Case Study
From school to internship to job as an administrative assistant

It is an association with 150 employees, which is committed to the inclusion of people with disabilities and developmental delays with its offers. Thus, the association offers them outpatient assisted housing, school support, counseling and a bistro suitable for disabled people. The association also employs some people with disabilities in order to live the idea of inclusion itself. He therefore also hired a young man new in the administration.

"We are very happy that he has started here. He is a real asset to the team."

The young man has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and is severely disabled. It is a progressive illness that cannot be cured and over time leads to muscle atrophy with decreasing muscle strength. As a result of the illness, the man has been dependent on a wheelchair since he was seven years old and is now occasionally ventilated. Due to his illness, his muscle strength, ability to move, reach and mobility are limited.

The man first attended a regular elementary school and then a special school with a focus on physical and motor development. While still at school, he completed various internships in the administration sector and also in a workshop for the disabled (WfbM). However, employment in a sheltered workshop was out of the question for him. With the support of the integration service and the employment agency, the man was given an internship of several weeks in the administrative area of the association. During his internship, further support needs were identified and appropriate measures were initiated or provided, such as a transport service for the commute to work and assistive products for the workplace. Since then, he has also received support in the form of an assistant at the workplace. After the internship, he obtained a permanent part-time position and works three days a week at the association as an administrative assistant.

"When my salary was transferred for the first time, I cheered. My tasks are very varied. Every day I have a different task - I really like it. I'm happy to be here."

The man works in the office at a computer workstation. The workplace is equipped with a work table for the electric wheelchair that can be moved underneath and provides satisfactory movement areas for the wheelchair. He operates the computer available for his work at the workplace with the aid of a very smooth-running special joystick in combination with software for environmental control systems, which he only has to switch to PC operation for this purpose. He also uses the special joystick to control the power wheelchair.
At his workplace, he performs administrative and public relations tasks. Among other things, he checks the monthly timesheets of the 70 school companions and supports his colleagues in managing the working time accounts of the employees in assisted living. His duties also include writing texts for the homepage, maintaining the social media area of the association and other research tasks on the Internet. Together with his supervisor, he is also responsible for planning and participating in the association's events. An assistant supports him on a daily basis by indicating things to him or sorting with him.

The employee is driven to and from work by a transport service. Since the association offers services specifically for people with disabilities, access and the building are designed to be barrier-free. The employee can thus move around independently with his power wheelchair, which he can control with an especially smooth-running special joystick and little effort.

The integration specialist service and the employment agency supported the young man in his search for a suitable internship. The job design for the previously job-seeking man with a severe disability was supported by the Employment Agency as part of the new employment.
The participation in working life for the man, who otherwise would only have had the alternative of employment in a sheltered workshop, is supported by the budget for work. In this context, the association receives a wage subsidy. The personnel support by the assistance is also promoted within the scope of the budget for work. The support through the Budget for Work was provided by the provider of integration assistance in the respective federal state. The provider of integration assistance also promotes the use of the driving service.