Disability Essay

2464 Words5 Pages

Individuals with disabilities are individuals, first and foremost. Regardless of the severity and classification of their disability, be it physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental, or some combination of these; disabled people, just as the majority of society, have their own agendas regarding life and vocational motivations, needs and purposes (onley salamone). Traditionally, there was a clear vocational distinction between people with disabilities and the non-disabled population (reference???). As Walls & Fullmer (???) state, employment plays a large role in a person’s identity; affecting social, emotional, and intellectual factors as well as physical well-being; people come to view themselves as productive community members rather than people impaired by disability (Walls_fullmer ). One of the most significant advances in rehabilitation over the past couple of decades, due largely to a continual societal emphasis on deinstitutionalisation, has been the supported employment movement (Onley and salamone ). Although not without its continuing challenges and disparities, the primary focus of vocational rehabilitation is to empower people with disabilities to obtain and maintain competitive employment and meaningful careers. This advocacy movement of empowerment has opened the vocational door to the disabled population to participate in the mainstream labour force, in turn, fulfilling standardized expectations of the individual and society (Walls_fullmer). This essay will explore the nature of supported employment for the disabled person and any implications for the future direction of the supported employment initiative. (happy??!!) Conventionally, the general consensus was that persons with disabilities we... ... middle of paper ... ... compatible with the setting in which it is to be used. We believe that each worker with a disability first needs to be considered as an individual and then supports should be built around their needs, rather than arbitrarily deciding that a specific method is appropriate for achieving integration in the workplace (Storey certo).By balancing on-going support services with an acute awareness of the needs for learning, empowerment and autonomy the rehabilitation practitioner can help individuals with disabilities and their families to help themselves. As storey and ccerto (????) highlight, it is a collaborative approach between job caohes, mentors and the client, to achieve the best possible outcome for the client. (story certo reading) Individuals with disabilities are individuals, first and foremost. Regardless of the severity and classification of their disability.

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