A Retrospective Analysis of Recommendations for Workplace Accommodations for Persons With Mobility and Sensory Limitations
By Sabata, Dory; Williams, Michael D.; Milchus, Karen; Baker, Paul M.A.; Sanford, Jon A.; Assistive Technology,Publication Date: Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 28-35
Study assessed the types and frequencies of workplace accommodations recommended for people with motor and sensory limitations. An archival study was conducted using case files from 266 clients of the Georgia Department of Rehabilitation Services who received vocational rehabilitation assessment. Frequency of recommendations was determined for clients in 5 functional limitation groups: Mobility, Fine Motor, Vision, Communication, and Hearing; and across 3 major areas: Worksite, Individual Workstation, and Adaptive Strategies. The most common types of recommendations for workplace accommodations found involved changes to individual workstations, such as provision of computer technology and access, specialized tools and furnishings, augmentative and alternative communication and communication devices, and modification to the workstation itself. Changes to the worksite were less common across all functional limitations, with accommodations such as changes to an entrance being most frequently recommended to clients with mobility impairments. Adaptive strategies such as job restructuring were the least likely to be suggested. Overall, recommendations for workplace accommodations were found to be surprisingly similar across all functional limitation groups. The authors conclude that similar types of accommodations could potentially address numerous seemingly disparate problems in the workplace; this supports the concept of universal design, whereby a product or space is designed for all potential users. Study limitations and implications for further research are discussed.
Published by: Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) (Website:http://www.resna.org)
