Welcome to the RERC on Workplace Accommodations

The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Workplace Accommodations identifies, develops and promotes new assistive and universally designed technologies that maximize independence and participation of people with disabilities in the workplace. A primary focus of the Workplace RERC is the use of universal design concepts -- the design of products and environments to be usable by all workers, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

Accommodation in Action

Man with spinal cord injury using a rotating work station to do T.V/VCR repair.

Work RERC News

• Workplace Accommodations R&D Digest: May / June 2011
  Periodic electronic update on project activities and useful resources.
  To subscribe, send e-mail to sympa@lists.gatech.edu with a SUBJECT of "subscribe workrerc-news".
  
• Survey of Accommodation Use
  Data analysis is ongoing for our survey of workplace or job accommodation use, and we have begun to present some of the findings:
  • Visual impairments - presentation at the Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference (aka CSUN)
  • Cognitive impairments - part of our presentation at the annual NARRTC Conference
  • Physical impairments - part of our presentation at the RESNA/FICCDAT 2011 Conference
  
  
• RESNA 2011: Update from the RERC on Workplace Accommodations
  A presentation covering information about our research on job accommodation use, development of assessment tools, research on workplace participation, and development of context-aware technologies
  
• Workplace Provision of AT/RT
  Excerpt with preliminary findings from the FICCDAT/ RESNA 2011 Presentation: Effective RT/AT Service Delivery: State of Practice, Quality Indicators and ROI in the Workplace
  
• National Engineering Design Challenge: U.D. Award
  Congratulations go to Hotchkiss High School for winning a Work RERC-sponsored award for "Best Application of Universal Design Principles" as part of the National Engineering Design Challenge (NEDC). The Hotchkiss H.S. students won both the UD award and the overall competition for their design of "The Caboose" a hands-free method for people to transport their luggage while traveling for work.
  
• Database of Accommodation Case Studies Relaunched
  The Work RERC's popular "Accommodation Examples" resource is now being hosted on the ATWiki in a new "AT Applications" section. This change will make it easier for people to add interesting accommodation ideas and stories. The database currently contains about 80 case studies that can be searched by functional limitation, type of job family, or type of technology involved.
  Search the case studies.
  

Upcoming Events

• Continuing Education Courses
  CATEA will be offering several professional education courses in the upcoming months. These courses can be taken for CEUs, and they cover topics related to workplace accommodations, home modifications, aging in place, computer access and web accessibility. Several of the courses are available online.

Participate in our Research

• Successful Aging in the Workplace
  Do you work in an office? Want to share your experiences with using a computer? We are currently distributing an online survey to learn about the difficulties individuals may encounter while using a personal computer at work and about the ways they handle these difficulties in order to complete their job tasks. We are specifically interested in older individuals with disabilities or individuals who have experienced any loss in functioning. The online survey should take 15-30 minutes to complete. Contact Daniela Joppfor more information about this study.
• Join the CATEA Consumer Network (CCN)
  Provide feedback and participate in studies, such as the Work RERC's research on workplace accommodations. If you are interested in being part of the CCN, please take a moment to tell us about yourself in the sign-up survey. Membership is free, and some studies may provide payments for participation. Click Here to Join the CCN!