Hasil untuk "Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities"

Holly N Whittenburg, Joshua P Taylor, Don D McMahon et al.

Background Employment specialists providing supported employment (SE) to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in rural communities face barriers to effective service delivery. Technology offers promise for enhancing services, yet little research has been conducted on how technology can be incorporated into SE.   Objective The purpose of this pilot study was to explore changes in SE service delivery for employment specialists supporting rural residents with IDD after receiving training on best practices and use of technology in SE. Method Employment specialists from two community rehabilitation providers participated in a 6-month pilot intervention focused on SE best practices and technology use. Monthly data were collected on direct service time, travel time, mileage, and technology use. Descriptive analyses investigated differences pre- and post-intervention. Results Direct service time increased from pre- to post-intervention; travel time and mileage decreased. A larger proportion of SE service delivery time was spent providing direct services to rural consumers with IDD. Technology use increased in terms of tools incorporated as well as range of SE activities that technology was used within. Conclusion Incorporating technology into SE service delivery to rural residents with IDD enhanced services through increased service efficiency and innovative approaches to addressing problems.

Eline Heppe, N. S. Søndergaard, E. Klaassen et al.

This scoping review aims to identify factors that facilitate or hinder labor market participation of people with an acquired hearing and vision impairment, also called acquired deafblindness (ADB). For people with ADB, participation in society is not a given, and work is a key aspect of societal participation. A literature search was conducted in Web of Science, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO via Ovid. The studies included involved people with ADB, results on labor market participation, and a description of at least one facilitator or barrier. Of 2,548 articles identified, 13 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework, 90 facilitators and 66 barriers were identified. Most facilitators and barriers were identified in the “Environmental Factors” domain, while the fewest facilitators were in the “Body Structures and Body Functions” and the fewest barriers in “Personal Factors.” As more facilitators than barriers were identified, labor market participation could be improved for people with ADB. However, most barriers were found in the “Services, Systems, and Policies” subdomain, suggesting vocational rehabilitation services may not be as effective as intended. Further research is needed to explore these barriers and their impact on employment for people with ADB.

Sana Javaid, Zainab Noor Qazi, Muhammad Ansar et al.

Abstract: Background: Cervicogenic headache is a common condition caused by issue in the cervical spine, leading to chronic head pain. Various treatments exist, including kinesiology Taping and Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization, but there is limited evidence comparing their effectiveness. Objective: In this study, the effects of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization and kinesiology taping on pain severity, range of motion, and functional status in individuals with cervicogenic headache were compared. Methodology: In the physiotherapy department of Healing Hands Institute, Mega Medical Complex, Rawalpindi, 36 participants with clinically diagnosed cervicogenic headache, headache, and stiffness in the neck, positive flexion rotation test with restriction of 6-10 degrees unilateral headache, aged 30-44 years, were divided into two equal groups for a clinical experiment that was randomized. While Group B received conventional therapy together with Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilizations (IASTM), Group A received conventional treatment along with Kinesiology Taping. Using a non-probability purposeful sampling approach, data was gathered at baseline and the fourth week to measure the indicator using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale, Neck Disability Index, and Bubble Inclinometer. SPSS version 22 was used for data analysis. (CTR : NCT05474612) Results: At 4 weeks of intervention, both groups A and B saw substantial improvements in disability, range of motion, and discomfort (p < 0.05). Although there were no statistically significant differences in cervical flexion, extension, left lateral flexion, or left rotation (p > 0.05), between-group analysis revealed statistically significant differences in NPRS, NDI, cervical right rotation, and cervical right lateral flexion (p < 0.05). In the case of within-group comparisons, all measures showed statistically significant changes (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The study concludes that the use of both instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization and kinesiology taping has been successful in improving range of motion and lowering pain and impairment. However, Group B (Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization) had a more notable improvement. Keywords: Cervical Atlas, Cervicogenic Headache, Headache Unilateral, Mobilization, Range of Motion.

