Answered Questions is a monthly resource for the Spanish language Disability Community that fills an information need. This month’s question is: I am an occupational therapist and want to support my clients with disabilities in their employment. Are there resources, research, and information available that look at how occupational therapy (OT) may help workers with disabilities? This edition of Answered Questions includes items that discuss autism, employment, and the role of OT professionals; OT and work inclusion; inclusive employment in Colombia; the versatility of OT and its development in Bolivia; and more. More about Answered Questions.
NIDILRR-Funded Projects:
The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Employment of Transition-Age Youth with Disabilities (in English) generates evidence-based interventions to assist transition-age youth to enter competitive integrated employment, and addresses the need for evidence-based research for youth with disabilities, family members, school personnel, occupation therapists, vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselors, and other stakeholders on information and interventions that can impact the employment outcomes. As part of its work, this RRTC produces evidence-based resources (in English), including guides, research briefs, and videos. The RRTC’s training materials and events (in English) focus on meeting the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families, occupational therapists, policy makers, and others.
The project, Equitable Employment Across Evolving Paradigms (in English), trains OT doctoral degree holders as postdoctoral fellows capable of identifying and addressing barriers and facilitators present within a variety of employment paradigms, including traditional on-site work, gig or contingent work, and remote work, and translating acquired knowledge in meaningful and useful ways.
From the NARIC Collection:
The article, Interventions to improve social participation, work, and leisure among adults poststroke: A systematic review (in English), discusses a study that examined the current evidence for the effectiveness of interventions within the scope of OT practice to improve social participation, work, and leisure among adults after a stroke. The study found that OT interventions may improve work, leisure, and social participation outcomes after a stroke. The authors suggest that additional research is needed to build stronger evidence to support clinical decision making in stroke rehabilitation in these areas.
The article, Autism, employment, and the role of occupational therapy (in English), presents guidelines for the role of OT professionals in employment services for persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The article discusses supported employment with an interdisciplinary team approach and the role of OT professionals as team members.
Inclusive Employment:
The article, Occupational Therapy in Work Inclusion: Local Experiences (PDF), discusses an exploratory study that analyzed the execution of two projects on inclusive employment for people with disabilities in Chile that are based on an occupational therapist report from local disability councils. The study found that how public policies on inclusive employment were enacted generated discussion among occupational therapists about their experiences with inclusive employment for their clients and the effects of public policy on inclusive employment in general.
The article, The inclusion of people with physical disabilities in the workforce and occupational therapy actions in Colombia: An integrative literature review, discusses a study to describe the role of OT in the inclusion of people with physical disabilities in the Colombian workforce. The study found that the process of inclusion showed normative support of people with physical disabilities and the role of occupational therapists in that process. The study also found that there are barriers that prevent Colombians with disabilities from accessing inclusive employment and the support of occupational therapists in their inclusion in the workforce.
Interventions:
The article, Applied occupational therapy: The versatility of the discipline, discusses the main interventions that occupational therapists use and shows the versatility of OT. Although OT is a young discipline in Bolivia, the article discusses its development within Bolivia in helping people with and without disabilities in participating in activities of daily living, including employment. The article discusses interventions that occupational therapists may use to help Bolivians with disabilities to perform these tasks and to modify their environment so that it enhances participation.
Resources:
- The video, Occupational therapy, employment, and disability, from the Down Syndrome Association of Argentina, is the recording of a virtual meeting of occupational therapists, education professionals, employment professionals, and service providers for people with disabilities in Argentina that discussed the importance of inclusive employment in the quality of life of employees with disabilities and what the role of occupational therapists is in the process of the inclusive employment of people with disabilities.
Further Research:
REHABDATA:
PubMed:
International:
Each month, we look through the searches on our blog and through the information requests made by our patrons who speak Spanish and pick a topic that fills the largest need. Each resource mentioned above is associated with this month’s information need. We search the various Spanish language news sources and feeds throughout the month to bring you these articles. With the exception of the NIDILRR Projects, From the NARIC Collection, and Further Investigation, all the linked articles and resources are in Spanish – any that are in English will be clearly marked.
