ECDL as a Vehicle for Inclusion - Essay Example

ECDL as a Vehicle for Inclusion Introduction: The world has become a fast evolving and growing place with innovations like hybrid cars, tourism in space and alternate fuel being introduced to the people. However even after such technological advancements there exist people in the world who are disabled and not able to live with as much independence as the rest of us. These are the people who suffer minor disabilities like dysgraphia, dyslexia, dyscalcula, and those who are physically impaired. Learning disabilities are usually inherited genetically and as a result disabled individuals start showing symptoms for their disabilities early on in life. As these problems mostly start on at an early age, people with disabilities learn to adjust to them and work working them at an early stage as well. These people are not incapable of doing anything, however, the society and the people in the environment around them make their disabilities more pronounced than they are. These people should be allowed to work in the corporate world, hospitals and any other profession that is to their liking without discrimination. The society has to be more broadminded and open to them as they are capable of providing us with very unique and innovative ideas. This is true and can be seen by the economic theory, Game theory which was summed up by John Nash who himself struggled with schizophrenia. Disabilities can be genetic or can occur with old age. On one side where there are people who are either born with disabilities or suffer from them early on in their life. On the other hand there are people who start suffering from disabilities as they grow old and start to age. Such disabilities usually come with age and are symptoms or results of aging diseases. Examples of such include Parkinson’s, in which people lose their sense of balance to certain degrees and the Alzheimer disease, where the brain starts forgetting things resulting in imminent death. However having these disabilities does not mean that people suffering from them should stop living or stop having ambitions, they can work just like us and one prime example of a person who has had Parkinson’s disease since a very early age and still has been working despite the hindrances that his condition posed is prominent actor Michael J. Fox. In some cases featuring mild learning disability, it may seem to people that the person with the disability has been cured with age as the child approaches the age of 22. Actually this cannot be anymore far from the truth as these diseases are a life long disease which runs the course of ones natural life but they can be circumvented by using lecturing and training strategies. In some cases people with these disabilities get accustomed to them and manage to devise ways to work around them. As a result these disabilities may not be very apparent with time. (High Level Summary of Equality Statistics: Key Trends for Scotland 2006) This is because of the evolution of the information age which has resulted in a severe divide from between those having such disabilities and those who do not, as the accessibility to information has become limited for the disabled where no facilitations existing for them. There has been an increase in the number of reported disabled individuals in the recent years of around as according to the 2001 census one in five of the UK population is disabled. This figure amounts to 18 percent of the population being disabled. (BBC - Commissioning - Disabled audiences Audience Information) The reason for this increase has been attributed to the environmental deterioration taking place, polluted water, polluted fish, mercury compounds found in plants and seafood due to toxic waters. Aside from these factors irregularities in fetal development and poor nourishment and care in their initial life can result in long lasting learning disabilities. Disability also has the tendency to increase and be aggravated by aging. This can seen from the statistics that 50 percent of people who are over the age of 65 are disabled while only 4.3 percent of children have reported disability. However minor disabilities don’t pose as a lifelong threat as become less pronounced as they grow up (BBC - Commissioning - Disabled audiences Audience Information). This characteristic is mostly true for only minor disabilities though. The digital divide has increased with people wanting to access and learn as much information as possible. The internet provides people with a convenient and fast access to a vast sea of knowledge and information. In such cases if these individuals are not given support and facilitation to be able to learn as well, then they tend to chose very diverse futures for themselves which can cause them much more problems than the disability itself. The disability can only become a problem when people who have them start suffering from reduced self confidence and attribute any failures that they might have in their life on themselves (Young, 2005). Such people need to be highly motivated. If people who suffer from mild mental disorder or learning disabilities are not supported, encouraged, educated and trained to put them back in the competing workforce they can suffer adverse consequences like ending up in prison (Steadman et al, 1987). Some of them are outlined below It has been seen