Accommodations for Mobility and Dexterity Disabilities: What the Data Shows
For workers with mobility or hand and arm (dexterity) limitations, the survey data points to a clear pattern: accessible built-in features and flexible policies matter as much as, or more than, specialized equipment.
This is a short summary, not the full study. If a detail matters to you, follow the links to the original.
What it found
- In the same 2011 survey program (Maureen Linden, presented at the RESNA conference), the accommodations most common among workers with mobility limitations were built-in accessible features (about 78 percent), an adjustable work schedule (about 52 percent), a flexible schedule (about 49 percent), and help from a coworker (about 48 percent).
- Among workers with upper-extremity (dexterity) limitations, the pattern was similar: built-in features, adjustable and flexible schedules, coworker help, and computer input devices were used most.
- Unmet needs differed sharply between the two groups. Only about 3 percent of workers with mobility limitations reported unmet needs, compared with about 28 percent of those with dexterity limitations, who most often still needed computer input devices or built-in features.
- The researchers noted that high-tech assistive devices were not at the top of the list. Changes to policy and to the physical environment were used more often.
Why it matters
If you have a mobility or dexterity condition, two things are worth remembering when you ask. First, accessible building and workstation features and flexible scheduling are mainstream, widely used accommodations, not unusual requests. Second, if your needs involve typing, pointing, or reaching, it is worth being specific, because that is where workers most often reported gaps.
Worth keeping in mind
- This was a preliminary analysis of a limited 2011 survey sample.
- Mobility and dexterity limitations vary widely, and the survey grouped many different conditions together.
Sources
Every point above is drawn from these sources: the original study and current official guidance. Links open in a new tab.
- Accommodation and Compliance: the A to Z of disabilities and accommodations (opens in a new tab) Job Accommodation Network (JAN), funded by the U.S. Department of Labor
- Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the ADA (opens in a new tab) U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Workplace accommodations and unmet needs (Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 2012) (opens in a new tab) Linden, M., peer-reviewed report from the same workplace-accommodation survey program