From disbelief to awareness: the path for people who become disabled

Abstract

What happens when an individual has their wings clipped, and looses their swiftness and the power of their limbs, body or mind. This paper will look at the process of adjustment from the onset of disability, which affects the self-esteem and productivity and the transformation of the person from a non-disabled to a person with disabilities within the workplace. This paper will introduce a prototypical view of this metamorphism, which identifies five key phases in the sequence of this transformation. These five phases are: 1. Transition and Disbelief 2. Denial 3. Medical Optimism 4. Grieving Period 5. Recognition and awareness This model is only a generic representation of the process and it does not recognise that every person is different and that may not complete the cycle due to many differing reason and the time factors are different in each case. However it does show the distinct phases that becoming disabled has upon the individual, esteem and productivity within the workplace. If organisations are aware of the progression that people with disabilities face on this path, then they may in time see the potential in retaining staff who become disabled