Presentation ScheduleOctober the 25th
Work and Disability: Toward
Re-conceptualizing the Burden of
Disability
Sponsored by
the Centre for Families,
Work and Well-being,
University of Guelph
The Centre for Families, Work and WellBeing is committed to using research and
teaching expertise to promote individual
and family well-being, responsive and
productive work environments, and
strong, sustainable communities.
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences
Title
Panel One:
9am-10:30am Transitions
Abstract Summary
Presented by
Skills gaps and employment readiness
among adolescents with disabilities
Many youth with disabilities find the transition
to adulthood and entry into the labour market
challenging because they are more likely to lack
marketable skills and to be unemployed
compared to their peers. This is not due to an
unwillingness to work; but rather, adolescents
with disabilities often experience many barriers
such as discrimination, lack of accommodations
and training opportunities when seeking
employment. With higher survival rates and life
expectancy among youth with childhood
Sally Lindsay*, 1-2 Tracey Adams, 3
Carolyn McDougall, 4-5 Robyn
Sanford4
*Corresponding author: 1Bloorview
Research Institute, Holland
Bloorview Kids
Rehabilitation Hospital and
2Dalla Lana School of Public Health,
University of Toronto
150 Kilgour Road, Toronto Ontario
Canada M4G 1R8
3 Department of Sociology, The
University of Western Ontario,
Work and Disability-Draft Program, October 25, 2011, Centre for Families, Work and Wellbeing-CSAHS, University of Guelph
London Ontario
4 Life Skills Institute, Holland
Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation
Hospital, Toronto
5Department of Occupational
Science and Occupational Therapy,
University of Toronto
The Unexpected Retirement
Not all retirements occur by choice. An unexpected
retirement can have negative consequences on wellbeing, including negative economic outcomes.
Although early retirement has been an appealing
option for many Canadians in recent years, an
individual’s motivation to retire early is not always
clear1. A recent poll by RBC Royal Bank2
determined that 41% of Canadians had retired
unexpectedly and 14% of these retirements were
due to health reasons. This poll also found that the
majority of pre-retirees (83%), age 50 plus, believed
that they would retire on a date of their choice.
Submitted by:
Lee Anne Davies
PhD Candidate
Aging, Health & Wellbeing – University
of Waterloo
School of Public Health and Health
Systems
There is Still Discrimination against
people with disabilities
This presentation reports on a qualitative study
involving in-depth interviews with 10 university
graduates with disabilities as they made the
transition from university to employment.
Specifically, it examines (a) the experience of
unemployment, (b) feelings of discrimination, (c)
concerns with disclosing a disability, and (d)
perceptions around targeted employment. Findings
suggest that the state of the employment market
does not meet the tenets of the critical disability
movement which holds employers responsible for
providing economic and social supports to enable
Jennifer Gillies, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Murray Alzheimer Research and
Education Program
Department of Recreation and Leisure
Studies, University of Waterloo
Work and Disability-Draft Program, October 25, 2011, Centre for Families, Work and Wellbeing-CSAHS, University of Guelph
“social and economic integration, selfdetermination, legal and social rights” (Rious, 2003,
p. 296).
Self Disclosing Parkinson’s Disease
Previous studies show that disclosure patterns are
highly variable in different diseases and in different
situations. A workplace disclosure rate of 90% is
relatively high compared to most other diseases for
which published data is available (including
HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, and rheumatoid arthritis). We
speculate that the pattern observed (high disclosure
rates with a relatively short period between
diagnosis and disclosure) is the result of a lengthy
diagnosis process combined with the physical
manifestations of PD that become increasingly
obvious as the disease progresses. University of
Toronto
J. Fridhandler; M. Gignac; and
C. Marras
Poverty and Disability
Poverty is widely accepted as a key determinant of
health, and people with disabilities experience high
rates of poverty and unemployment worldwide. The
purpose of this study is to examine the widely held
contention that generous disability benefits deter
employment among persons with disabilities.