that people who suffer from learning disabilities tend to give up studies during their high school years as a result of their lack of learning capability and the fact that they are unable to keep up with their peers. These people usually give up their high school and undertake dead end or entry level jobs to make their ends meet and that’s just as far as it takes them. A large percentage of females who have learning disabilities and have dropped out of school usually end up pregnant with almost no means to support themselves and their children and families. Amongst these however the most worrying is the number of people who end up resorting to crime to sustain themselves. This has resulted in an increase in the number of teenagers ending up in juvenile prison. Statistics also state that around 40-65 percent of people in prison suffer from some form of mental disorder or learning disability. A large percent of people with learning disabilities also end up as drug addicts. However not all people with disabilities end up in such adverse situations. There are those more affluent families who can manage to send their children to high end special schools for the learning disabled or even public schools set up for the specific purpose. These people end up having the following characteristics They end of getting college and postgraduate degrees in the fields of medicine, business, engineering etc. Most of have written books for people similar to them to lend them a helping hand and encourage and support them to strive to make more of their life Earning a college degree does not mean that they are able to overcome their disabilities. Life for such people is always a constant struggle. This is more aggravated by the fact that disability is genetic transmitted and can be transferred to the offspring (DuPlessis, ‘What Causes Learning Disabilities’). As a result, when individuals having disabilities bear children their children tend to have a high chance of inheriting some form of their parents’ disabilities. UK Legislation and the Government Efforts: The United Kingdom has identified the disability of its population as a potential threat to the work force and as a result has made policies for its people to work and live without hindrances posed by their disability. The UK government has specifically designed employment policies and polices for employee benefits regarding incapacity benefits, the New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP) and miscellaneous benefits in tax credits and incentives. The government has also established a Disability Discrimination Act by which disabled individuals cannot be shunned by the company from working and the establishment of National Minimum Wage has enabled people to earn sustainable income. The main incentive the UK government had in establishing and promoting the inclusion of disabled people in the workforce was to reduce the level of poverty and to fill in the demand for labour which was increasing compared to the supply pool of labour in the market. However the danger that people might exploit the benefits being awarded to the disabled people is always there. Some of the benefits offered to the disabled in the UK are mentioned in the following data. One of the main benefits that are allotted for the disabled is the Incapacity benefits. According to this benefit the government allows income support on grounds of the individual not having the capacity to earn sufficient money. These are monetary benefits provided for individuals to sustain themselves and their families. According to statistics provided by the UK government the number of people claiming the Incapacity Benefit has multiplied by three times since 1980. This has raised the question whether the Incapacity benefit is the best way to tackle the situation or a more active participation is required in this matter. The Incapacity benefit works along the same lines as the unemployment benefit. As under the UK Disability Act the disabled people have the same civic rights as the rest of us it is therefore not possible for anyone to actually stop or force the disabled not to collect the monetary benefit and start working. The statistics in 2002 already showed that for UK: (UK Disability Legislature, 2003) 30 percent of the household that were in poverty had at least one or more disabled adults 16 percent of the household that were in poverty had no disabled adult 12 percent of the household that were in poverty had at least one or more workers 65 percent of the household that were in poverty had no one in the workforce. As an answer to overcome the possible problems posed by the Incapacity benefit the UK government decided to launch the New Deal for Disabled People by which the disabled individuals who were collecting the incapacity benefit or any other benefit regarding workforce disability had to undergo a certain procedure by which they had to undergo varying number of interviews and work a preconditioned number of hours in the week in order to retain their incapacity benefit. Aside form this other measures were also taken in order to comply the disabled to join the workforce. These measures included the following: Specialized disability advisors were appointed who helped the disabled learn a skill and enabled them to be employed. The disabled were provided better access to the employment programs