Jabulani Mpofu, Maximus M. Sefotho

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are an evolving concept in the neurodiversity community. There is a continuum of views ranging from biological to social models, of which the medical model views ASD as pathological rather than atypical. How people live with their diversity attributes may depend on how they understand their own diversity attribute. Objectives: This study explored self-perceptions of young people with mild-to-moderate ASD within their cultural context. Method: Participants included an equal number of males and females with mild-to-moderate ASD (five each). They participated in two focus group discussions on self-perceptions of life situations in young people with ASD and whether they are considered as neurodiversity or pathology paradigms. Data analysis was done using the thematic content analysis approach. Results: Participants viewed ASD as: (1) a human neurological variation, (2) were not disordered, (3) had sense of friendship and belonging, and (4) had natural and normal social emotional development. Conclusion: Young people with ASD perceive ASD from a neurodiversity approach. A neurodiversity approach to ASD is primarily a social justice movement aiming to end what proponents see as the default pathologisation of neurodivergence and promoting the acceptance and accommodation of human neurodiversity. Contribution: This study enhances understanding of self-perceptions among young people with ASD in Zimbabwe, revealing challenges and strengths unique to their experiences. It may inform educators and policymakers, promoting inclusive practices and tailored interventions, ultimately fostering empowerment, acceptance, and improved quality of life for young people within this community.

Muhammad Usman Ali, Haleema Akhtar, Ujala Nauman Ghumman et al.

Background: Vibroacoustic therapy (VAT) employs low-frequency sound vibrations in combination with therapeutic interventions to enhance neuromotor rehabilitation. It is increasingly explored for managing symptoms associated with neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy (CP), stroke, and multiple sclerosis (MS), including spasticity, proprioception, and neuroplasticity. Objective: This review summarizes current evidence on VAT in neurorehabilitation, highlights its mechanisms of action, discusses clinical applications, and outlines future challenges and directions. Methods: Relevant literature on VAT, including randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies, and systematic reviews, was synthesized to evaluate its therapeutic potential, feasibility, and emerging applications. Results: VAT uniquely integrates mechanical oscillations with music, distinguishing it from conventional vibration therapies. Evidence supports its benefits in reducing spasticity, enhancing motor recovery, and improving sensory function in both paediatric and adult populations. VAT also shows promise in respiratory conditions and in home-based care using wearable technology. Despite its potential, VAT research remains limited, underfunded, and hindered by a lack of standardized treatment protocols. Conclusion: VAT holds promise as a safe, non-invasive adjunct to conventional rehabilitation, particularly for CP and stroke. Standardization of protocols and large-scale clinical trials are required before widespread clinical adoption can be recommended.

Sorcha Smith, Joanne McVeigh

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurological disorder generally experienced as challenging, as it impacts multiple aspects of an individual’s life. There is a significant gap in the literature surrounding ADHD in adults, including experiences of stigma and social inclusion from the perspective of people with ADHD. This study aimed to explore perceptions and experiences of social inclusion and stigma amongst a sample of university students with ADHD living in Ireland. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven participants (four men and three women), including two follow-up interviews. The participants were all university students with an official diagnosis of ADHD. Data from the interviews were analysed using the descriptive and interpretive method of Constant Comparison Analysis. In total, sixteen categories (themes) were extracted and classified into five overarching domains: informational access, access to healthcare, attitudinal access, social inclusion, and academic accommodations. The findings indicated that ADHD adversely affects university students’ experience of social inclusion. Barriers to effective healthcare, negative attitudes towards ADHD, and misinformation/lack of information were all highlighted as risk factors for feelings of social exclusion. Universities should include students with disabilities when designing policies and provide accommodations to support them. Additionally, greater awareness and informational access is imperative to improving social inclusion for people with ADHD.

Luis Enrique Espinoza, Amanda M. Hinson-Enslin, Heather F. de Vries McClintock et al.

