Impacts of physical disability on an individual's career development

Abstract

[Abstract]: Despite ‘career’ becoming a somewhat nebulous term, career development remains a proactive and dynamic process aimed at meeting the needs of both the organisation and the individual. Although the limited literature deals with disability in general, rather than specific physical disabilities, it does suggest the relationship between career development and disability is complex and individuals with a physical disability still face discrimination through stereotyping and perceptual generalisations. There are several other issues relating to physical disability and career development which are identified from this paper as requiring further investigation. These include confidence and self-esteem issues associated with having a physical disability, attitudes towards careers and who is perceived as being responsible for career development, and whether having computing skills reduces the gap between inability and independence. In particular, these are considered from the perspective of individuals who have a physical disability that confines them to a wheel chair.