The following information is a general overview of the more common disabilities. It is intended only as a starting point for getting to know and understand an individual with a disability.

Common Physical Disabilities:

• Cerebral Palsy (CP) - difficulty fully controlling body movement and muscle co-ordination. It does not get worse and occurs from damage to specific areas of the brain before, during or shortly after birth, or in infancy.
• Spina Bifida - failure of the spine of the foetus to close properly resulting in varying degrees of paralysis of the legs, loss of sensation and difficulty with bladder and bowel control.
• Arthritis - a range of chronic diseases that cause pain, stiffness and loss of movement because of degeneration in joints. The cause is unknown although recent studies show that many people inherit the disorder.

Common Neurological Disabilities:

• Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) - an impairment in brain functioning commonly caused by trauma, tumours, brain infections, ingestion of toxic substances or exposure to toxic chemicals. ABI can lead to difficulties with memory, attention, organisation, sensation, movement and interacting with others.
• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) - progressive degeneration of the sheath surrounding nerve fibres that causes a loss of smooth, rapid and co-ordinated movements. People with MS have a different set of symptoms that vary from time to time and can change in severity and duration, even in the same person over a day.
• Epilepsy - a short, sudden electrical disturbance in the brain that alters a person's consciousness, movement or actions. The physical changes are sometimes called seizures. Seizures can range through periods of involuntary movement of the arms and legs or 'fainting spells' followed by excessive fatigue, confused memory or 'blackouts' or periods of staring and unresponsiveness without loss of consciousness.

Common Sensory Disabilities:

• Total blindness - a person who has no vision at all.
• Legal blindness - a person who cannot see at 6 metres what a normal sighted person can see at 60 metres, or whose field of vision is 10 degrees or less (as opposed to the normal 180 degrees). 95% of legally blind people have some useful vision.
• Macular Degeneration - loss of central vision caused by disease to the retina (layer at the back of the eyeball). Side (peripheral) vision remains.
• Glaucoma - a rise in pressure in the eye that may lead to narrowing of the field of vision (tunnel vision remains), total blindness, or misting of vision or halo-ing of lights (glare sensitivity).
• Diabetic Retinopathy - patchy vision of varying degrees of severity resulting from ruptured blood vessels in the retina (layer at the back of the eyeball).
• Cataracts - clouding of the focusing lens of the eye that results in clouding of vision (milky), blurriness and eventual blindness.
• Hearing impairment - very few people are totally deaf. While some people benefit from using hearing aids (amplification), the sound quality is still affected and for many the sound is still unintelligible. At best only 25% of spoken English words are clearly identifiable with speech (lip) reading, even when combined with residual hearing.

Common Developmental Disabilities:

• Intellectual Disability (ID) - intellectual functioning (as measured by an IQ test) that falls within the bottom 5% of the population and occurs before the age of 18 coupled with functional limitations in two or more of the daily living skills (e.g. self-care, communication, mobility) needed to independently live, work or recreate in the community.
• Down Syndrome - an extra chromosome that leads to a recognisable physical appearance and varying degrees of intellectual disability. Usually, but not always, co-ordination and language skills develop more slowly.
• Learning Difficulties (LD) - a difficulty in understanding or using language, whether spoken or written, where there is no other type of disability. It may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations. Dyslexia (a profound and persistent difficulty learning to read despite intelligence, motivation and education) is the most common form of learning disability.
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (AD/HD) - characterised by forgetfulness, inability to concentrate, poor attention span and impulsiveness. Both disorders may lead to disorganisation, difficulty following rapid conversations, low self-esteem and a reduced ability to keep track of one's own belongings and of time. Some of the behavioural characteristics that distinguish between the two related disorders are as follows. People with ADD can be very sensitive to criticism, tend to not have close friends, be overly polite and be under-assertive. People with ADHD can be hyperactive, can make friends more easily, be intrusive, rebellious, bossy, irritating and be inclined to show off.
• Autism - difficulty with understanding what is seen, heard and otherwise sensed that results in problems with learning normal speech and communication, and appropriate ways to relate to people, objects and events. As is the case with most developmental disabilities, there are usually uneven patterns of intellectual functioning. People with Autism may have below average, average or above-average intelligence.

Common Psychiatric disabilities:

• Schizophrenia - a complex group of mental illnesses that have in common a loss of touch with reality (at least for some time) to a serious degree. Symptoms may include: delusional thoughts, hallucinations, confused thinking or speech, inappropriate moods, flattened emotions, bizarre behaviour and/or social withdrawal. Schizophrenia does not mean multiple personalities.
• Depression - feeling down, numb or empty or a sadness that is out of proportion to any external causes, which leads to a noticeable loss in the ability to feel pleasure about anything. It is a condition in which a person experiences a marked change in their mood and in the way they view themselves and the world.
• Bipolar Disorder (manic depression) - a condition involving swings from being overly 'high' and agitated, to sad and hopeless, and then back again, with normal mood in between. It tends to run in families and often goes unrecognised.
• Anxiety Disorders - illnesses that cause people for no apparent reason to feel anxiety (feelings that may include being frightened, distressed, agitated and uneasy). Includes illnesses characterised by repeated episodes of intense fear that strike often without warning (panic disorder), repeated unwanted thoughts or compulsive behaviours that seem impossible to stop or control (obsessive-compulsive disorder), an extreme disabling and irrational fear of something that poses little or no danger and that leads to avoidance of objects or situations (phobias).