This study examined the association between formal sex education (FSE), sensory disability status, and contraceptive use among U.S. women. Women with disabilities face barriers to contraceptive decision-making, such as limited accessible FSE content and topics. Data were weighted and analyzed from the 2011–2019 National Survey of Family Growth among women 15–25 years of age. Multivariable logistic regression and moderation analysis examined the association between sensory disability status, contraceptive use during last sexual encounter, and FSE topics. Women with hearing loss or both hearing loss and vision loss were less likely to use contraceptives during last sexual encounter than women without sensory disability (hearing loss: adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.36; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14, 0.96; both: aOR: 0.28; CI: 0.08, 0.91). Exploratory moderation analysis showed women with vision loss who received FSE on birth control methods (aOR: 6.14; 95% CI: 1.70, 22.23) and on sexually transmitted infections (aOR: 28.24; 95% CI: 1.71, 46.63). The estimates were based on small numbers of individuals within each subgroup and wide confidence intervals, and thus should be interpreted with caution. The findings point to differences in contraceptive use according to sensory disability status, indicating future studies need larger sample sizes to better understand the role of FSE for women with sensory disability.

Dingyang Wang, Sen Yuan, Alexander Yarovoy et al.

The problem of radar-based tracking of groups of people moving together and counting their numbers in indoor environments is considered here. A novel processing pipeline to track groups of people moving together and count their numbers is proposed and validated. The pipeline is specifically designed to deal with frequent changes of direction and stop & go movements typical of indoor activities. The proposed approach combines a tracker with a classifier to count the number of grouped people; this uses both spatial features extracted from range-azimuth maps, and Doppler frequency features extracted with wavelet decomposition. Thus, the pipeline outputs over time both the location and number of people present. The proposed approach is verified with experimental data collected with a 24 GHz Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar. It is shown that the proposed method achieves 95.59% accuracy in counting the number of people, and a tracking metric OSPA of 0.338. Furthermore, the performance is analyzed as a function of different relevant variables such as feature combinations and scenarios.

Jimin Mun, Wei Bin Au Yeong, Wesley Hanwen Deng et al.

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need to incorporate lay-people's input into the governance and acceptability assessment of AI usage. However, how and why people judge acceptability of different AI use cases remains under-explored, despite it being crucial towards understanding and addressing potential sources of disagreement. In this work, we investigate the demographic and reasoning factors that influence people's judgments about AI's development via a survey administered to demographically diverse participants (N=197). As a way to probe into these decision factors as well as inherent variations of perceptions across use cases, we consider ten distinct labor-replacement (e.g., Lawyer AI) and personal health (e.g., Digital Medical Advice AI) AI use cases. We explore the relationships between participants' judgments and their rationales such as reasoning approaches (cost-benefit reasoning vs. rule-based). Our empirical findings reveal a number of factors that influence acceptance. We find lower acceptance of labor-replacement usage over personal health, significant influence of demographics factors such as gender, employment, education, and AI literacy level, and prevalence of rule-based reasoning for unacceptable use cases. Moreover, we observe unified reasoning type (e.g., cost-benefit reasoning) leading to higher agreement. Based on these findings, we discuss the key implications towards understanding and mitigating disagreements on the acceptability of AI use cases to collaboratively build consensus.

Ayoob Lone, Abdul Sattar Khan, Abdullah Almaqhawi et al.

Children with disabilities face unique challenges that affect their well-being and quality of life (QOL). This study explores the intersectionality of disability and coping strategies in Saudi Arabia, a context in which comprehensive research on this topic is scarce. Cultural barriers hinder research participation, and data on the prevalence of disabilities are limited. A cross-sectional design was used to capture the dynamic relationship between coping strategies and QOL. A stratified random sample of 369 children (aged 6-18 years) from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds was studied. QOL was measured using the short form-12 health survey to assess the physical and mental components. Coping strategies were assessed using the validated COPE inventory. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the association between QOL and coping strategies. The significance level was set at a P value of <0.05 throughout the analysis. The findings of this study revealed that participants with auditory problem have shown better QOL as compared to children with other disabilities. Participants with visual problems reported a greater use of emotional support, information support, positive reframing, acceptance, and religious coping. Children with autism were found to use only coping strategies. Participants with intellectual disabilities used behavioral and humorous coping strategies. Participants with auditory problems believed in active coping, denial, and substance abuse. Physical functioning, physical role, bodily pain, emotional role, and physical component summary were found to be significantly and negatively correlated with coping strategies, whereas general health, vitality, social functioning, and mental health were positively and significantly related to coping strategies. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that emotional support, denial, behavioral disengagement, self-blame, religion, acceptance, humor, and substance abuse were significant predictors of QOL. Overall, the findings of this study emphasize the complexity of addressing the needs of disabled children and the importance of holistic and culturally sensitive approaches in rehabilitation and support programs.

