A previous post, Understanding Reasonable Accommodations for People with Disabilities, provides a useful overview of an employer's duty to make workplace or job changes in support of workers with disabilities. The possibilities run the gamut, including many that are free and effortless. Whatever the nature of your disability, it can probably be accommodated in ways that haven't even occurred to you!
Accommodation Examples
You may be familiar with the term "assistive technology," which refers to a device, piece of equipment, or software that serves as a reasonable accommodation. Assistive technology, however, is only one category of workplace accommodation. Here is a sampling of specific impairments and diverse methods of accommodating each.
- For low or no vision, the following accommodations may be helpful:
- Large-print format for written materials
- Software that magnifies or reads computer screens aloud
- Optical scanning and auditory read-back technology
- Braille labeling
- Announcements made via a public address system>/LI>
- Allowing a guide dog on-premises
- For partial or full hearing loss, the following accommodations may be helpful:
- Amplification devices
- Distribution of meeting minutes
- Instructions and other communications provided in printed format or via email
- Installment of a TTY or "text telephone"
- Blinking light to indicate ringing telephone
- Visual alert system for alarms
- Sign language interpreter
- For mobility difficulties, including wheelchair use, the following accommodations may be helpful:
- Installing ramps
- Raising desk height to fit a wheelchair underneath
- Modifying a rest room
- Stairlift
- Reduction or elimination of tasks requiring a great deal of movement throughout the workplace
- For motor skill impairments, the following accommodations may be helpful:
- Alternative computer input devices, such as speech recognition
- Hands-free telephone with a speaker and/or headset
- For fatigue or low stamina, the following accommodations may be helpful:
- Flexible work schedule
- Work from home ("telecommute") all or part of the day
- Part-time work or job sharing
- Longer or more frequent breaks
- Reduction or elimination of tasks requiring physical exertion
- For difficulties with reading, the following accommodations may be helpful:
- Use of pictures, symbols, and diagrams instead of words
- A reading pen that can be used to read an unfamiliar word aloud
- Verbal summaries of lengthy written documents
- Key points in written materials highlighted
- Instructions and other important information provided via voicemail or audiotape
- Software that reads computer screens aloud
- Optical scanning and auditory read-back technology
- For difficulties with organization and time management, the following accommodations may be helpful:
- Daily and weekly activity charts
- Large tasks divided into smaller ones
- Supervisor meets regularly with employee to review project status, prioritize activities, and estimate project completion time on assigned tasks
- Use of timers and electronic reminders
- For difficulties following instructions, the following accommodations may be helpful:
- Provide instructions verbally, in writing, or both, depending on how the employee learns best.
- Teach tasks slowly and in a step-by-step sequence.
- Allow time to practice and provide feedback.
- For difficulties with social interactions or speaking, the following accommodations may be helpful:
- Provide advance notice of topics to be discussed at meetings
- Allow written responses in lieu of verbal ones
- Allow telecommuting and email communications instead of face-to-face and telephone interactions
- For difficulties concentrating, the following accommodations may be helpful:
- Workspace in an area free of distractions
- Boxes and bins to organize workspace and decrease clutter.
- "White noise" machine
- Use of a noise-canceling headset, or headphones or ear buds on which to play soothing music
- Make arrangements for uninterrupted work time, either at certain times of day or when a "do not disturb" sign is posted
- Brief but more frequent breaks
- One task assigned at a time
- For difficulties with memory, the following accommodations may be helpful:
- Written and/or recorded verbal instructions and information.
- Visual flowcharts.
- Daily, weekly, and monthly task lists.
This is far from an exhaustive list, in terms of both impairments and possible accommodations. Learning disabilities and psychiatric disabilities, in particular, may have numerous associated impairments, such as difficulties with attendance, adapting to change, and writing, to name just a few.
Job Accommodation Network (“JAN”)
The Job Accommodation Network (also called "JAN"), which is a free service of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, is an excellent resource to help you explore your options.
JAN can be reached at 800-526-7234 (Voice) or 877-781-9403 (for the hearing impaired). Services are available in both English and Spanish. When a person calls JAN, he or she will be asked a few basic questions about the nature of the disability and job to determine which JAN consultant will handle the situation. JAN's consultants work in teams specializing in particular types of disabilities and accommodations.
The JAN website includes a Searchable Online Accommodation Resource (SOAR). This database includes more than 200,000 examples of accommodations, and provides those specific to the impairment and associated limitations specified. The website also includes a wealth of information about the ADA, disabilities, accommodations, and many other topics of interest to people with disabilities and their employers. Additionally, JAN consultants are available to provide personalized guidance.
Costs and Benefits to Employers
Data collection by JAN shows that more than half of all accommodations cost the employer nothing. In addition, employers may be eligible for tax incentives and funding to help defray expenses.
Importantly, most employers report that providing accommodations has produced financial benefits through reduced insurance and training costs and increased worker productivity.
How to Request a Reasonable Accommodation
To learn specific strategies for requesting or negotiating a reasonable accommodation, don't miss our post titled If You've Decided to Request a Workplace Accommodation, Here is Some Helpful Advice.
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