Affiliations: California Foundation for Independent Living Centers,
Sacramento, CA, USA | Institute for Health & Aging, University of
California, San Francisco, CA, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Patricia Yeager, University of
Northern Colorado, Gunter Hall 0290, Campus Box 82, Greeley, CO 80639, USA.
Tel.: +1 970 351 1321; Fax: +1 970 351 1317; E-mail: patricia.yeager@unco.edu
Abstract: For people with disabilities, work remains the best route to
independence and enacting one's own choices. Assistive technology (AT) is often
crucial in removing barriers to employment, and in enabling workers with
disabilities to work more productively. A participatory action research project
known as Community Research for Assistive Technology surveyed people with
disabilities using Independent Living Centers throughout California, in part to
identify barriers to employment and study use of job-related AT to overcome
such barriers. Across disability groups, disability itself was cited as the
primary barrier to employment, with potential loss of benefits and lack of
education cited as secondary barriers. A majority of working respondents
reported using assistive technology (such as adapted telephones, wheelchairs,
magnifiers, and adapted computer equipment) or services to perform job
functions. The vast majority of those using job-related AT reported substantial
benefits to their productivity and self-esteem. Employees' requests for AT as a
workplace accommodation were granted more often than not, but many other
employees had to pay for their own workplace AT.
