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Case Study
Work assistance for a self-employed architect

Company:

The man works as a self-employed contractor. He arranges and acquires orders in the construction industry.

Disability and impairment of the man:

The man suffers from epilepsy. Seizures lasting one to two minutes can occur daily. This can lead to shortness of breath, loss of spatial recognition and reduced ability to assess proportions. In addition, the patient can neither act nor react during a seizure. Reorientation occurs within a few minutes after a seizure, although sometimes he is not aware of where he is and why he is there. Due to his disability, his cognitive abilities (e.g. attention, concentration, verbal memory and learning speed) and his mental resilience are also limited. The degree of disability (GdB) is 70.

Education and profession:

The man studied architecture and then set up his own architectural practice. As he was no longer able to practise his profession as an architect due to his disability, he closed the architecture firm and opened an acquisition office. This enabled him to continue to use some of his knowledge and contacts to arrange financing for construction projects.

Workplace and work task:

The architect works on site with clients or in his office or study in his home. He can no longer perform certain office tasks alone, such as processing incoming mail, bookings and answering the telephone. With regard to the telephone service, it is possible that he may have a seizure while on the phone and can no longer speak to clients, and with regard to office activities, it is possible that the increased and permanent concentration required may trigger a seizure.

Working environment:

According to the Driver's License Ordinance and medical opinion, he is not permitted to drive himself to appointments with clients on site. The architect therefore uses public transport or is driven by his wife for the necessary journeys.

Work organization:

A work assistant or his wife as such takes over certain activities for four hours a day that the architect can no longer perform. For example:
  • when a seizure occurs during contact with customers, she takes over the conversation and explains why the conversation was interrupted,
  • office and administrative tasks (bookings and incoming mail),
  • driving to external appointments that are difficult to reach by public transport and
  • providing telephone assistance for orientation after a seizure when traveling by public transport.

Funding and cooperation:

Work assistance for the entrepreneur is funded by the Integration or Inclusion Office. The entrepreneur must provide the Integration or Inclusion Office with a precise list of the activities to be carried out by the work assistance and the time required.

ICF Items

Reference Number:

Pb/110752


Last Update: 26 May 2026