Developing a Universal Design Strategy to Promote Equity in Employing People with Speech Disabilities

People with disabilities face many barriers to employment. The employment rate of Canadians with disabilities was 49% in 2011, compared with 79% for individuals without a disability. People with communication disabilities face employment rates as low as 14% (McNaughton, 2002), leaving this segment of Canadian society financially dependent, socially isolated, and personally unfulfilled. We seek to develop a universally designed framework to enhance recruiting, hiring and retaining persons with communication disabilities to promote equal access to employment for these individuals. The Six Sigma engineering process DMADV (Define-Measure-Analyze-Design-Verify) is being used to develop this framework for employers. Developing a universal design framework to promote equity in employing people with communication disabilities will socially connect this otherwise isolated population, provide personal fulfillment, increase financial independence, and, hence, improve overall quality of life.

Faculty Supervisor:

Claire Davies

Student:

Partner:

Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

Queen's University

Program: