Assistive Technology Reconnects Employees to the Workplace While Recovering from Temporary Disabilities

When enterprise architect David Orris was home for six weeks recovering from a shoulder operation, it was assistive technology that reconnected him to his work at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Not only was he able to continue contributing while he was recuperating by using assistive technology, but his condition actually improved as a result of the decreased stress associated with working from home.

"Assistive technology is a real equalizer for people with disabilities," says Orris. It's an immense help in compensating for loss of dexterity, eyesight, or other limitations. It not only raises your productivity but also your expectations for yourself. That's a good feeling for the individual and good for the employer too."

Today, Orris, who has Multiple Sclerosis (MS) works from home approximately 50 percent of the time. He uses Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition software and a trackball to compensate for his dexterity limitations. Orris works with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) TRICARE Management Activity, the agency's worldwide healthcare and hospital system.

The DoD encourages managers to use assistive technology to keep temporarily disabled employees working while they recuperate at home. A typical home installation of a workstation and assistive technology costs about $5,000 versus $28,000 for an average worker's compensation claim.

During Orris's recovery from the shoulder operation, it was the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP), part of the DoD's assistive technology office, that got him set up at home with the same computer configuration he uses at work. CAP was established in 1990 as a centrally funded program for providing assistive technology accommodations and services to DoD employees with disabilities. Because of its success, in October 2000, Congress expanded CAP's constituency and budget (to $4.6 million), and authorized the organization to serve other federal agencies.

Today, more than 45 federal agencies take advantage of CAP services, which include:

• Providing needs assessments to identify accommodations suitable for an individual's specific situation including a job analysis, identification of an individual's functional limitations, and selection of an assistive technology or service solution.
• Purchasing assistive technology to make computer and telecommunications systems accessible to employees with disabilities.
• Providing the CAP Technology Evaluation Center at the Pentagon, where Washington, D.C.-based workers can try out a wide range of assistive technology and meet with experts. It helps demonstrate to senior management the impact that assistive technology has on improving access to information for employees with disabilities.
• Providing expertise to solve accessibility problems through a centralized approach that harnesses human resource expertise to provide technical assistance to employees with disabilities and their supporting IT Help Desk professionals. CAP partners with vendors to ensure that the equipment is successfully installed, that proper training occurs, and that the tools have a positive impact on productivity in the workplace.
• Conducting Customer and Supervisor Surveys in an effort to drive continuous improvements in the CAP assessment, procurement, and training process. It also allows CAP to learn of the real impact technology has on people's lives and to share best practices.

Other federal agencies, such as the Department of Education and the Social Security Administration, run centrally funded assistive technology programs similar to CAP, but CAP is the largest and most recognized for its efficient procurement practices and assistive technology expertise. To date, CAP has provided more than 28,000 accommodations.

CAP director Dinah Cohen points out that CAP's constituency is turning out to be far larger than its founders originally envisioned. "It's not just people born with disabilities who need assistive technology," she says. "More and more, we're serving people who acquire disabilities later in life through accidents or aging—we're all potential users."

Today, the federal government employs approximately 120,000 individuals with disabilities—7 percent of the of the nearly 1.8 million permanent civilian federal employee base.

"All federal agencies, and many private companies, are spending huge amounts of money on workers' compensation," says Cohen. "It's smart business to get these people back to work, even if they're at home. With so much work today done on computers, assistive technology can keep these people productive and their morale high during much of their illness or temporary disability."