Salman Nourbakhsh, Ume Salmah Abdul Rehman, Hélène Carbonneau et al.

To improve inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWD), it is important to create suitable physical and social environments. This can be done by improving awareness about disability, specifically for employees working in the service and cultural sectors. Virtual reality (VR) simulation can be advantageous by providing an engaging experience highlighting physical accessibility issues, as well as social interactions with virtual avatars. This study’s objective was to validate the content of two disability awareness VR scenarios in museum employees and individuals with disabilities in terms of perceived usefulness. Five PWD and seven museum employees experienced two VR scenarios illustrating a museum visit for a person with low vision or using a wheelchair. The scenarios consisted of different scenes such as finding an accessible entrance and interacting with virtual employees. Participants were interviewed about their experience, with questions related to the realism of the scenarios and their perceived usefulness. Four main themes were identified specifically: emotions, experience, usefulness, and realism. Our scenarios were seen as useful in describing social and physical barriers experienced by PWD. VR can be a valid tool to promote disability awareness among employees in a sociocultural setting, representing a step towards the inclusion of PWD.

Aliza Zehra, Zaeema Ahmer, Uzma Qadri et al.

Objectives: This study assesses the frequency of depression, anxiety, and stress in formal and informal caregivers of autistic children in Karachi City, Pakistan. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among caregivers of autistic children in specified centers in Karachi City, Pakistan. There were 255 participants out of which 111 were formal caregivers and 144 were informal caregivers. Depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS) was used to collect the data. The chi-square test was used to determine the relationship between the frequency of depression anxiety and stress among the two groups. Results: A total of 76.3% of informal caregivers were suffering from mild depression, 59.3% were moderately depressed, and 76.5% were severely depressed (P<0.01). Similarly, 72.4% had mild anxiety, 68.2% were moderately anxious, and 50.5% were severely anxious (P<0.01). In addition, 75.0% demonstrated mild, 71.1% moderate, 85.7% severe, and 95.0% extremely severe stress (P<0.01). However, there were no significant levels of depression, anxiety, and stress found among formal caregivers. Discussion: Depression, anxiety and stress were more commonly present in parents of autistic children (informal caregivers) as compared to formal caregivers.

Ryan Liu, Jiayi Geng, Joshua C. Peterson et al.

In order for AI systems to communicate effectively with people, they must understand how we make decisions. However, people's decisions are not always rational, so the implicit internal models of human decision-making in Large Language Models (LLMs) must account for this. Previous empirical evidence seems to suggest that these implicit models are accurate -- LLMs offer believable proxies of human behavior, acting how we expect humans would in everyday interactions. However, by comparing LLM behavior and predictions to a large dataset of human decisions, we find that this is actually not the case: when both simulating and predicting people's choices, a suite of cutting-edge LLMs (GPT-4o & 4-Turbo, Llama-3-8B & 70B, Claude 3 Opus) assume that people are more rational than we really are. Specifically, these models deviate from human behavior and align more closely with a classic model of rational choice -- expected value theory. Interestingly, people also tend to assume that other people are rational when interpreting their behavior. As a consequence, when we compare the inferences that LLMs and people draw from the decisions of others using another psychological dataset, we find that these inferences are highly correlated. Thus, the implicit decision-making models of LLMs appear to be aligned with the human expectation that other people will act rationally, rather than with how people actually act.

Tim Unger, Arash Sal Moslehian, J. D. Peiffer et al.

