HEMI

PID2020-115457RB-I00

OBJETIVE

Objective: This project focuses on the employment of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) (people with limitations in the skills with which they learn to function in daily life in different situations) in ordinary organisations (working alongside people without intellectual disabilities) as a means of their social inclusion, and more specifically on the challenges that this employment has and the psychosocial impact it has on the work environment. It is estimated that around half a million people in Spain (1%) have an ID, and of these, 60% have their disability recognised and seek and receive support (IMSERSO, 2016). In recent decades, there have been advances in the social inclusion of this group, both in our country and internationally. The deinstitutionalisation movement, which began in the 1970s, has led to the progressive involvement of people with ID in different social institutions related to education, employment, free time, culture, sport and civic activities (Lysaght, Cobigo and Hamilton, 2012). In Spain, efforts have resulted in legal changes, employment incentives and the deployment of significant resources of different kinds. Public administration, private initiative and civil society itself (third sector) have launched different types of services aimed at improving social inclusion and the general quality of life of people with ID: day centres, special education centres, occupational centres, special employment centres, residences, supervised housing, etc. A common thread in all these services and resources is to bring people with ID closer to the community and counteract previous institutionalisation. Despite these efforts, and the positive results achieved, much remains to be done in terms of social inclusion. In many cases, people with ID carry out their activities in sheltered centres where they barely interact with other people without ID, and when they go out into the community, it is common for them to do so in groups where people with ID also predominate. Some have called this phenomenon the “illusion of inclusion” (Metzel & Walker, 2001; Pellicano, Bölte & Stahmer, 2018; Welsby & Horsfall, 2011). Services have been organised to seek, among other objectives, the social inclusion of people with ID, but this is not fully effective. More people with ID are seen on the streets and in other places, but they are to a certain extent “invisible” to people without ID with whom they barely interact (Dusseljee et al., 2011). A gap exists between the objectives of our societies to achieve full inclusion (see United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006) and the everyday reality of people with ID. This project addresses three challenges for the employment of people with ID: digitalisation, the gender gap and the contributions of people with ID in their work. All this through interviews, Delphi method and diary study.

• Eva Lira, Zaragoza University
• Jorge Arbués, Zaragoza University