specially designed for the disabled. Those taking financial incentives like the incapacity benefit were forced to attain employment in order to retain their benefit allowance A special advisor was appointed who allowed the users of the incapacity allowance to convert their allowance status to Job Seekers allowance. This was a more positive move as people were encouraged to join the workforce. Encourage equal opportunity employment for all, even the disabled members of the job seekers in the market. Measures were also implemented to make sure that the labour unions did not disregard or discourage the disabled employees and instead provided them with incentives to retain disabled individuals in their workforce. The New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP) was implemented in 1998 as an alternative for encouraging people on the incapacity benefit to find and retain jobs. The UK government described the main objectives of the program as being: Encouraging disabled who want to be employed to strive to get the jobs To provide support and facilitation for those disabled individuals who already hold a job. This was focus towards job retention Teach and establish new skills amongst the disabled in order to make a variety of ob option open and become available to them. The NDDP was the first program which effectively targeted the disabled and their employment problems. According to the NDDP only people of the qualifying working age from 16-65 were included in the program. Moreover the participation for the disabled in the program was voluntary and no charges were made on those who did not avail this. Aside from the Incapacity Benefit and the NDDP additional benefits like tax credits and work incentives were also provided by the UK government. These included options like: 1. Return to Work: According to this, the incapacity benefit claimers were provided a RTW credit of 40 pounds week for 52 weeks if they joined the workforce but were unable to earn more than 15000 pounds per year. 2. Claimants of benefits were also allowed to work or jobs which were assigned them under the program and paid them additional paid 20 pounds per week aside from the monetary benefit as well. 3. With the adapted Permitted Work rules incapacity benefit holders could now earn on the jobs worth pounds 70 for 26 weeks as an addition to the incapacity benefit 4. Disabled were provided Tax Credits if they worked for at least 16 hours per week. (Source: ‘Disability and Employment in Scotland’, 2005) The UK also made provisions for the Disability Discrimination according to which disabled people were allotted full civil rights in the labour market. Any discrimination against the disabled in the workforce was from 1995 onwards declared to be punishable by law. This discrimination was identified as any unfavourable treatment towards the disabled individuals in any context. Under this new act employers could not discriminate in the following: Recruitment and hiring of the employees While retaining employees When making transfers and promotion decisions When assigning employee training options When firing employees and laying back their workforce As a result of the already mentioned measures to enable and empower the disabled to attain equal employment opportunities and join the work force some interesting findings were noted by the UK government in the UK Government and The Legislation: The UK Context drawn up in 2003. This report mentioned that after the implementation of the NDDP, DDA, Minimum Wage Act and Discrimination Act for the Disabled the following changes took place: There was a marked increase in the number of apologies sent by the employers who had participated in discrimination against the disables There was an increase in the number of employers who promoted this measures and encouraged the disabled to chose employment There was an increase in the number of employers who themselves changes and rewrote policies in their business to facilitate the disables to attain employment in their company The number of employees claiming they have disabled employees has increased Increasing percentage of employers are making the effort to adapt the working environment and the ergonomics of the work place of suited to the disabled. Adult Health, Support and Workforce Reestablishment Institutions: Many formal institutions have now been established, which work towards the education of the disabled and strive to get them reinstalled in the workforce with jobs better suited to them, their skills and capabilities. These institutions determine the specific requirements of each individual and provide them with a carefully developed plan to help overcome their disability as well as provide training to family members and people in general about helping people with disabilities. Examples of such institutes include The Rehab Group in Ireland and the Karten Network in England. Such institutions usually provide services like: Health care and monitoring Rehabilitation and therapy services Nutritional supplements and support for the progressive plan. Such programs also aid the disabled population by training and enabling the disabled students to acquire proper vocational training to attain a career. In order to do this, different programs can specifically address any employment barriers faced by the disabled youngsters by analysing the challenges