ABSTRACT
Fraser, Clemmons, and McMahon (1990) 1 reported on the utilization of affirmative industries as a variation on supported employment for adults with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). An affirmative industry is a nonprofit business entity that provides employment opportunities for adults with severe disabilities that prevent them from competing successfully in the open job market. 2 An affirmative industry has as its primary objective the assertive employment of persons with severe disabilities, as opposed to the production of goods or provision of services for the purpose of generating revenue. Affirmative industries have been developed through hospital outpatient programs. They are particularly helpful to clients in ex-urban or rural post-acute residential TBI rehabilitation facilities, because these communities typically lack a level of commercial activity consistent with the targeted home communities of many clients. Affirmative industries are intended to be used by clients as a transitional, paid evaluation step and a means of vocational exploration. Residential rehabilitation facilities need these programs since they more accurately assess clients’ abilities and attempt interventions within actual work sites.
