Digital Means for Increased Vocational Participation of People with Intellectual Disabilities

Due to the COVID-19-pandemic, digital participation has become more important than ever before. Since people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are still facing barriers regarding their vocational and digital participation, the miTAS project aims to improve their participation by providing the miTAS app and the miTAS media box. These offer checklists and instructions based on individual needs. This research aims to find out about the framework conditions for using digital tools in vocational training and vocational rehabilitation of people with ID. Implications for how to manage the digital transformation process in these facilities should be derived as well. Eleven semi-structured group interviews with people with ID and social workers were conducted as videoconferences. The research indicates that the COVID-19-pandemic has influenced daily life in the facilities in different ways. Especially facilities in rural areas are still lacking technical equipment and concepts for providing digital participation. Digital tools offer an added value for the vocational participation of peoplewith intellectual disabilities (ID) such as joint learning, fun, gain of digital competencies, autonomy, and self-efficacy. For the digital transformation process, it takes the support of the management board, human resources, and technical infrastructure. The added value of the new digital tool must be clearly recognizable. Within the facilities, transparency, clarity in internal communication, and an appealing concept are needed. Moreover, the inclusion of people with ID as experts and new ways of peer-to-peer support is highly recommended. Interdisciplinary cooperation can be helpful as well.