Successful integration of disabled / BAM staff at the Paralympics

The integration of people with disabilities is an important concern for the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing. 92 colleagues in BAM have a disability. One of them is Peter Schlorf. Together with about 150 German athletes, the national player of the German sitting volleyball team travelled to the Paralympic Games in London in late August which took place in the British capital from 29th August to 9th September 2012.

Schlorf, whose left limb was amputated in 2003 after a motorcycle accident, has been playing sitting volleyball since the end of 2004. Sitting volleyball is a separate sport in which disabled and non-disabled people can participate together. It has been on the Olympic games agenda since 1980 and is a variant of volleyball with a few modified rules: all participants must sit on the floor and whenever the ball is touched, the body – usually the bottom – must be in contact with the ground.

For an athlete, participation in the Olympic Games is the very pinnacle, says Schlorf and adds: "It was no problem to get special leave for the games. This is not normal everywhere as I found out from my team colleagues who work in the private sector."

The 26-year-old works in the BAM library as a specialist for media and information services specialising in information and documentation. As one of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology’s subordinate federal agencies, BAM is committed to employing disabled people, making up at least six percent of its staff. For many people, their disabilities are not obvious. "But there are still prejudices," says BAM’s representative for the severely disabled, Stefan Proll. "Disability is still generally equated with the assumption that one is in a wheelchair."

The disability can be very complex and range from diseases of the nerves and psyche to internal disorders and musculo-skeletal conditions. And the prejudice that disabled people are sick more often is not true, said Proll. "Normal illnesses like colds and migraine occur less frequently in people with severe disabilities. They can manage their bodies better."

BAM is strongly committed to integrating disabled people. For example it builds suitable work areas, disabled ramps, inclined hoists or carports for the employees. Severely disabled people are equally divided between administration and science. Stefan Proll, who has been the person of trust for the severely disabled in BAM since 1998 recalls only one case in which a disabled person was not employed after their probation period. Representatives of other government bodies often visit BAM to see how difficult building modifications have been resolved reports Proll: "BAM should not hide: a lot has changed in terms of accessibility and integration for disabled people".

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