Marker-based Optical Motion Capture (OMC) paired with biomechanical modeling is currently considered the most precise and accurate method for measuring human movement kinematics. However, combining differentiable biomechanical modeling with Markerless Motion Capture (MMC) offers a promising approach to motion capture in clinical settings, requiring only minimal equipment, such as synchronized webcams, and minimal effort for data collection. This study compares key kinematic outcomes from biomechanically modeled MMC and OMC data in 15 stroke patients performing the drinking task, a functional task recommended for assessing upper limb movement quality. We observed a high level of agreement in kinematic trajectories between MMC and OMC, as indicated by high correlations (median r above 0.95 for the majority of kinematic trajectories) and median RMSE values ranging from 2-5 degrees for joint angles, 0.04 m/s for end-effector velocity, and 6 mm for trunk displacement. Trial-to-trial biases between OMC and MMC were consistent within participant sessions, with interquartile ranges of bias around 1-3 degrees for joint angles, 0.01 m/s in end-effector velocity, and approximately 3mm for trunk displacement. Our findings indicate that our MMC for arm tracking is approaching the accuracy of marker-based methods, supporting its potential for use in clinical settings. MMC could provide valuable insights into movement rehabilitation in stroke patients, potentially enhancing the effectiveness of rehabilitation strategies.

Zinat Ara, Amrita Ganguly, Donna Peppard et al.

Successful job search results from job seekers' well-shaped social communication. While well-known differences in communication exist between people with autism and neurotypicals, little is known about how people with autism collaborate with their social surroundings to strive in the job market. To better understand the practices and challenges of collaborative job seeking for people with autism, we interviewed 20 participants including applicants with autism, their social surroundings, and career experts. Through the interviews, we identified social challenges that people with autism face during their job seeking; the social support they leverage to be successful; and the technological limitations that hinder their collaboration. We designed four probes that represent major collaborative features found from the interviews--executive planning, communication, stage-wise preparation, and neurodivergent community formation--and discussed their potential usefulness and impact through three focus groups. We provide implications regarding how our findings can enhance collaborative job seeking experiences for people with autism through new designs.

Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou, Weirui Peng, Yuhan Liu et al.

Sensory substitution or enhancement techniques have been proposed to enable deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) people to listen to and even compose music. However, little is known about how such techniques enhance DHH people's music experience. Since deafness is a spectrum -- as are DHH people's preferences and perceptions of music -- a more situated understanding of their interaction with music is needed. To understand the music experience of this population, we conducted social media analyses, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in the deaf and hard of hearing Reddit communities. Our content analysis revealed that DHH people leveraged sign language and visual/haptic cues to feel the music and preferred familiar, non-lyrical, instrument-heavy, and loud music. In addition, hearing aids were not customized for music, and the visual/haptic techniques developed were not widely adopted by DHH people, leading to their suboptimal music experiences. The DHH community embodied mutual support among music lovers, evidenced by active information sharing and Q&A around music and hearing loss. We reflect on design justice for DHH people's music experience and propose practical design implications to create a more accessible music experience for them.

Benjamin Lebrun, Andrew Vonasch, Christoph Bartneck

A recent psychology study found that people sometimes reject overly generous offers from people because they imagine hidden ''phantom costs'' must be part of the transaction. Phantom costs occur when a person seems overly generous for no apparent reason. This study aims to explore whether people can imagine phantom costs when interacting with a robot. To this end, screen or physically embodied agents (human or robot) offered to people either a cookie or a cookie + \$2. Participants were then asked to make a choice whether they would accept or decline the offer. Results showed that people did perceive phantom costs in the offer + \$2 conditions when interacting with a human, but also with a robot, across both embodiment levels, leading to the characteristic behavioral effect that offering more money made people less likely to accept the offer. While people were more likely to accept offers from a robot than from a human, people more often accepted offers from humans when they were physically compared to screen embodied but were equally likely to accept the offer from a robot whether it was screen or physically embodied. This suggests that people can treat robots (and humans) as social agents with hidden intentions and knowledge, and that this influences their behavior toward them. This provides not only new insights on how people make decisions when interacting with a robot but also how robot embodiment impacts HRI research.

