Find the talent hidden inside

A conservative estimate puts the number of physically and mentally challenged people in SA at about two million.

But the figure is likely to be higher - because many disabled people are hidden from society in inaccessible, rural areas. Getting an education is nearly impossible for all but those who come from the wealthiest sectors of society - schools are simply unable to cater for them.

And even if the school is prepared to accept the child, the logistics of a child who can't walk to school each day are generally insurmountable.

About 250000 children are not getting an education because of their disabilities.

But education and training for the mentally and physically challenged is sometimes made possible through a variety of associations and some of the Skills Education Training Authorities.

Even though the Employment Equity Act makes provision for the disabled to form 2%-5% of the workforce, physically and mentally challenged people make up just 0.6%. This is partly due to the massive shortage of low-skilled jobs - the latest statistics from Adcorp show that employment dropped again in May in this sector, this time by 2.5% on an annualised rate - and partly because of a lack of understanding of what disabilities entail.

Lawrence Wordon, managing director of the recruitment company Kelly, is passionate about getting more disabled people into the workplace. He says the benefits are many and varied - from decreasing the burden on social welfare to the proven fact that it raises morale at the workplace.

Kelly has more than 2500 physically and intellectually challenged people with varying skills levels on its books, but the challenge is matching their skills to the needs of a business. Wordon says many of the companies he deals with want to get on board and fulfil the equity mandate, but simply don't know how to go about it. They also don't know how disabled persons would fit into their work environment or how they could be accommodated in a building designed around the needs of the able-bodied.

Part of the problem, says Wordon, is that people have a stereotyped view of what being disabled means - the automatic assumption is that they will be employing a person in wheelchair. But there are a great many conditions that qualify as disabled, from deafness to autism and Down's syndrome to paraplegia. Diabetes and epilepsy also qualify as disabilities, and there is talk of obesity becoming included in the category. However, disabled people, even those who are bound to a wheelchair, have very different needs. This means a certain amount of flexibility is required from the employer and the employee. A person who needs to spend one day a week on a dialysis machine, for example, might need to accept reduced pay if the company agrees to hire them on a four-day week.

To help companies who want to tap into this workforce, Kelly personnel go to the workplace to see what type of disabilities they will be able to cope with, and what modifications can be made.

In terms of the Employment Equity Act, employers must "reasonably" accommodate the needs of disabled people to "enable a person from a designated group to have access to, participate in, or advance in their employment". This could, for example, involve modifying existing equipment, or buying new equipment like specialised computer hardware, reorganising work stations or changing assessment materials.

One of the greatest challenges physically disabled people have is not being able to get around. Modified cars are expensive and public transport is not geared towards people in wheelchairs. So, even when they do secure a job, a disabled person is often unable to get there. The associations and volunteers working with Kelly help out in this regard by providing transport to and from the workplace for anyone who succeeds in getting a job.

The recruitment company also briefs the colleagues of the disabled recruit about what they can expect from him or her, and answers any questions they may have about the person's disabilities that they might be too embarrassed to ask directly. This helps dispel any unspoken issues that might exist or arise. In addition, the associations and several NGOs have coaches who go to the workplace to regularly assess how the person is doing and to try to resolve any problems.

Wordon's philosophy is that people should focus on the abilities disabled people have - what they can do, not what they can't.

It's something Doug Anderson has fought for his whole life as well. Anderson is wheelchair-bound, having been born with spina bifida 34 years ago. He was given a 2% chance of survival at birth - but he proved the doctors wrong and went on to represent SA in sport, open a business and seven years ago got into the radio broadcasting industry. He now hosts his own show on Radio 2000. Because of his disability, he was expelled from a mainstream school in grade 1 and was finally educated at Hope School in Westcliff, Johannesburg, one of the few schools in SA that offer matric to children with disabilities. One of the lucky ones, Anderson went on to get a tertiary education and is qualified in alternative medicine.

Anderson says there are two ways people with disabilities will be ensured their rights to work and dignity. Firstly, BEE as it stands includes only disabled black people - but all disabled South Africans fall into the previously disadvantaged category. Anderson proposes that DEE - Disabled Economic Empowerment - be legislated.

Secondly, companies need to include disabled people on their boards of directors, a move that would change perceptions of disabled people - many of whom are intellectually more than able - and would ensure that company policies encourage the employment of disabled people.

Anderson also suggests that employers need to get creative when thinking about employing the disabled. In jobs that involve extreme noise levels, for example, a deaf person might be ideal.

Jill Stacey, national director of Autism South Africa, says about 23% of people born with autism are categorised as having Asperger's syndrome, in which the person usually has moderate to high intelligence, but no understanding of social norms and cues. She says the disability is difficult for the layman to understand because the individuals might be extremely bright, yet they are consistently inappropriate in their behaviour, with this often extending to their hygiene and eating habits. The disability is also characterised by a need for routine and unusual attention to detail, which means people with Asperger's syndrome often excel as actuarial scientists and engineers. Stacey says it is typically the "nutty professor" who turns out to have this disability, and there are many who believe Einstein suffered from the syndrome.

It's easy to see how employing someone with Asperger's could benefit a company, but because of their unusual social behaviour, colleagues need to be carefully briefed. Stacey says that because of their inability to follow social cues, they are never manipulative or devious and they don't lie or get involved in office politics. Their need for routine also ensures that they always arrive and leave on time.

People who are further along the continuum towards severe autism might be unable to engage socially at all, but are able to do repetitive work such as packing boxes or assembling plugs, which might be soul destroying for intellectually abled people.