Bonita Heath, PhD student
Critical Disability Studies
York University
Employment Equity and the Tanzanian
Persons with Disabilities Act, 2010
Although Tanzania has committed employment
rights to people with disabilities in policy form,
many of the values espoused on paper have yet to
be realized in practice. For example, a 2010 study of
Heather Aldersey, MSEd
University of Kansas,
Beach Center on Disability
University of Toronto
Panel Two 10:45am12:15pm Policy
Work and Disability-Draft Program, October 25, 2011, Centre for Families, Work and Wellbeing-CSAHS, University of Guelph
one of the largest trade unions in the country,
(comprising 126 companies with 25,446 employees)
demonstrated that less than 1% of all employees
were persons with disabilities. This paper will
explore potential accountability measures that could
work to narrow the gap between policy and practice
and help to ensure that the employment rights
allocated to Tanzanians with disabilities in the 2010
Disability Act are actually realized.”
Navigating the Maze: Improving
Coordination and Integration of Disability
Income and Employment Policies and
Programs for People living with Episodic
Disabilities
Pulling the Round Peg out the square
Hole- The Potential of Social Business to
Reinvent Work for the Employment
Marginalized
Not Care, and ‘Not like work’:
Attendants working for Self-managers
with Disabilities under the Ontario Direct
Funding Program
Private and public disability income programs are
critical supports for people living with episodic
disabilities. Because these programs have been
designed by different jurisdictions with different
mandates at different times in history, with
eligibility requirements specific to each, unintended
consequences may result. These unintended
consequences may
This presentation is based on a series of case studies
done with Canadian social businesses for individuals
with mental health disabilities. In addition to
profiling central themes and tensions arising from
the cross-case comparison, the presenters will
address philosophical issues associated with the
social business concept. Such issues include costbenefit at personal, business, and social levels; the
potential
Direct Funding is an increasingly popular form of
service delivery where people with disabilities
receive funds from governments to hire, train and
manage individuals to provide attendant services.
While unquestionably neoliberal in design, Direct
Funding is often extolled as a possible solution to
the impending care crisis and also as empowering
Canadian Working Group on HIV and
Rehabilitation, Toronto
Rosemary Lysaght, Ph.D., Queen’s
University
Terry Krupa, Ph.D., Queen’s University
Joyce Brown, Ph.D., Ontario Council of
Alternative Businesses
Catherine Vallée, Ph.D., Université
Laval
Submitted by Christine Kelly
PhD Candidate, School of Canadian
Studies, Carleton University
Work and Disability-Draft Program, October 25, 2011, Centre for Families, Work and Wellbeing-CSAHS, University of Guelph
for people with disabilities. Drawing on, and building
bridges across, feminist disability studies and
feminist care research, this paper presents themes
from a qualitative study exploring moments when
the concept of ‘care’ is rejected and transformed
under the Ontario Self-managed Attendant Services
– Direct Funding Program.
Special Guest Speaker 12:15
His Honour David Onley
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Lunch will follow this
address
How Employer Perspectives Inform etc.
This paper will present the results of a qualitative
study of employers that engaged 24 employers from
a variety of work sectors across Canada in interviews
concerning their experiences of working with
individuals with intermittent work capacity.
Rosemary Lysaght, Ph.D., Queen’s
University
Terry Krupa, Ph.D., Queen’s University
Allan Gregory, Ph.D., Queen’s
University
Examining the Complex Barriers to
Employment faced by People with
Episodic Disabilities
This paper describes the “Facing the Facts: The
Impact of Episodic Disabilities on Employment”
project, intended to investigate the barriers to
employment faced by people living with episodic
disabilities. This paper presents the results of these
investigations and points towards initiatives which
may better support the inclusion of people with
episodic disabilities within the workplace.
Canadian Working Group on HIV and
Rehabilitation, Toronto
A Prevention Program for Musicians'
Playing-related Health Problems.
The purpose of this study was to understand the
lived-experience of professional instrumental
musicians who have experienced playing-related
injuries
The findings were summarized in a visual
Christine Guptill, PhD, OT Reg. (Ont.)
Post-doctoral Fellow
McMaster University.