Bohdan Lidich

The article examines some issues of social protection of persons with disabilities under martial law. The author aims at analysing the challenges in this area caused by the war and the measures taken by the state to create conditions for ensuring the rights and opportunities of persons with disabilities.The author draws attention to the fact that the ongoing armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine leads to a steady increase in the number of persons with disabilities, which is caused by a number of factors, including injuries and wounds, both combat and civilian, limited access to medical care, constant stress, etc. The author emphasises that all this leads to an increased need for social assistance and social protection of persons with disabilities under martial law.The author identifies the problems and new challenges faced by persons with disabilities under martial law. It is noted that the protection of persons with disabilities, especially military personnel, should be one of the priority tasks of the State during the period of the martial law.Based on the analysis of legislation and legislative initiatives, the author notes that in order to respond to the challenges of war, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has significantly simplified the procedure for establishing and prolonging disability, provided access to medical and social expertise in a remote format, and extended all social benefits, privileges, services, etc. The author also focuses on the gaps in the work of the medical and social expert commissions. Considerable attention is also paid to the analysis of the legislative regulation of creating favourable conditions for the employment of persons with disabilities. The author comes to the conclusion that the existing problems require a comprehensive approach and constant attention from government agencies, employers and the public. Only through joint efforts can we overcome the war and its consequences, as well as create conditions for the country's recovery. There is a need to continue working on creating a barrier-free environment, developing a system of vocational rehabilitation, changing society's attitude towards people with disabilities and ensuring their rights.

Mishal Nadeem, Muhammad Asim Arif, Aneeqa Manzoor et al.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most catastrophic events that mankind has seen in the 21st century. It imposed a massive psychological strain on every segment of the population, especially on health care providers who were and are exposed to elevated infection risks. Objective: To assess the frequency of stress, anxiety and depression among Physical therapists and their coping strategies during COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study of 189 Physical therapists was undertaken in the 3rd COVID-19 wave during May and June. The questionnaire contained demographic information as well as inquired whether or not the respondents were contacted by COVID-19 patients at their workplace. DASS–21 was used to investigate the frequency of stress, anxiety, and depression and a 12-item checklist of the preferred coping strategies was completed by physical therapists, and results were analyzed by SPSS-21. The study was completed within 4 months. Results: Among 189 physical therapists with a mean age of 27±3.34, 78 (41.3%) were males and 111 (58.7%) were females. Fifty (26.4%) of the participants reported moderate to severe depression levels. Fifty-seven (30.2%) reported moderate to severe anxiety levels and sixty-nine (36.5%) reported moderate to severe stress levels. The most commonly utilized coping strategy among all physical therapists was "taking protective measures (washing hands, wearing masks and measuring temp.)” during this pandemic. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have a substantial negative impact on the physiotherapist’s mental health. A significant percentage of them reported negative emotional states, despite the declining positivity ratio in COVID during the months of data collection. These results indicate that mental health should not be overlooked in the event of a pandemic, and physical therapists should be provided with psychological support, with an emphasis on effective coping strategies during this pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19; Physical therapists; Stress; Anxiety; Depression; Coping strategies

Emma Sweeney, Johanna Fitzgerald

Radical transformation of Ireland’s special education system has occurred over the past three decades. National and international policy and legislative drivers for a more inclusive approach to education have resulted in greater levels of mainstreaming, with one exception. Provision for autistic children is increasingly provided through special classes: discrete classes attached to mainstream schools. This paper presents findings from a qualitative exploration of the benefits and challenges attributed to autism class provision in mainstream primary schools in Ireland, from the perspective of teachers and school principals. The findings reveal a role for autism special class teachers that is multi-faceted, rewarding, challenging, and directly related to the extent to which the special class is systematically included with whole school policy and practice. The significance of leadership and collaboration in promoting inclusive approaches to autism class provision features strongly in the findings and influences schools’ willingness to establish special classes. Micro-exclusion emerged as a theme and is linked to school culture and ethos. Findings contribute unique perspectives of school personnel, and recommendations create awareness of the benefits and challenges associated with autism special class provision and inform future innovation at a time when inclusive policy agendas and practices relating to autism provision arguably contradict each other.