The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders is currently on the rise nationwide. Approximately one fifth of all individuals with autism and related disorders function within the normal range of intelligence, and may, in fact, possess superior intelligence in certain areas. Despite this, many individuals with high functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome are not competitively employed. The challenges that such individuals experience in securing and maintaining employment are often just as severe as those for individuals with more limited intellectual functioning. Characteristics of high functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome are described, and recommendations for how rehabilitation counsellors and other professionals can best support the employment pursuits of individuals with the disorders are provided.

This article examines the process of rehabilitation through Wendy Seymour's concept of re-embodiment and Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus. It argues that rehabilitation practitioners need to focus not only on the damaged body of the patient, but also on the patient's subjective experiences of health and illness and the wider social context in which they occur. The process of disembodiment caused by periods of injury or sickness creates a rupture in the ordinary experience of the individual in society. In doing so, it renders both the individual habitus and ordinary societal conceptions problematic. Individuals must then embark on a process of transformation or identity reconstruction, whereby they again come to understand themselves as “healthy”. As rehabilitation workers are likely to work closely with people over an extended period of time, they are in an excellent position to consider the person not just as an objective patient, but as a person or subject influenced by many overlapping social forces and relationships that have an impact upon their reconstitution of identity, their rehabilitation and re-embodiment. Thus, rehabilitation as re-embodiment offers an opportunity for both the patient and practitioner to reconsider themselves and their place in society, and in doing so, to effect social change both within themselves and society at large.

Interwork Limited is an open employment service that aims to maximise participation of individuals in the open labour market. As part of its services Interwork offers a Gazebo Café Program. The aim of this research project was to evaluate the impact of the participation in the Gazebo Café Program (a work preparation and skills training centre), from the perspective of key stakeholders. The rationale for this evaluation was to provide the management team of Interwork with information to inform decision-making for future directions of the Café. The project was undertaken as partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Applied Science in Occupational Therapy with Honours. In-depth interviews were conducted with three consumers, as well as two focus groups with four employment coordinators, and two referring agency staff members respectively. Analysis of the data revealed seven themes. The results suggested that participation in the Gazebo Café Program was a positive experience. Consumers felt they developed functional skills. Employment coordinators and referring agency staff emphasised the impact of the development of social and interpersonal skills. Opportunities to experience meaningful occupation while performing the work role, all within a natural and supportive community environment were valued impacts. Issues were raised relating to finding the right composition of consumers with and without disabilities, the affordability of the services for external users, and the current unavailability of accredited training. While the findings expand upon existing literature, they describe impacts of participation in a transition program for consumers that appear to not have been described elsewhere. Information is provided to other service providers in regards to the value and impact of such a program. Implications for open employment services are discussed.

This paper will analyse the provision of rehabilitation to injured workers with a registered WorkCover claim in South Australia. It presents the comments of key parties on the practice of rehabilitation, approaches to service delivery, and contradictions and paradoxes of the reality of the practice. The comments of workers, employers, case managers, medical practitioners, and of the rehabilitation providers themselves give ample evidence of the complexity of the demands placed upon providers in this system. Emphasis is placed upon their role in presenting the realities of the situation honestly to the worker and in effectively communicating to other stakeholders the particular strategies needed to overcome barriers to successful return-to-work outcomes.

This paper reports conversational interviews with key stakeholders in order to analyse the critical role of the treating medical practitioner in the management of injured workers with a registered WorkCover claim in South Australia. The comments expose the dilemma of treating general practitioners in their dual roles of “gatekeeper” and service provider against a backdrop of the ongoing demands and pressures from claims agents, vested interest groups, litigation, pervading antagonistic process relationships, inflexible work settings and the preoccupation with containing costs. The study highlights the need for treating medical practitioners to understand the WorkCover system and legislation. It is suggested further that their practice would benefit from holistic management, supportive care, clear language, respectful communication, timely medical updates and helpful professional attitudes. It was noted that many medical practitioners favour some redesign of medical management practice encompassing the development of a leadership role and the provision of progressive medical management plans in order to maximise successful return-to-work outcomes for injured workers.