Panel Three 1:45pm-3:15pm
Episodic Disability
Work and Disability-Draft Program, October 25, 2011, Centre for Families, Work and Wellbeing-CSAHS, University of Guelph
representation unique to this study. The
representation illustrates three roles – musician,
worker and teacher – that are participated in, and
disrupted by, the experience of being injured. In
addition, the experience of a playing-related injury
takes place within the context of a healthcare
system which was perceived as insufficient to meet
their needs. Specialized care was rarely available,
and if available, was not local or timely; treatment
operated on a fee-for-service model when many
musicians had meagre incomes and lacked coverage
for these services; and treatment provided often
failed to allow musicians to continue to perform at
the level they had previously achieved. Finally, the
representation illustrated four existentials – lived
time, space, body and social relations – that
permeated the experience. This study suggests that
improvements to healthcare delivery and education
of musicians, music teachers and healthcare
professionals are needed.
Keywords: injured musicians; playing-related
injuries; phenomenology; lived experience
Posters and Demonstrations
Addressing Episodic Disabilities in Canada
Policy
This paper identifies how current policies and
legislation are disincentives to labour force
participation for people with episodic disabilities
who can participate in the labour force
intermittently or part time when their health
permits and highlights the steps needed to be taken
to address some of these issues including convening
a national policy dialogue of key disability
stakeholders to: discuss the long term future of
disability income and service programs in the new
Canadian Working Group on HIV and
Rehabilitation
Work and Disability-Draft Program, October 25, 2011, Centre for Families, Work and Wellbeing-CSAHS, University of Guelph
economy, develop a narrative on the role of the
eight income and the five disability service areas
under a comprehensive governance model, discuss
the emergent and resistant problems, and
encourage a citizen centred strategy for
administration and policy.
Working to modernize webpages in a
Web 2.0 world: moving towards
accessibility & relevance
This –demonstration will discuss the state of the
work - disability interface at the micro-level: within
the university workplace. The authors will discuss
their experiences working together, as a sighted and
non-sighted team, on a project to update website
features and design of multiple websites in the
context of university and community input, hosted
within the university system. Each author will
discuss the accommodations (or lack thereof) they
have used to overcome ‘disability as a burden’.
Shawna Reibling
University of Guelph
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada:
“unemployment, underemployment, stressful or
unsafe work are associated with poorer health,”. 1
Access to decent employment for people with
disabilities is today an important advocacy area.
Employment is one social determinant of health. 2
According to a 2009 report by the Canadian Institute
of wellbeing “Canadians said quite clearly that job
security, employment opportunities, a living wage,
balanced time use is some of their top priorities for
quality of life.” 3 This conference is about
reorienting perception around work and people with
disabilities. Media play a key role in shaping
perception. The 1790 inaugural issue of the New
York Times Magazine highlighted the importance of
printed media stating, “A well conducted magazine,
Gregor Wolbring PhD
Sophya Yumakulov
University of Calgary
Community Rehabilitation and
Disability Studies
Work and Disability-Draft Program, October 25, 2011, Centre for Families, Work and Wellbeing-CSAHS, University of Guelph
we conceive must, from its nature, contribute
greatly to diffuse knowledge throughout a
community, and to create in that community a taste
for literature.” This conference contribution looks at
what impression a reader of the New York Times
would have as to the employment situation and
employability of people with disabilities after having
read the NYT. It will cover the years 1851-1950 for a
historical and 2000-2011 for a contemporary
perspective. It will contrast this data with existing
discourses and data around work and people with
disabilities taking place outside of the newspaper in
the times covered and draw conclusions from the
data generated.
Break
3:15-3:30
Facilitated Discussion
3:30-4:15
Donna S. Lero is the inaugural holder of the
Jarislowsky Chair in Families & Work, and leads the
research agenda Workplace Policies & Family
Supports at the Centre. Donna is an Professor in the
Department of Family Relations and Applied
Nutrition, where she teaches courses in child
development and family-related social policy. Donna
is a leader in research on childcare and on work and
family issues, in part resulting from her role as
Director of the 1988 Canadian National Child Care
Study.
Wrap-up and Evaluation
4:15-4:45
Work and Disability-Draft Program, October 25, 2011, Centre for Families, Work and Wellbeing-CSAHS, University of Guelph