• People with disabilities have proven themselves to be competent students and workers in a wide range of qualifications and occupations regardless of the type or severity of their disability.
• Having a disability does not mean more time off, nor does it make people less reliable. Research shows that attendance and turnover records of workers with disabilities are better than those of the general workforce.
• People with disabilities are generally very careful about their safety and well being and are not prone to accidents. Research shows that workers with disabilities are less likely to have an accident at work or to cause an injury to a fellow worker.
• Workers compensation premiums are not based on whether there are people with disabilities in the workforce - rather they are based on the nature of the work being done and the claims history of the company.
• People with disabilities are equally productive. Being aware of employer's concerns often means that they are keen to prove themselves to be productive and valuable employees. The difficult part is getting a job in the first place.
• The best way to help people with disabilities obtain meaningful careers is to focus on their abilities and life goals rather than on identifying and correcting their deficits.
• Whilst people gain their jobs because of their skills and abilities, they more commonly lose their jobs because of an inability to fit into the workplace. The same applies to people with disabilities and it is important that they receive good training and support in both.
• Very few people with disabilities need assistive equipment, adaptations to existing equipment or workplace modifications to complete their studies or work safely and independently. Where individual accommodations are needed they usually involve minimal or no cost to any party.
• People with disabilities do not outgrow them. However they do learn coping mechanisms to lessen their impact or even mask them.

Disability Services Officers are available to co-ordinate the support and assistance that will help students with disabilities to participate more effectively and achieve better vocational and employment outcomes.

Services offered to students with disability (who have been assessed as qualifying for assistance) by TAFE Disability Services Officers can include:

• Representing students' individual needs, circumstances and aspirations to the teaching and administrative staff.
• Approaching lecturers about alternative arrangements for examinations or alternative forms of assessment.
• Arranging access to certain lecture theatres, tutorial rooms, workshops and other facilities.
• Identifying the availability of assistive equipment such as communication aids, audio loops, wheelchair adjustable desks, customised keyboards, and ergonomic furniture.
• Directing students with disabilities to computing facilities at each college.
• Liaising with library staff for services such as photocopying, retrieving items from inaccessible shelves and interpreting small print on screen displays.
• Organising sign language interpreters, note takers or scribes.
• Arranging alternative formats, large screen magnification software or tape recorders.
• Advising on course selection, enrolment procedures, and general information concerning Institutes TAFE.
• Identifying student learning services to develop reading, report writing and computing skills.
• Organising tutorial support.

Job seekers and employees with disabilities are able to register with a specialist disability employment service if they are assessed by a Job Capacity Assessor (where applicable) as being eligible for specialist assistance.

If they do not satisfy the eligibility criteria a Job Capacity Assessor will determine their eligibility for assistance from a Job Services Australia employment stream and provide them with a referral to appropriate providers.

The new streams are:

• Program A: Disability Management Services. (formerly VRS)
• Program B: Disability Employment Services (DES) formerly DEN
• Mainstream Employment assistance.(formerly Job Network)

Disability Employment Services can assist people with disabilities to find employment in a wide range of occupations. Services that they can provide to job seekers and employees with disabilities include:

• Assisting job seekers with disabilities to determine which jobs best match their skills, capacities and interests.
• Arranging work trials and work experience in the final year of their studies.
• Securing an appropriate position with an appropriate employer.
• Coordinating wage, equipment and training subsidies for the employer.
• Identifying safe and appropriate assistive equipment, adaptations to existing equipment and modifications at work;
• Provide the employee with individualised on-the-job training and support at work.
• Locating and training work-based mentors to assist their co-workers with disabilities to learn their jobs and be welcomed into the workplace.

In 2000, the Australian National Training Authority published 'Bridging Pathways: A Blueprint for the National Plan of Action for Increasing Opportunities for People with a Disability in Vocational Education and Training'. Bridging Pathways found that:

• There is a significant under-representation of students with a disability in the VET sector.
• Students with disabilities who do participate in vocational education and training are not experiencing the same training outcomes or recording the same progress or satisfaction as other students.
• VET students with disabilities are less likely to be enrolled in higher-level courses (Certificate III and above) than other students.
• VET students with disabilities are twice as likely to be enrolled in multi-field programs (pre-employment, pre-vocational, language and literacy) than other students.
• Participation of people with disabilities in apprenticeships and traineeships is significantly lower than that of other students.
• The module pass rate of people with disabilities is lower than that of other students.

