WORKERS WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

NIOSH-funded Research and Publications Related to Workers with Disabilities

Sheltered Employment

Protecting Workers with Developmental Disabilities is a NIOSH report that grew from health hazard evaluations of 11 sheltered workshops. The report discusses a variety of work-related topics and ways to provide a safe workplace for workers who have a developmental disability.

The report concluded that workers with developmental disabilities would benefit if management knew more about workers’ safety and health issues. Managers had a limited understanding of federal and state regulations about workers' safety and health and were unsure where to find answers. NIOSH created a state-by-state database of relevant resources.

Mainstream Employment

Promoting the Health and Safety of Individuals with Developmental Disabilities Employed in Mainstream Settings This NIOSH-funded project was conducted by the Labor Occupational Health Program at the University of California (UC), Berkeley. The project reviewed research on workplace injury and job safety and health training for workers with developmental disabilities. It also interviewed staff from federal agencies related to employing adults with disabilities and 21 national non-profit organizations that deal with employment of adults with disabilities.

Staying Safe at Work: Teaching Workers with Developmental Disabilities is a training course developed by the Labor Occupational Health Program at UC Berkeley with hands-on activities that encourage practice and don't require reading skills. Topics include how workers with developmental disabilities can identify and protect themselves from workplace hazards, what to do in an emergency, and how to speak up about a safety problem at work.
Project staff created a version of the curriculum to support the Walgreens Disability Inclusion initiative to hire workers with disabilities in its new distribution centers. Walgreens trainees with disabilities take part in this course while they are learning to do their job in the company's training centers.

Other NIOSH-supported research

Developmentally disabled worker dies after being run over by a front-end loader in California As part of the FACE (Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation) program, an investigation of a death at a job training center for people with disabilities offered suggestions to prevent future harm.

Job stress and infectious disease risks in an adult development center
A health hazard evaluation of an adult developmental center included interviews with staff members and a review of factors that could cause job stress among those who worked at the adult development center.

Restricted opportunities at work, a comparison of mental and physical disabilities in the national health interview disability supplement
This study examined subtle forms of perceived discrimination toward workers with developmental and physical disabilities. Nearly 10% of workers with disabilities reported that their disability resulted in losing at least one opportunity (promotion, transfer, or access to training).