State of the Science Conference

This conference established a national dialogue on the current state and future directions of workplace accommodations. The conference was attended by over 110 researchers, practitioners, policy makers, product designers, employers and employees with disabilities who were interested in improving access to the workplace for people with disabilities. The conference format included plenary sessions, paper presentations in breakout sessions, and extensive opportunity for networking and discussion. The conference program featured thirty-three presentations from experts representing NIDRR research and training projects (i.e., RERCs, RRTCs, DBTACs), vocational rehabilitation, national and state organizations, and industry.

A goal of the conference was to develop an agenda for future directions in research, service delivery, and product development based on user needs for workplace accommodations. This information will be posted to this site in the upcoming months.

Handouts and copies of presentations from these sessions have been uploaded for most of these sessions, and their links are on the abstract pages for each session.

Plenary Sessions

• Accommodation Benefits
  Peter Blanck
  Burton Blatt Institute; Law, Health Policy & Disability Center; and Syracuse University
• From AT to UD and Back Again
  Jon Sanford
  Work RERC, CATEA, Georgia Tech.
• Information Technology Accessibility: Implications for Employment of People with Disabilities
  Susanne M. Bruyere
  Employment and Disability Institute, Cornell University
• Safety In An Aging Population Looked At As A Group Issue By The Employer and as an Individual Issue by The "Disability" Professional
  David M Goldojarb
  Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc.
• Managing the Health and Productivity Connection: The Politics of Incapacity
  Ken Mitchell
  UnumProvident Corporation

Track I - Evidence Based Practice

• An Employment Snapshot of People with Disabilities in California
  Patricia Yeager; California Foundation for Independent Living Centers
• The ATOMS Project - AT Outcomes from the Vocational Model
  Todd Schwanke; Univ. of Wisconsin � Milwaukee
• Workplace Accommodations Outcomes
  Sarah Endicott; Work RERC, CATEA, Georgia Tech.
• Workplace Personal Assistance Services
  Susan Stoddard; RRTC on Personal Assistance Services, InfoUse

Track II - AT to Universal Design

• Berkeley & Chicago: Case Studies of Universally Designed Workplaces
  Valerie Fletcher; Adaptive Environments
• Pilot Study on Reach and Grocery Retail Workstations
  David Ringholz and R.L. Grubbs
  Work RERC, College of Architecture & CATEA, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Considering AT Solutions for Workers with Learning Disabilities
  Kristi Voelkerding; Easter Seals Massachusetts
• Improving Workplace Access and Accommodation for Chemically Sensitive Employees
  Mary Lamielle; National Center for Environmental Health Strategies, Inc.

Track III - UD & Information Tech.

• Assessment of Workplace Product Accessibility
  Brad Fain; ITTATC, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Universal Design in Telecommunications: Putting Practice into Policy
  Kelly Schaefer, Adele Crudden; RRTC on Blindness and Low Vision, Mississippi State Univ.
• The AudioMorph - Automated Auditory Interface Adaptation
  Melody Moore & Dan Ratanasit; Work RERC, Georgia State University
• Speech Recognition for Job Accommodation: Is it Ready for Prime Time?
  Paul Schwartz; Univ. of Wisconsin � Stout

Track IV - Safety in the Workplace

• A Prophylactic Approach to Workforce Evolution
  Frank Lepore & Katy Chaffee; Vermont Vocational Rehabilitation
• Accommodation & Real Risks: Integrating Productivity, Safety and Quality in the Workplace
  Deborah Kearney; Job Smart Systems
• Safety Regulations: Barriers to Employment in a Manufacturing Environment
  Scott Haynes; Work RERC, CATEA, Georgia Tech.
• Including Employees with Disabilities in Emergency Evacuation Plans
  Beth Loy & Anne Hirsh; Job Accommodation Network

Track V - Aging Workers

• Disability, Age And Accommodation: Old Isn't What It Used To Be
  Janet D. Fiore; The Sierra Group, Inc.
• Supporting the Older Workers at Work: A Conceptual Framework
  E. Kent Gillin; Univ. of Western Ontario
• Ageing and the Accommodating Workplace: A Survey of Employer Practice
  Lynzee Head; Work RERC, GCATT, Georgia Tech.
• Workplace Accommodation Use by Aging Workers
  Mike Williams; Work RERC, CATEA, Georgia Tech.

Track VI � Telework

• Telecommuting as a Reasonable Accommodation: A Framework for Decision-Making
  Shelley Kaplan; Southeast DBTAC, Georgia Tech.
• Virtual Exclusion and Telework: The Double-Edged Sword of Technocentric Workplace Accommodation Policy
  Paul Baker & Andrew Ward; Work RERC, GCATT, Georgia Tech.
• Remote Possibilities for Workplace Access
  Michael Dziak; Inteleworks
• Home-Based Telework: Past, Present and Future
  Richard Salnick & Roseanna Runsa, Expediter Corporation; Amy Nicole Dye, RRTC on Workplace Supports & Job Retention

Track VII - Service Delivery

• Early Deployment of Reasonable Accommodations for State Government Workers
  Andy Winnegar; NM Technology Assistance Program
• Putting the Pieces Together: Job Accommodations and Employers
  Michael Papp; Alabama Dept. of Rehabilitation Services
• Assessing Workplace Assessments
  Carrie Bruce & Jon Sanford; Work RERC, CATEA, Georgia Tech.
• Remote Accessibility Assessment of Built Environment for Individuals Who Use Wheeled Mobility Device
  David Brienza; RERC on Telerehab., Univ. of Pittsburgh

Conference Information Archive:

• Conference Information
• Agenda