As the proportion of the population over age 65 in many countries continues to grow, it becomes increasingly important for health care professionals to have well-grounded knowledge of ageing processes and positive attitudes towards their older clients. In New Zealand the third most limiting chronic health condition for older adults is hearing impairment. In this study, audiologists and hearing therapists in New Zealand were asked to complete measures of knowledge and attitudes towards older adults as well as a vignette measuring treatment options. While it was hypothesised that, due to audiologists' higher overall levels of academic qualifications gained, audiologists would have more knowledge and therefore better attitudes towards older adults, there was no difference between the groups' knowledge levels. Further analyses suggested that attitudes held were in part a function of gender and possibly education, with less educated females having more positive attitudes. While all participants had positive attitudes these did not always result in the most appropriate treatment. It was concluded that a lack of specific gerontological knowledge rather than negative attitudes resulted in less appropriate treatment recommendations for older adults.

The Compulsory Third Party (CTP) system in Queensland is in need of modification to ensure efficacious rehabilitation outcomes for individuals injured in motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). In an attempt to address this concern, a study was conducted to examine the perceptions of three major stakeholders in this CTP process, namely, insurers, rehabilitation providers and solicitors. Further, the systemic chemistry inherent to the system was explored. Pervasive within this study was the notion that a culture of blame resulted from competing stakeholder agendas, the nature of the partnerships established between these stakeholders, and the widespread confusion resulting from the interplay of complex systemic factors. These systemic factors contributed significantly to ineffective rehabilitation and return to work for persons injured in MVAs. This paper is the first in a series about these concerns.

Workers' compensation and disability management in the hazardous occupations of mining and construction are ongoing concerns for employers, employees, insurers and governments. Rising insurance costs, options of self-insurance models, highly competitive tendering, legislative rigidities, and escalating costs of compensation, have contributed to industry practices for injured workers that are driven by cost containment strategies rather than benchmarked disability management processes. In this article a critical review of legislation, industry practices, and published reports is undertaken with a view to oudining the adequacy of current and planned services and practices to meet the needs of injured workers in both sectors. Attention is also given to industrial practices that contra-indicate quality disability management processes. The authors detail a number of industrial and organisational operating environments, which have arisen from legislative frameworks, financial constraints, and outdated disability management practices. They comment on the more recendy introduced legislation and offer comment on its potential to drive benchmark changes in the building and coalmining sectors. Finally, suggestions are provided for more contemporary approaches to the insurance framework and return to work facilitation for injured workers.

The present study explored the nature and extent of social anxiety and avoidance, anxiety sensitivity, and pain-related anxiety and avoidance in 46 clinic-referred chronic pain patients, compared with a community-based group reporting pain (n = 66) and healthy controls (n = 57). The chronic pain patients consistently reported higher levels of social distress, social avoidance, fear of negative evaluation, anxiety sensitivity, and pain-related anxiety and avoidance as compared with controls. Group differences in social distress, social avoidance, fear of negative evaluation, pain-related cognitive anxiety, and fear of cognitive and emotional dyscontrol, remained stable when pain severity was controlled for. Anxiety sensitivity was strongly related to both social and pain-related fears. The source of these social fears is examined in relation to the elevated pain-related fear and anxiety sensitivity also exhibited by chronic pain patients, and implications for treatment and rehabilitation are discussed.

The global community is experiencing widespread and rapid changes to labour-force participation with increasing expectations of flexible and highly adaptable skill sets. Workers can expect demands to acquire new, and augment existing, competencies as an integral part of the labour contract. Continuing education, professional development, augmentation of competencies and lifelong learning are the occupational mantras of the millennium. If these are the expectations of those already in the workforce, what then do support professionals expect for their clients, such as rehabilitation counsellors who have considerable skills in facilitating the re-entry of clients to the work-force? This paper examines several questions of continuing skilling and provides a set of recommendations with relevance to contemporary professional practice.