"Impairment" and Performance Issues in Clinical Supervision: After the 2008 ADA Amendments Act.

Management of supervisees who do not meet performance standards is an area of special concern in clinical training. Supervisors may inappropriately apply the concept of impairment when assessing or describing substandard performance; legal liability is introduced when the construct is misapplied. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008 (effective January 1, 2009) has compounded the legal risks associated with the inappropriate use of impairment. This article briefly describes the historical use of the term impairment, discusses the legal risks associated with the misapplication of the construct, and presents best practices in clinical supervision when addressing supervisee performance within the legal constraints of the ADA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]