A pilot study on attitudes toward making reasonable accommodations for occupational therapists with disabilities

Abstract

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ensures that persons with disabilities in the United States are entitled to reasonable accommodations in five areas including employment. This pilot study (1) tested the reliability and validity of a questionnaire, which (2) explored how much training American occupational therapists had in the ADA and (3) investigated the attitudes of occupational therapist supervisors toward occupational therapist employees with disabilities. A questionnaire consisting of 20 statements was designed by the researcher. The questionnaire was mailed to 18 occupational therapy administrators. Ten participants who completed the mailed questionnaire were included in the results. Participants with ADA training had a more positive attitude towards making reasonable accommodations than those without training. Only participants working in psychosocial settings claimed to have occupational therapy employees with disabilities. Six of the administrators made reasonable accommodations for employees who had disabilities. Further study of a larger sample of occupational therapy administrators is recommended to determine the attitude towards reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities.

When is differential treatment discriminatory? Legal, ethical, and professional considerations for psychology trainees with disabilities.

“…Unfortunately, the attitudes of the supervisor toward, for example, a trainee who is blind can be expected to be at least as negative, if not more so, than clients' attitudes (Joshi, 2006). Studies on health care professionals indicate that their attitudes toward disability are at least as negative as the general public's (McDougall, 2008; Miller, Ross, & Cleland, 2009; Mutchnick & Blount, 1996; Owoeye, Ologe, & Akande, 2007; Pope, 2005; Yuker, 1994). It is probable that unequal contact between an able-bodied professional with power and authority and a person with a disability who is the client or patient perpetuates negative stereotypes about persons with disabilities (Yuker, 1994).…”