{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T12:42:32Z","timestamp":1785415352143,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"AOSIS","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,29]],"date-time":"2026-05-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780012800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Across practice and policy, assistive technologies (ATs) are positioned as a pathway to economic inclusion for graduates with sensory disabilities in South Africa. Still, systemic barriers persist. Developing workable interventions requires in-depth attention to the lived experiences of graduates, which include knowledge on the way devices, systems and attitudes interact in everyday employment seeking and enterprise activities.\nObjectives: The study endeavoured to examine how unemployed tertiary-level graduates with sensory disabilities in Gauteng use AT in seeking employment and practising entrepreneurship. Specific enablers and challenges were identified to provide an explanation of variation in economic participation.\nMethod: Interpretive methods guided the study within a qualitative design. Sixteen participants took part in semi-structured interviews: 10 unemployed graduates (with visual or hearing impairments), three human resources professionals and three helping professionals. Coding and analytic development followed Braun and Clarke\u2019s six-phase thematic approach.\nResults: Overall patterns were organised into six themes: (1) discrimination and stigma, (2) accessibility, (3) use and effectiveness of AT, (4) training and support, (5) institutional and government support, and (6) self-initiated strategies and adaptation.\nConclusion: Device access proved insufficient. Most constraints operated at the system level, consistent with the social model of disability, as stigma, accessibility failures, limited training and weak enforcement shaped outcomes. Sustained change had to address stigma, accessibility, training and support and accountable policy implementation through coordinated multi-stakeholder action.\nContribution: By centring graduate voices, this article contributed evidence on adaptability and multi-stakeholder lenses relevant to inclusive policy and practice in resource-constrained settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/ajod.v15i0.1998","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T14:10:37Z","timestamp":1779977437000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Assistive technologies in employment and entrepreneurship: Graduates with sensory disabilities"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-2005-7684","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sibongile","family":"Xashimba","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04z6c2n17","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Johannesburg"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6049-268X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marlene","family":"de Beer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04z6c2n17","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Johannesburg"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Alper, S. & Raharinirina, S., 2006, \u2018Assistive technology for individuals with disabilities: A review and synthesis of the literature\u2019, Journal of Special Education Technology 21(2), 47\u201364. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/016264340602100204","DOI":"10.1177\/016264340602100204"},{"key":"ref1","unstructured":"Altschwager, D., 2022, \u2018\u201cI am the boss!\u201d How people with intellectual and\/or developmental disabilities access, use and benefit from assistive technology in entrepreneurship\u2019, PhD thesis, University of Kansas, Lawrence."},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Barnes, C. & Sheldon, A., 2010, \u2018Disability, politics and poverty in a majority world context\u2019, Disability & Society 25(7), 771\u2013782. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/09687599.2010.520889","DOI":"10.1080\/09687599.2010.520889"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Boot, F.H., Owuor, J., Dinsmore, J. & MacLachlan, M., 2018, \u2018Access to assistive technology for people with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review to identify barriers and facilitators\u2019, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 62(10), 900\u2013921. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/jir.12532","DOI":"10.1111\/jir.12532"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Borodin, Y., Bigham, J.P., Dausch, G. & Ramakrishnan, I.V., 2010, \u2018More than meets the eye: A survey of screen-reader browsing strategies\u2019, in Proceedings of the 2010 international cross disciplinary conference on web accessibility (W4A \u201910), Raleigh, NC, USA, April 26\u201327, 2010, pp. 1\u201310.","DOI":"10.1145\/1805986.1806005"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Braun, V. & Clarke, V., 2006, \u2018Using thematic analysis in psychology\u2019, Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(2), 77\u2013101. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1191\/1478088706qp063oa","DOI":"10.1191\/1478088706qp063oa"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chataika, T., 2012, \u2018Disability, development and postcolonialism\u2019, in D. 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