Apprenticeships and traineeships can provide an ideal learning environment and career development opportunity for many people with disabilities. Among the growing number of traineeships that are offered, some that are popular amongst people with disabilities include: automotive, business administration, building and construction, community services, food, hospitality, information technology, land care, light manufacturing, process manufacturing, office skills, retail, small business, transport, and warehousing.

Some apprenticeships that people with disabilities are currently successfully completing include: auto mechanic, auto panel and paint, boilermaker, bread maker, cabinet maker, chef, electrician, hairdresser, mould and core maker, optical mechanic, plasterer, plumber and horticulturalist.

Many people with disabilities undertaking traineeships and apprenticeships are benefiting from the supports available through disability employment agencies and/or Group Training Organisations. The disability employment agency and the Group Training Organisation work together to support the trainee or apprentice, and the host employer, by:

• Establishing that the apprentice/trainee has the commitment and basic skills to complete the course.
• Determining which traineeship/apprenticeship best meets the skills and interests of the apprentice/trainee.
• Locating a suitable host employer.
• Locating a suitable registered training organisation.
• Negotiating the Training Program Outline (TPO) and clarifying the duty statement.
• Exploring flexible training delivery and assessment options.
• Providing the apprentice/trainee with individualised on and off-the-job training support.
• Checking training progress and liaising with the Registered Training Organisation.
• Identifying note takers, interpreters, assistive equipment and individualised tutorial assistance for the off-the-job training for the apprentice/trainee.
• Coordinating assistive equipment, adaptations to existing equipment and modifications in the workplace.
• Securing funding through programs such as the Disabled Australian Apprenticeship Wage Subsidy (DAAWS) to help cover wages, equipment, and possibly a mentor.

There are more than 30 disability employment services operating in Western Australia. They are located all around Perth and in regional centre’s such as Broome, Port Hedland, Karratha, Newman, Carnarvon, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Esperance, Albany, Bridgetown, Narrogin, Northam, Busselton, Bunbury, Collie and Mandurah.

There are similar numbers of Group Training Organisations operating in Western Australia. They are also located all around Perth and in regional centres such as Kununurra, Karratha, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Esperance, Albany, Bunbury, Northam, Mandurah and Christmas Island.

Paul James
Records Management

Paul graduated from TAFE with an Associate Diploma of Business (Information Technology) in 1996. Initially Paul found negative employer attitudes and a lack of knowledge about workplace modifications and assistive equipment to be a barrier to gaining employment. Paul has always had a physical disability and uses an electric scooter to get around. He communicates well and is assisted by a voice-operated computer.

Paul registered with a disability employment agency to assist him to overcome these barriers and together they mapped out his future career path. In 1998 Paul commenced a traineeship at the Ministry of Premier and Cabinet. A position was negotiated within the department and a Training Program Outline that took advantage of Paul's skills, qualification and interests developed. The disability employment agency arranged a height adjustable work-station, voice recognition software, one handed office tools and accessible doorways, provided Paul with on-the-job support, and liaised with TAFE to support his off-the-job training.

On completion of his traineeship Paul was offered permanent employment with the department. Today he manages records in the Premier's office and deals with ministerial correspondence. In particular he searches, creates and moves records for the Premier's Department, and monitors how ministers have responded to their correspondence.

Cameron Searle
Human Resource Information System

Cameron graduated from TAFE with an Associate Diploma in Business Administration in 1991. Cameron realised that he needed to obtain work experience if he was to compete with the general workforce for work. He organised voluntary work, but was still unable to overcome negative employer attitudes to gain employment.

Cameron uses a manual wheelchair to get around in public. Communication is not a problem and he writes using a keyboard. Cameron registered with a disability employment agency. At his request the agency provided him with one-to-one job search training focused on anticipating and managing employer's concerns and selling his abilities.

The disability employment agency set up interviews for Cameron and he quickly secured a full-time contract position. With the on-going support of the employment service he has remained in continuous employment, achieved several career advancements, and now has a well-established career in human resources within the public sector. This has included employment in the Health Department of Western Australia, Government Employees Housing Authority and the Ministry of Housing and Works.

Daniel Mizen
Apprentice Plumber

Daniel was 16 years old when he registered with a disability employment agency. He undertook several weeks of work experience to gain a better understanding of how his disability may impact on his job performance before deciding on a plumbing apprenticeship. Daniel performs best with hands-on tasks and uses built-up grips and clamping devices to overcome his difficulties with fine motor co-ordination as well as a tutor to assist with theoretical learning.

Daniel commenced his apprenticeship in 1999 and will soon be entering his fourth and final year. His employer undertakes many small contracts that require a wide range of skills across various sites. Disabled Apprenticeship Wage Subsidy funding was secured for both Daniel's employer and TAFE by the disability employment agency. This provided the employer with a wage subsidy of a little over $100 per week plus funding to purchase and adapt appropriate equipment. It also enabled Daniel to have his own tutor at TAFE and to find a mentor to assist him to perform the tasks required at work.