The Labor and Social Inclusion of People with Down Syndrome: A case Study

Abstract

Faced with the changes that people with disabilities in Ecuador have experienced from the statutes established in the 2008 Constitution and the subsequent laws and purposes, the need arises to carry out this investigation on the impact that specialized education and professional and continuous support, in both the social and labor inclusion of people with Down Syndrome, and that in some way allows them to visualize the reality they have faced. The present work is a case study of four people with Down Syndrome included in the work force in a private oil technology and services company in Ecuador, who have maintained teaching and learning processes for several years in a private Special Education Institution. which has sponsored their education and their social and labor inclusion through the “In-Person Employment with Permanent Tutoring” Program. By conducting interviews with officials of the company, surveys with parents, with direct observation of the employment situation of these people, it was possible to conclude that their pre-employment training within the educational institution and the methodology followed for social and labor inclusion, it has facilitated their adaptation to a real work environment and has allowed the experience to be positive for all those who participate in it, and above all it has made it possible for them to keep their jobs.