the expertise necessary to surmise that they are not producing them. People base their perceptions of performance, in part, on their preconceived notions about their skills. Because these notions often do not correlate with objective performance, they can lead people to make judgments about their performance that have little to do with actual accomplishment.     

Vocational evaluation: A primer

Vocational evaluation (VE) is a comprehensive assessment process that can be used to inform assessment of people with barriers to employment other than the physical or mental disabilities for which it is typically used. This article defines components of VE as established by an international health and human services accreditation organization. The author's experience as a vocational evaluator and rehabilitation program supervisor serves as a reference. Implications for expanding its use and future research are discussed.     

Frequent Versus Non-frequent Prompts and Task Performance in Persons with Severe Intellectual Disability

Abstract

This study extended the evaluation of frequent vs non-frequent prompts to support task performance with people with severe intellectual disability. Three participants were involved in the study. The data indicated that the frequent prompts strategy promoted higher levels of on-task behaviour and correct responding for 2 participants and on-task behaviour for 1 participant. The relation of these data with previous findings and their implications for daily occupation programmes for persons with severe developmental disabilities are discussed     

Staying in the Race: Counselor Visits and Job Search Confidence Among People With Disabilities

Support that helps job seekers maintain confidence might decrease unemployment rates among people with disabilities. In this study, clients described their employment barriers (disability, education, and work history) and then reported their job search confidence 3 times at 6‐month intervals. Their employment support agency provided information about the support (counseling visits, support hours, and financial resources) it delivered. Clients with more disabilities and education barriers experienced declines in job search confidence unless they received intensive levels of employment counseling. Three visits to a counselor maintained client confidence, and confidence improved only after 18 visits. Other service intensity indicators (support hours and financial resources) did not halt confidence declines.     

DISPOSABLE BODIES,DISABLED MINDS,AND CHRISTIAN HOPE: RESURRECTION IN LIGHT OF TRANSHUMANISM AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

This piece brings into critical conversation Christian resurrection hope, virtual versions of transhumanism, and intellectual disability and demonstrates that Christian resurrection provides a more cogent hope for people with severe intellectual disabilities than transhumanism. I argue that transhumanist virtual futures are theologically problematic, as bodily resurrection is neither required nor desirable. It is particularly problematic for people with severe intellectual disabilities given the way they would be excluded from these futures. Disability theology also raises issues with the traditional notions of “healing” in the resurrection and the implications for the value and identity of persons with intellectual disabilities. Starting with these problems, I explore the nature of Christian hope, noting the inadequacies of a virtual transhumanist future with respect to both resurrection faith and intellectual disability, and address how resurrection hope can account for issues raised in disability theology, and so properly include people with intellectual disabilities.     

A factor analysis for identifying people with disabilities’ mobility issues in built environments

Neighborhood built environments (BE) have been recognized as an important aspect that can, directly and indirectly, impact people with disabilities’ mobility. While many efforts have been made to improve the quality of BE, people with disabilities still perceive inequality in BE. The objective of this study is to identify the factors influencing people with disabilities’ attitudes toward BE that can facilitate or suppress their mobility, using exploratory factor analysis. This study specifically focuses on people with physical disabilities and people with visual impairments living in Austin, TX and Houston, TX metropolitan areas in USA. Data was gathered through an online survey. This study identified three factors from the sample: 1) barrier-free BE; 2) BE supporting safe travel; and 3) walkable BE. In addition, the factors were compared according to the respondents’ demographic information, such as income level, disability type, and private car use availability in households. Regarding income level, low-income individuals with disabilities perceived BE more negatively than their counterparts did. As for private car availability, people with disabilities who have no car in their households had a more negative perception of BE. However, no differences were found in the attitudes across disability types. This study contributes to understanding what BE factors are important for people with disabilities. The findings suggest the importance of establishing more targeted and prioritized strategies, considering people with disabilities’ neighborhoods and individual characteristics, for the improvement of their mobility.     

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN THREE SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT OPTIONS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Controversy exists over the benefits that workers with severe disabilities accrue under different supported employment options. This study focused upon one benefit of supported employment: social integration. Direct observation procedures were used to assess the social interactions of 37 adults with severe disabilities in 18 employment programs representing three different supported employment contexts (individual, enclave, and work crew). Results indicated that workers employed in individual and enclave programs had significantly more contact with nondisabled persons than did members of work crews. No differences were detected in the social contact rate between disabled and nondisabled workers in individual versus enclave sites. Furthermore, few differences in type of interactions across the three different work options were revealed. Results suggest that both individual and enclave models are capable of facilitating social integration. However, characteristics of specific job sites, more so than the employment model per se, may determine whether a particular employment setting is conducive to social integration.     

Parental negotiations of the moral terrain of risk in relation to young people with intellectual disabilities

This paper draws upon parental accounts from a study of the process of transition for a cohort of 28 young people with relatively severe intellectual disabilities who left special schools in 2004 and 2005 in two adjacent English localities. This paper examines how parents negotiate these boundaries and position themselves in relation to risk. A primary concern identified by parents during this transition period focuses on the risk of harm facing these vulnerable young people (whether through accidents or through sexual, emotional, physical or financial abuse) as they move into the adult world. These concerns are juxtaposed with discourses that increasingly promote the possibilities for people with intellectual disabilities to express and follow their own wishes and aspirations. For example, the policy agenda in England and Wales actively endorses the start of adult life as a time of opportunity for young people and promotes the values of independence and choice. In accounting for the management of risk in the young people's lives, we conclude that parents navigate complex boundaries between being seen to be over‐protective and ‘letting go’; between trusting others to act in the young adults' best interests and allowing these young people the autonomy to negotiate risk. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.