Disability Statistics Research Paper

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Disability Statistics 43 million are disabled, about 17% of 250 million; almost 1 out of 5 persons are disabled given these figures. [Congressional Committee findings for ADA]. Other sources show higher figures. Largest minority group One third of disabled Americans are 65 or older. Out of 45 million, that means 15 million of them are seniors. [No Pity, Joe Shapiro, 1992]. About 32 million are over 65, which is 13 per cent. In 25 years 17 percent will be older than 65. There are hundreds of different kinds of disabilities--some are congenital, but most come later in life. Fewer than 15 percent were born with their disability. [No Pity]. Hearing Impaired (from SHHH and Hearing Journal) 24 million people with hearing impairments:…show more content…
This is $1 for every $235 going to DR for non-institutionalized MR Californians. Who lobbies for the physically disabled? The physically disabled themselves. Or, rather, a hard of hearing attorney who provides that service part-time. Every year the state cuts SSI/SSP. Two years ago the cut was 5.8%. Last year the cuts was 2.7%. These are people who will never work even though the ADA was passed for them. When the cuts occur, recipients are thrown off Medicaid and Medi-Cal. When the cuts occur, people who cannot afford to live independently go back into the institution, where their care is minimal. Average life span of a quad in an institution--18 months Average life span of a quad living independently--15 years. Developmentally Disabled 6 million mentally retarded, 2 million in institutions From Disability Rag Cal's Regnl Ctrs for Dev Disabs, designed to serve the needs of non-institutionalized mentally retarded Californians, receive nearly 3/4 of a billion dollars in state money…show more content…
Not counting SSI, Section 8 housing and Medicaid, the non-institutionalized mentally retarded receive nearly 80% of all disability support services dollars. The Dept of Rehab increased their funding of MR 70 per cent in four years. The MR are a fifth of all DR's clients--yet they receive a third of all DR's funds. Agencies receiving these funds run sheltered workshops where they pay their MR workers an average of 84 cents an hour. They also give "supported employment"--here, MR workers earn an average of $2.36 an hour with the help of a full-time job coach, for whom the agency charges the government $20 an hour. Who lobbies for the MR? The parents of MR kids. Special Olympics is a propaganda machine, presented to able-bodied people as eternally happy and grateful children they never had. Parents of MR children have worked hard to create community homes away from their homes to house their offspring. There is a need for unquestioning, non-unionized, low paid services workers in the Bush-Reagan economy under which we still suffer. The work programs for MR people is a way of underwriting cheap floor sweepers and toilet cleaners. From Job Accommodation Network An analysis of more than 10,000 disabled employees showed that 31% of

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