in the market and devising solutions to work around them. Such programs strive to give the young generation the work exposure, specific skills, vocational training, tools, counselling, coaching etc. These groups also hold routine workshops and support session in which they discuss different opinion and way in which the current and specific problems of the industry can be faced. These programs also try to evaluate the performance of the disabled in the young generation to establish patterns for the change, success and behaviour. The institution is also responsible for providing sufficient incentives and motivations for the restless youth population to spend time learning the skills and devoting themselves to their careers instead of resorting to taking only incapacity and unemployment benefits from the governments or resorting to crime and other less favourable things. Most of these institutions also host placement centres which host jobs for students who are disabled (Triangle– People with Diversity). These jobs are specifically designed and facilitated to not face any hindrances from the disabilities of the students and in fact tend to be focused on the strategic skills the youth may have experience in or may have learnt at the institution itself. Some institutions also provide job placement programs specifically suited to the individual’s requirements (TASH). These can be focused towards classroom training, simulation or even on the job training by the employer. The institution however mostly retain the right to provide follow up training and support services to those youngsters with disabilities who are able to get themselves employed and added to the workforce. (TASH) The institutions also aid the disabled by providing them with community encouragement and support. These programs can take the form of: Establishing the awareness of work and its benefits to the disabled Providing peer support and motivation for them Providing community based training of vocal skills Boost the self esteem and the confidence of the people by providing them with specific training in specific education fields Making them self reliable by teaching them finance and money management, educating them about retaining their heath etc. The only problem with private schools which offer personalized courses for the learning disabled are somewhat premium priced establishments which are usually affordable by usually the rich and the affluent. However organization by NGO, the UK public sector have also been set up with the help of funding from charities to provide employemet services and training to the disabled. Technology Helping Bridge the Technological Divide: Due to the technological innovation taking place and the fast paced changes and discoveries made due to the evolution of technology it is now possible to better facilitate people with minor as well as major disabilities. These technologies can help the disabled learn and as result fit into the communities and the workforce by proving them with adaptive appliances and equipment which can make the house or office more accessible for the disabled. Emerel is a company which has come up with a typing tutor for kids and the learning disabled to learn how to type and use the keyboard. The software makes use of storylines and colours to help the student learn the skill of typing in a progressive manner. Human Ware is another company which has manufactured Braille based blue tooth displays for the blind and those who have vision impairment. Using this device, the BrailleConnect, disabled can now use the computer as well and utilizes the desktop and the office suite applications. The company has also launched Braille screens for the PDA, and mobile phones. Smart Hal is yet another company which is helping the blind and those with a low level of vision use windows based smart phones. These smart phones are offered by companies like Motorolla and Palm Treo and are compatible with the windows based computers as well. The users can download the Smart Hal software from the internet onto the smart phone, install it and run it to make up for their visual impairment. Disability in United Kingdome: In the UK there are various organizations which have been working towards supporting and working for the inclusion of the people with learning disabilities (some of them have been mentioned later in the paper). A formal institute has also been set up in the UK which has been helping educate people who require special training and attention to enable them to learn, and has been teaching vocational skills to the disabled to enable them to join the work force. Helping Guide is one of the companies which provide such support for the disables. This organization is more focused towards the education, recognition and support of children and students with learning disabilities but the organization provides a general method for educating people with disabilities. The website for the organization provides the information concerning the fact that people who have learning disabilities usually have the disability due to some kind of abnormal brain functions or irregular development of the brain. This irregular brain activity is a result of underdevelopment of the brain at the fetal stage prior to the birth of the baby. The website also states that disabilities caused due to irregular brain development are: Not