Science Summit at UNGA76

Two MSU College of Education faculty will be presenting during the Science Summit at the 76th United Nations General Assembly.

Read more about their presentation below; register to attend the Science Summit (for free!) here.

Promoting Transition to Employment and Independence among Individuals with Disabilities: Perspectives from Africa, America, Asia, and Europe 

One billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience forms of disabilities. Among those, one-fifth of the estimated global total, or between 110 million and 190 million people, experience significant disabilities. Disability prevalence is even higher for developing countries and those with disabilities are more likely to experience adverse socio-economic outcomes such as less education, poorer health and employment outcomes, and higher poverty rates.

The European Commission’s European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 had identified social exclusion as one of the grand challenges that people with disabilities in Europe are facing. People with disabilities are the most disadvantaged in society exacerbating many inequity issues. For instance, people with disabilities may have limited access to basic education, which can largely reduce their chances to obtain meaningful and gainful employment as adults. Globally, the employment rates of people with disabilities is significantly lower than their peers without disabilities. In addition to the socio-economic implications, social exclusion impacts negatively on self-esteem, mental health and quality of life. Thus, social Inclusion is an important element of well-being for people with disabilities and a key component of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Research has highlighted that social inclusion can be promoted through access to education and employment.

Research has also demonstrated that assistive technology (AT) can be a meaningful way to improve access to education, employment and independence among people with disabilities. While AT can be useful in improving the life of people with disabilities, the World Health Organization have identified that only 10% of the population in need of AT products have access to them. While AT provision varies across countries, the intent to support people with disabilities should be a global priority with a focus on removing barriers and providing facilitators to independent living, community participation, and transition from education to employment settings.

We will highlight the critical role of partnerships between Africa, America, Asia, and Europe in increasing inclusion, promoting transition from education settings to employment and independence, and improving the quality of life for people with disabilities. Using international projects, we will describe the challenges faced by inclusive education programs for transition-age youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We will also share initiatives and innovative strategies that are in place in building capacity and developing guidelines and programming for improving the situations. Finally, we will discuss the importance of promoting interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaborations between all stakeholders and placing the person with disability at the centre of the program and resources development, deployment and dissemination.

Panel Discussion Questions

1. 1. What is the current situation and challenges faced regarding transition to employment and independence among people with disabilities in your country?
   2. What existing initiatives and innovative strategies have been put in place to improve the transition to employment among people with disabilities in your country?
   3. What role do you see assistive technology can play in promoting the transition to employment among people with disabilities in your country?
   4. What are your recommendations for guidelines program development to improve the transition to employment among people with disabilities in your country? What should be the future directions for research and practice?

Speakers

• Geraldine Leader, senior lecturer at the School of Psychology & Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research, NUIG
• Connie Sung, associate professor of rehabilitation counseling, Michigan State University

Panelists

• Anna Podlesna, corporate social responsibility manager, Profesia
• Binta Koita, lecturer, University of Letters and Humanities, Bamako
• Shona Logan-King, head of community support, Rehab Group
• Cynthia Lai, associate professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• June L. Chen, associate professor and deputy director, Department of Special Education at East China Normal University
• Marisa Fisher, associate professor of special education, Michigan State University