Li Eria Ping Ying
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Int J Rehabil Res. 2004 Sep;27(3):241-5. doi: 10.1097/00004356-200409000-00011.
Despite a growing awareness of the need to promote equal opportunities for people with disabilities, little is known about the self-perceived employment opportunities for people with intellectual disability. This study adopted a qualitative approach to examine the issue of 'equalization of employment opportunities' with 18 young working adults with mild intellectual disability who participated in in-depth interviews. Content analysis and a constant comparative method were adopted for data analysis. Our findings revealed that having employment was regarded as being very important by all participants, and 17 participants had had both positive and negative employment experiences, which were mainly related to the workplace interpersonal relationships and the attitude of employers and co-workers. Eight participants might have experienced discrimination at work when employers and co-workers had misconceptions about people with intellectual disability. This study suggested that strategies such as equal opportunities education, natural support from employers and co-workers and disability education for the general public should be adopted to enable people with intellectual disability to have full participation in employment and social integration.
尽管人们越来越意识到有必要促进残疾人的平等机会，但对于智障人士自我感知的就业机会却知之甚少。本研究采用定性研究方法，对18名轻度智障的在职青年成年人进行深入访谈，以探讨“就业机会均等”问题。数据分析采用内容分析法和持续比较法。我们的研究结果显示，所有参与者都认为就业非常重要，17名参与者既有积极的就业经历，也有消极的就业经历，这些经历主要与职场人际关系以及雇主和同事的态度有关。当雇主和同事对智障人士存在误解时，8名参与者可能在工作中遭遇了歧视。本研究建议应采取诸如平等机会教育、雇主和同事的自然支持以及面向公众的残疾教育等策略，以使智障人士能够充分参与就业并融入社会。
