Disability in the Workplace: The Politics of Difference

This book introduces the difference model of disability. Framed within an affect-based understanding of the relationships between those living with impairments and others, this new model offers a reconsideration of the construct of disability itself. Disability is flexible, relational, and perceived through an acognitive lens.

At a practice level, the difference model offers a framework for creating more positive and successful relationships between people with disabilities (PWDs) and others within the workplace. This includes two new tools, the Co-Worker Acceptance of Disabled Employees (CADE) Scale and the Perceived Barriers to Employing Persons with Disabilities (PBED) Scale. Designed to measure workplace attitudes, and changes to these attitudes, each of these scales provides empirical evidence in support of strategic planning and, ultimately, an increased representation of PWDs. Finally, this book considers the effects of language and technology on workplace attitudes toward disability.

Jonathon S. Breen is a Postdoctoral Fellow of the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy (Faculty of Medicine) at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. His research interests focus on the theoretical and practical understandings of disability, particularly as these apply in the workplace. Dr Breen’s academic work follows an extensive career in both the public and the private sectors.

Susan J. Forwell is a Professor and Head of the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a Research Associate with both the UBC MS clinic and the International Collaboration of Research and Discovery. Her occupation-focused research and teaching address employment among populations with disability, occupational implications of life transitions, and functional difficulties among those with progressive neurological conditions.