Home-based employment can be an excellent option for some people with disabilities. Whether full-time or part-time, self-employment or company staff, paid or volunteer, working at home can offer several advantages: a comfortable environment, the availability of attendant support, the flexibility to deal with health or personal care needs without having to leave work, and a work area that you can customize for maximum accessibility.
Where do you start when designing your home office? Based on my own experience, and the approaches taken by friends and colleagues, I offer the following suggestions for creating an accessible home office:
Step One: Based on your job description or business plan, think about the activities you’ll need to carry out in your home office. Ask yourself what you expect to do during a typical workday — make phone calls? talk on the phone for long periods? take notes? take notes while talking on the phone? write reports? consult books or other texts? file papers? Make a list of the tasks you expect to perform, with rough estimates of the time involved in each.
Step Two: Assess your own access needs. You’re already in the door; so think broadly about everything you might need in order to function most effectively. How much room do you need to move around and accommodate your equipment and supplies? Which of the work tasks you’ve listed will require adaptations? What do you need to feel safe and comfortable?
Step Three: If you haven’t already, get services from your local Vocational Rehabilitation office. Accessibility can be expensive. The purpose of the federally-funded VR program is to spend money to enable people with disabilities to become employable and/or employed. Even if you don’t have a job yet, VR can work with you to get what you need to pursue your employment goals. A couple of things to keep in mind when you approach VR: You need an active case file and prior approval before VR will pay for anything; so don’t make any purchases until you get the go-ahead, and follow purchasing rules. Also, if you run into trouble, don’t give up on VR. It’s a bureaucratic system, but it’s there to help you. Be prepared to advocate for yourself, and to get advocacy assistance if necessary. (Every state has a "Client Assistance Program" to help navigate and advocate within the VR system.) Remember, you’re the expert on your needs and capabilities.
Step Four: Identify specific problems and solutions. Need to reach several file drawers from your wheelchair? Consider placing them side by side rather than stacking them. Can’t use a keyboard? Think about alternate input strategies, ranging from a mouth stick to voice recognition software.
Step Five: Investigate all the resources available for modifying office environments. There’s a great database called ABLEDATA, sponsored by The National Institute on Disability & Rehabilitation Research, that lists thousands of products, manufacturers and distributors. It also offers an extensive library of articles and publications about all kinds of assistive technology.
You can call ABLEDATA at 800-227-0216, or visit their website at www.abledata.com.
