“I miss work:” employment experiences and attitudes of adults with acquired disabilities who use assistive technologies

Abstract

Purpose

This study explored employment experiences and attitudes of adults who acquired mobility, motor, and/or communication disabilities and who use assistive technologies.

Materials and Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven adults about their employment experiences after acquiring their disabilities. After analysis of interview results, six participants completed surveys about their attitudes towards crowdsourcing and remote work.

Results

Findings indicate that adults can continue working with accommodations when they feel supported and valued by their employer. However, participants frequently compared their pre-disability work performance with their post-disability performance and at times, left work because they did not feel they were performing to their own expectations, regardless of the support of their employer. Participants experienced feelings of loss, regret, and identity change after acquiring their disabilities and after leaving work. Most participants did not have specific knowledge of available work alternatives which could accommodate their health and accessibility needs. When presented with accessible work alternatives, the majority of participants increased their interest in learning more about those options.

Conclusions

Whether through work or other pursuits, individuals in this population retain a strong desire to participate and contribute to society. However, it should not be assumed that adults with acquired disabilities are inherently aware of available, alternative options to traditional work. Future research on increasing awareness of accessible options for societal engagement for this population should be explored.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• Clinicians should not assume that clients are aware of the available range of work accommodations and alternatives.

• Clinicians should share a variety of accessible, computer-based, flexible work alternatives with clients, including volunteer and active leisure activities.

• Rehabilitation for adults with acquired disabilities should include addressing a change in identity, particularly when it comes to identity associated with contributing to society.

Keywords:

• Assistive technology
• employment
• acquired disabilities
• augmentative and alternative communication

Acknowledgments

These studies were funded through a grant from the ARDRAW Small Grant program and we thank the ARDRAW program for their support of this work. The authors would also like to acknowledge the support of the reviewers of this paper. The authors also express their sincere appreciation of the participants for their significant contributions by providing their time and sharing their stories.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

The research reported herein was performed pursuant to a grant from Policy Research, Inc. as part of the U.S. Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) Analyzing Relationships Between Disability, Rehabilitation and Work. The opinions and conclusions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not represent the opinions or policy of Policy Research, Inc., SSA or any other agency of the Federal Government.

Notes

1 Disclaimer: The researchers are not affiliated with or have any interest in these crowdsourcing platforms.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the ARDRAW Small Grant Program.