A 2013 ruling by the Division of Labor established a baseline for federal contractors to have 7% of their workforce be folks with disabilities. Furthermore, passage by the U.S. Residence and Senate of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) demonstrates a developing emphasis on employing more individuals with disabilities. However, for this trend to be successful for companies, they have to improve their recruitment and retention of these folks.
Inside of the disabled local community, one of the biggest sectors is created up of folks with a cognitive challenge of some type. Although men and women may feel that a cognitive disability signifies an inability to perform complex perform, most cognitive disabilities are connected to processing concerns this kind of as trouble monitoring fast speech or cognitive fatigue.
With a generation of students educated beneath the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an aging workforce, and enhanced health-related care that enables injured men and women to return to operate, cognitive disabilities are very likely to improve in the workplace. In fact, these challenges are, at some point, experienced by the total workforce (such as older staff), and can perform a significant role in productivity and successful team interactions. It’s estimated that, at any provided time, 25% of the workforce might be going through some sort of cognitive situation. Furthermore, most cognitive disabilities are “invisible,” which may result in behaviors getting misattributed and mismanaged. For a large business, this can end result in substantial turnover and lack of engagement. The excellent information is that technological innovation augmenting cognitive processing functions is swiftly coming into the marketplace.
A normal workplace atmosphere can be mind-boggling for folks with cognitive disabilities. (Photograph credit score: Wikipedia / Phillie Casablanca)
To much better recognize these concerns, we spoke with Madelaine Sayko, president and co-founder of Cognitive Compass, an organization that advises organizations on approaches and assets to accommodate workers with cognitive disabilities. According to Sayko, “The cognitive tool sector is expected grow to be a $ 5 billion industry in the close to future – ready to serve not only those with cognitive issues but to support all staff in a assortment of executive perform duties.” For instance, numerous popular productivity tools (this kind of as Evernote, Apple’s Siri, and Google Calendar) have been repurposed to aid people with cognitive issues. It’s probably that the trend will also move the other way, with equipment at first developed for men and women with cognitive disabilities turning into well-known with the basic public.
Sayko highlighted 4 intriguing products that are especially geared for the disabled but have the prospective for broader appeal:
1) My Bionic Brain® (by Cognitive Harmonics) is an iPad-based mostly function and private existence management instrument developed to meet the requirements of individuals with cognitive disabilities. The solution allows organization and productivity at residence and work by educating capabilities that compensate for short-term memory impairment, disorientation, loss of emotional management, and trouble with organization and time management.
2) PEAT® (by BrainAid) is a virtual executive assistant for use by men and women with a wide range of cognitive impairments including brain damage, ADHD, stroke, and pre-dementia. PEAT is an Android app based on artificial intelligence methods designed at NASA’s Ames Analysis Center to aid men and women attain higher functionality.
3) BioZen® (by the National Center for Telehealth and Technology) is yet another smartphone app, this one particular designed by the Division of Defense to help service members encountering PTSD and TBI. BioZen provides real-time biofeedback from body sensors to demonstrate consumers their attentive cognitive states and allow them to self-modify. One particular can think about a solution like this assisting prolonged-distance drivers and pilots to keep alert.
four) Livescribe® is an sophisticated, paper-primarily based personal computer with a pen that information almost everything you hear and write. It synchronizes the audio you hear to what you publish, so you never miss a word. An embedded infrared camera and audio recording abilities are combined in a slightly larger-sized pen that is utilised on specific digital paper. Past therapeutic help, it could be utilized as a memory enhancer and documentation gadget for students and businesspeople.
“These augmentative technologies signify the cutting edge for enhancing enterprise functions, and they are just a modest sample of technologies that are coming to industry,” says Sayko. Hopefully, that trend will continue, permitting much more persons with disabilities to obtain their total potential.
Rob Szczerba is the CEO of X Tech Ventures. Follow him on Forbes, Twitter (@RJSzczerba), Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Utilizing Technology To Mitigate Cognitive Disabilities
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