ABSTRACT
Economic independence and social inclusion are two critical areas that still lie opaque for persons with cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities. Cerebral palsy is a complex condition that can affect multiple body functions. Apart from the limitations in the coordination of body movements, a person with cerebral palsy may have associated impairments in speech, hearing, vision, and cognition. A sizable number of persons have limited, slurred, or no speech at all. These people are clustered as persons having complex communication needs and mostly communicate through the support of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). This chapter focuses on the intervention strategies that can be adopted to make people with cerebral palsy employable. The chapter has been written in partnership with Enable India, a Bangalore-based organization working for the employability of persons with disabilities. The chapter has highlighted the workplace solutions that can be put in place to augment skills and productivity, and it focuses on Mission 1000, which has been specifically launched to place persons with severe disabilities (including cerebral palsy) in open employment. It also illustrates the step-by-step intervention strategies that were adopted to include persons with severe disabilities in the mainstream workforce. The chapter also highlights the operational use of technology that enables such persons to be employable and self-reliant.
