Case Study
School and job history of a psychologist

The employer is a hospital.

The woman has tetra-spasticity and is dependent on the use of a wheelchair. Her movement coordination, grasping range, mobility, and ability to handle objects and operate controls are limited. In addition, her arms are fixed to the wheelchair to prevent highly uncoordinated movements.

The woman was classified as having a learning disability and therefore attended a special school. Without any specific support in mathematics, German or English, she left the special school with a secondary school leaving certificate. Her family encouraged her to continue her schooling. At first she attended courses at the adult education centre to compensate for her school deficits. At the same time, she applied to the Ministry of Education of her federal state for further education, as she had already fulfilled her compulsory schooling. The application was approved and she attended a secondary school near her parents' home. Due to her handicap, she missed a lot of classes, so that she only received the Fachoberschulreife with the necessary qualification to attend the gymnasiale Oberstufe after the third attempt. She then leaves the Gymnasium directly after the first attempt with the general higher education entrance qualification and immediately begins to study psychology. During her studies, the woman lives in her own apartment and is dependent on constant supervision. Practical things that she cannot do herself are done by her assistants or her personal assistance takes turns in a 24-hour rhythm (personal hygiene, dressing, shopping, preparing meals, etc.) in order to be able to live an independent and self-determined life. She also needed support in her studies, e.g. when writing or taking written examinations, when obtaining specialist literature from the library and when reaching the lecture halls and other university facilities. Due to her disability, her examination times were extended to compensate for her disadvantages and she was able to dictate the answers to examinations to an assistant. This was done under supervision in a separate room.

Transition from study to work:
After successfully completing her studies, it was difficult for the psychologist to find a job due to her disability. Employers were mostly sceptical whether she could fulfil the physical and mental requirements demanded by the job. In order to gain practical experience nevertheless, the psychologist worked on a voluntary basis in associations and an integrative comprehensive school as a psychological counsellor. Later she was given the opportunity to do an internship in a hospital. But even there, the employer had doubts about whether the patients would accept her as a psychologist. When a therapist became ill, she was given the opportunity to substitute for him. Her supervisor quickly noticed that the patients felt in good hands with the psychologist. Because of the good experience, she was hired by the employer on a part-time basis as the leader of a depression group, first on a temporary basis and later on a permanent basis. In the depression group, patients are supposed to learn to go through life more consciously and self-confidently.
A work assistant is available to the psychologist for paperwork and to improve mobility or to push the wheelchair.

The work assistance is funded by the Integration or Inclusion Office. The costs for care or personal assistance in the home and private sphere are covered by the long-term care insurance and the local social welfare agency.