curable with any form of treatment The disabilities cannot be remedied with medication The website also provides that people having learning disabilities require special attention in order to enable them to attain education. It’s not impossible to educate or train them but the methodology needed to do so is somewhat different from the usual ones used at education institutions. (Helping Guide) These people can learn with a bit of effort if specific education is provided to them. These people can also be taught to learn very specific vocational training in skills in order to enable them to earn a living and be able to support themselves. The British Institute for Disabilities allows the disabled to develop skills which can compensate for some of their disabilities. The disabled are also encouraged to be confident and acknowledge their disability instead of suppressing it as it has more long term disadvantages if not addresses. Aside form this, disabled also need to be trained to enable them to live independently and support themselves. “The person with a learning disability must learn how to learn, given the specific disability. Often the person with a learning disability has strengths that will help in compensating for learning weaknesses. Also, people in the school, work, and home settings can make accommodations and provide rehabilitation and interventions to help the individual with a learning disability to achieve more success.” (Helping Guide) Statistics show that 2000 onwards the number of disabled opting for higher education has increased in Scotland by 67%. This indicates that disabled people are now inclined towards attaining further education and going to college in order to impart knowledge on themselves, learn skills and are be justifiably included in the society as a whole. However in 2004-2005 when the survey was conducted again the disabled showed strength of 6%, which was an increase from the 3% in 2000. The research however states that this could have been due to the fact the number of students for whom disability is not possible to be identified has increased from 8-12% as well in the same time period. (High Level Summary of Equality Statistics: Key Trends for Scotland 2006) In 2004-05 disabled students account for 6% of all higher education students and this compares to 3% in 2000-01 (where disability status is known). The Further and Higher Education Act established in 1992 for United Kingdom enforced that the “placement of funding on a more secure footing, encouraged more integrated provision, financed more support services, and increased the learning opportunities for people with moderate learning disabilities.” (learningdisabilities.org.uk) The World Wide Web has now become a very vast medium for information exchange and a colossal databank for the information. People use the Internet for communicating with others, carrying out their business activities as well in-taking knowledge. As a result a formal investigation was launched by the Disability Rights Commission in London in 2004 for the inclusion of disabled people on the web. Some of the recommendation that were made were that action has to be taken on the part of the website designers to provide easily accessible websites which are easy to read and not too complex to navigate. Aside from this the research also stated that the manufacturers of operating systems are also encouraged to have an option for people with learning disabilities, by which they can use the system as well without difficulties. This option could include a simpler version of the site which has more pictorial references and instruction to help the learning disabled better understand the content and navigate the website. The Disability Rights Commission has launched an action plan in some of the steps for 2006 include: Establish and perform effective research for inclusion for the disabled Strategy formulation for the implementation of the reforms for inclusion for the disabled To create an understanding for the disabled. Enable the disabled to use the internet therefore device website specially catering to their needs. Combating Learning Disability in America: America has a specific body that has been devoting itself to the learning disorder in people in the United States called the Learning Disability Association (LDA). This association has been very active in guiding such people into employment and helping them support themselves and their families. Some of the specific programs led by the LDA include: Jobs for People with disabilities: LDA maintains that teamwork results in effective solution for attaining and performing jobs when one faced learning disabilities. The organization has a network of people which help the disabled attain and acquire jobs and then retain them by performing them to the best of their capabilities. Bringing the Disability to the Knowledge of Others: In order to receive treatment and support for their disability it is important for the individual who is suffering from any form of learning disability is to first be able to acknowledge the fact that he / she is suffering from a case of learning disability. Most of the people want to conform to the environment and fit in with the peers and therefore they tend to hide the fact that they might be suffering from any problems and never bring these issues to light in order to seem to be