Linking Workers with Severe Disabilities to Social Supports in the Workplace: Strategies for Addressing Barriers

Abstract

Abstract: The natural workplace support method, in which the severely disabled people are introduced to social assistance from working partners, colleagues, supervisors or sponsor programs, was conducted as an intervention program to train and enable them to face the challenges of work. The results te program showed that out of the 23 people who participated in this intervention program, 20 continued their jobs while two others discontinued their job and one joined the workshop. Natural workplace support approaches to supported employment have been recently described and promoted in the rehabilitation literature. This article describes a natural workplace support demonstration project conducted over a 5-month period that resulted in the direct placement and/or retention of 23 individuals with severe disabilities in competitive employment. The focus of the paper is on barriers to accessing support in the workplace, and strategies that have been designed for addressing these barriers. The phrase, "natural workplace supports " has become the new buzzword in the field of rehabilitation and supported employment. The emphasis on natural workplace supports emerges from social and policy trends over the past two decades which have resulted in refocusing training efforts for persons with disabilities within the functional context of the work environment. Studies published during