Disability, accident or illness shape the lives of many people. A moving report tells of the fact that they can still be successful at work and often even more efficient than people without a handicap.
Berlin – People with disabilities are often underestimated in professional life. You have to contend with prejudice. How they deal with it, that is what three of those affected tell in the report “Gifted differently – Successful at work with a handicap”. It can be seen this Tuesday at 10:15 p.m. on ZDF.
The chances for disabled people in the primary labor market are often rather modest – but they do exist. Claudia (39) from Falkensee near Berlin grabbed her – precisely because she knows exactly what it means to be labeled as underperforming for a lifetime. Due to a hereditary disease, she gradually became almost completely blind in the course of her youth. Although Claudia had completed a disabled-friendly training as an office worker, there was no support from the job center for further training for the blind.
But then the single mother of two found out about an ingenious thing: Since blind women can identify the smallest changes in breast tissue with their pronounced sense of touch, they play a very valuable role in cancer prevention. Now she has her first permanent job as a medical tactile examiner (MTU).
Andreas (27) from near Bonn found no work for two years after completing his apprenticeship as a carpenter’s assistant. For the overly cautious Asperger’s autistic, however, a unique opportunity has arisen at Cologne-Bonn Airport: As an aviation security control person, he has to manually screen thousands of parcels for dangerous goods in a sorting hall every night.
Andreas has a particular weakness for such safety-related tasks: Like many autistic people, he can precisely recognize patterns without falling into routine. Absolute conscientiousness is expected, although self-doubts certainly arise, also because he is putting himself under pressure and wants to fulfill all tasks 100 percent. Due to a number spinner, he promptly fails an exam.
For many years, the deaf Camelia (52) had to make ends meet as a cleaner. She has now risen to team leader in a small tea factory in Düsseldorf – hearing and deaf people work together here. Professional success gives her and her deaf son a real boost, even if they often encounter almost insurmountable communication barriers. This is all the more true in these times, when in many places you have to wear a mask, which makes it very difficult to read your lips.
Author Sören Senn (51, “Game Over – In the wake of computer game addiction”) presents a sensitive portrait of three people who are all true fighters. They manage to master their difficult everyday life in an almost admirable way.
In addition to the three protagonists, their consistently understanding bosses and trainers, who perform an exemplary function, also have their say. It is clear to them that disabled people can often be deployed much more intensively due to their sharpened senses and greater ability to concentrate – and not least because of this they are superior to their non-disabled colleagues. In other words, if a certain sense is not there, then the other senses are all the stronger for it. dpa