living a normal life (Devenney, ‘The Social Representations of Disability: Fears, Fantasies and Facts’). LDA very vocally asks people who suffer from the learning disorders to come forward. People who have identified their disability should not be discouraged by the fact that they have it. In fact their family and peers should encourage them to be motivated to learn more and educate themselves for living with the disability like any other citizen. The social net work can take form of any group which has positive influence over the individual and can comprise of people the individual interacts with at college, at school, at home, at the work place as well as professionals trained in mental disorders and specializing in providing skills and support to people having learning disorders “With the movement towards self-acceptance, steps can be taken towards the real solution – social acceptance. For until the general public accepts Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and accepts their manifestations as part of the normal range of human experience, people with these disabilities will continue to live under tremendous social and emotional stress. Internalisation of this stress can result in chronic social-emotional issues.” (Young, 2005) References: 1. (2005), Disability and Employment in Scotland: A Review of the Evidence Base Available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/01/20511/49764 2. Triangle – People with Disability, official website. Available at: http://www.triangle-inc.org/index.htm 3. Library of Congress, Senate Report 106-037 - Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 Available at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/?&sid=cp10608bUh&refer=&r_n=sr037.106&db_id=106&item=&sel=TOC_7800& 4. TASH, Official website, Available at: http://www.tash.org/index.html 5. District of Columbia – Department of Human Services, Available at: http://www.dhs.dc.gov/dhs/frames.asp?doc=/dhs/lib/dhs/pdfs/brochures/guide_to_dhs_programs.pdf 6. Esmerel- Home of the Waldings, Available at:http://www.esmerel.com/ 7. (2007), Smart Hal Gives Access to Newest Cell Phones for Visually Impaired, Available at: http://www.closingthegap.com/home/detail_full.lasso?-Search=Action&-Table=indexsearch&-MaxRecords=1&-SkipRecords=4&-Database=EditorialWEB&-SortField=DateModified&-SortOrder=descending&-Op=bw&Department=temp&-session=XServeAuthenticate:CA7D818B0a41714187MMJ286D9DB 8. Cafiero M. Joanne., (2007), Challenging Our Belief Systems Regarding People with Autism and AAC: Making the Least Harmful Assumptions Available at: http://www.closingthegap.com/home/detail_full.lasso?-Search=Action&-Table=search&-MaxRecords=1&-SkipRecords=0&-Database=EditorialWEB&-Op=bw&Title=Challenging%20our%20belief%20systems%20regarding%20people%20with%20autism%20and%20AAC%3a%20Making%20the%20least%20harmful%20assumptions&-Op=bw&Department=AT%20In%20Depth&-Op=bw&Year=2007&-session=XServeAuthenticate:CA7D818B0a41714187MMJ286D9DB 9. Response Programs Accessible to People with Disabilities, Available at: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/emergencyprep.htm 10. Statistics on Learning Disabilities. Available at: http://www.learningdisabilities.org.uk/page.cfm?pagecode=ISEE 11. Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA), Available at: http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/adults/index.asp 12. Helping Guide Organisation, official Website. Available at: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities_treatment_help_coping.htm 13. Daytime Opportunities for People with Learning Disabilities, Available at: http://www.learningdisabilities.org.uk/page.cfm?pagecode=ISEEFEMT 14. Disability Rights Commission, (2004), The Web: Access and Inclusion for Disabled People. Available at: http://www.ecu.ac.uk/guidance/disability/ 15. (2006), DRC – Action Plan for 2006, Available at: http://www.drc.org.uk/docs/DRC_%20ActionPlan06.doc 16. (2006), DRC – Disability Equality Scheme, Available at: http://www.drc.org.uk/docs/Disability_Equality_Scheme_06.doc 17. Brown S. Dale, Meeting the Challenge of Conformity, Available at: http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/adults/workplace/conformity.asp 18. Young Glenn, To Tell or Not to Tell, Available at: http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/adults/workplace/tell.asp 19. World Law United Kingdom, Special Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) 20. Devenney, Michael J. V., The Social Representations of Disability: Fears, Fantasies and Facts, Available at: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies/archiveuk/devenney/PhD%20Final%20_including%20bibliography_.pdf 21. (2006), High Level Summary of Equality Statistics: Key Trends for Scotland 2006, Available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/11/20102424/7 22. BBC - Commissioning - Disabled audiences Audience Information, Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/marketresearch/audiencegroup7.shtml 23. DuPlessis, Susan, What Causes Learning Disabilities, Available at: http://www.audiblox2000.com/learning_disabilities/causes_learning_disabilities.htm 24. Steadman, Henry J., Fabisiak, Stanley, Dvoskin Joel , Holohean, Edward J., (1987), A Survey of Mental Disability Among State Prison Inmate, Available at: http://psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/38/10/1086 Read More