Towards a world where people with developmental disabilities can realize their full potential and feel secure in the knowledge that "it is okay to live as myself"
We spoke to Sayaka Yoshimura, project leader for "Supporting people with developmental disorders to demonstrate their abilities in the workplace," about the social issues she faces, what sparked her interest, and her thoughts on the project.
The project page isHere
Difficulties in living for people with mental and developmental disabilities
The people with mental and developmental disorders that I come into contact with in my field of psychiatry are often considered socially vulnerable, and in many situations they fall out of the network, making it difficult for them to participate in society. Today's Japan is moving towards an atmosphere of accepting diversity. However, some people who have been diagnosed with developmental disorders later hear and see various information and feel that having a developmental disorder puts them at a disadvantage in society, or that they have been labeled as a bad person by being diagnosed, and wish they had never been diagnosed. I feel that the fact that we have yet to realize a society that accepts diversity in this way is an issue.
Greater understanding of people with developmental disabilities will lead to more employment opportunities
I have always liked observing people, and when I went to university, I was torn between a liberal arts department that deals with human psychology and a medical school, but I decided to go to medical school. Since I continued to be interested in the mind, I decided to study psychiatry after graduating from university, and as I met and interacted with people diagnosed with developmental disorders, I realized that the characteristics of developmental disorders are often expressed in a positive way. I also believe that I have autistic tendencies, such as liking repetition and not being good at new things, and I feel at ease when I interact with people with autism spectrum disorders. On the other hand, the reality is that people with developmental disorder characteristics often do not understand their words and actions from those around them, and in some cases they are perceived negatively. I have been conducting cognitive research on developmental disorders, thinking that if we could understand the way people with developmental disorders perceive things, which lies behind their behavior, people would understand them better and they would be accepted by society.
In clinical practice, I feel that many people have high processing abilities in certain areas, but have difficulty finding employment due to communication problems and difficulty adapting to new environments. In such cases, I see them moving smoothly into employment with employment support, and although I feel that it is currently difficult for companies alone to understand and respond to the behavior of people with developmental disabilities, I believe that if companies could improve their understanding of developmental disabilities, there would be more employment opportunities.
Towards a world where everyone can live as they are
We often hear that people are interested in employing people with developmental disorders, but don't know how to create the right environment for them. The characteristics of developmental disorders vary from person to person, and the support they need also differs, so if support is provided uniformly according to information in books and on the Internet, their needs will not be met, and the support will include things that the person with a developmental disorder does not want. We hope that this project will help companies and others understand that support needs do not always follow the textbook.
I am also involved in the training of personnel who support people with developmental disabilities through the "ASD Project." In the process, I often speak with people who provide employment support, and I feel that support in the field of employment is still in its infancy compared to the field of child and adolescent support such as education. Psychologists who often have the opportunity to care for people with developmental disabilities in companies have no experience of systematically learning about employment support, and are currently dealing with it by trial and error. In this context, as part of the activities of this project, I would like to disseminate information that will lead to better ways of working for people with developmental disabilities and guidelines for better social participation. And through disseminating information to society, I would like to change the world so that people with developmental disabilities do not have to live in a secluded place and can feel that "I can live as myself."
