The Epilepsy Toronto Employment Services Department welcomes Dr. Monique Gignac to give a workship on Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED): A partnership to deliver workplace tools and resources to sustain the employment of people with chronic, episodic conditions

This presentation will focus on working with an episodic disability. Episodic disabilities are long-term health conditions that are characterized by periods of good health interrupted by periods of poor health. Many of the most common chronic conditions in Canada can be characterized as episodic disabilities. Because they are often unpredictable and invisible to others until symptoms occur, they create unique challenges in the workplace. This presentation will discuss research related to: workplace health communication and the protection of worker privacy; and worker needs for support or accommodations and workplace productivity. It will also discuss new tools and resources being developed to help workers and organizations better support and sustain the employment of individuals living with an episodic disability.

Dr. Monique Gignac is Scientific Co-Director and a Senior Scientist at the Institute for Work and Health and a Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Her research is in the areas of health and social psychology, including health models of disability. She examines psychosocial factors like stress, coping, and adaptation and their importance in understanding the impact of chronic conditions on the lives of adults across the life course. Of particular interest is research on workplace communication, privacy, and accommodation needs among individuals living with chronic, episodic conditions.

To register for this online workshop, please email jesse at [email protected].