Desiree Walsh

Designing Inclusive Social Policy: An Auto-ethnographic Analysis

In this paper, I discuss the problems faced by a disabled person looking for meaningful employment in a capitalist society and present an auto-ethnographic account of how my disability and my privileges impacted my ten-year journey to full-time employment. I analyze my social/personal experience to demonstrate how systemic and intersecting barriers to employment are created for a disabled person due to the linkages among disability support, employment, transportation and housing requirements. Suggesting some policy changes towards making the disability support system more inclusive, I make an overarching recommendation that systems relating to housing, transportation, employment and disability support should work in tandem rather than separately. Keywords: Disability, Employment, Auto-ethnography, ODSP, Disability Support, Accessible Housing, Accessible Transportation, Accessible Employment, Inclusive Policy http://openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/1579/