- There are 48.9 million Americans with a disability. In other words, nearly 1 in 5 Americans has some type of disability.
- 8 million people have hearing impairments.
- 1.8 million people are blind or severely visually impaired.
- 2 million people have epilepsy.
- 2.2 million people use a wheel chair.
- 6.4 million people use a cane, crutches, or walker.
- 18 million people have difficulty lifting 10 pounds or grasping small objects.
- 1.4 million people are diagnosed with mental retardation.
- 3.5 million people are diagnosed with a specific learning disability.
- 2.2 million people have a speech impairment.
- 3.5 million people have a mental/emotional condition.
- Employment: For persons with a disability, the employment rate is only 27.6%.
- Earnings: The average person earns $2,446 per month. The average person with a severe disability earns $1,562 per month.
- Education: For the 12.0 million adults between the ages of 25 and 64 who have a severe disability, 5.0 million have not finished high school.
- Definition: A disability is a physical or mental impairment that "substantially limits a major life activity." It may range from a limp to the loss of a sense to a degenerative disease. Defining disability is an ongoing project. For example, in 1998 the Supreme Court expanded the definition to include HIV-positive people.
- Perception: People's negative reactions to disability--ranging from outright pity and lurid fascination to doubts about a disabled person's ability to lead a productive life--often stem from a combination of ignorance about disability and fear they may have of becoming disabled themselves. These reactions have had a huge impact on public policy.
- Law: On July 26, 1990, after decades of national campaigning, the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) made accommodation of people with disabilities a full civil right.
- Grass Roots: The Independent Living Movement was started by Berkeley University students with disabilities who were compelled to live at the campus hospital in the 1970s because there was no accessible housing.
- Grass Roots: There are as many disability rights organizations as there are disabilities. Groups include People First, a 20-year-old international self-advocacy group.
- Transportation: 25 million people with disabilities rely on public transportation.
- Employment: Only 35 percent of people with disabilities report being employed full or part time, compared to 78 percent of those who do not have disabilities.
- Earnings: Three times as many people with disabilities live in poverty with annual household incomes below $15,000 (26 percent versus 9 percent).
- Education: People with disabilities remain twice as likely to drop out of high school (21percent versus 10 percent).
- 46% of people with disabilities report having more than one disability.
- 12% of people age 18 to 34 enrolled in school have some form of disability.
- 2.4 million veterans receive compensation for service-related disabilities. Of these vets, 440,000 served in World War II; 165,000 in Korea; 799,000 in Vietnam; and 419,000 in the Persian Gulf.
- The 12 million people with disabilities who work full-time earn less on average than their colleagues without disabilities: median 1999 income of $28,803 vs. $33,970, respectively.
- About 9 million people age 15 and over had disabilities so severe that they required personal assistance to carry out everyday activities.
- About 80 percent of the people who took on the role of primary helper were relatives and nearly half of these primary helpers lived with the disabled person.
- Small Business Owners: Go to www.eeoc.gov for Facts About Disability-Related Tax Provisions.
- In countries with life expectancies over 70 years, individuals spend on average about 8 years, or 11.5 per cent of their life span, living with disabilities.
- Companies report that employees with disabilities have better retention rates, reducing the high cost of turnover.
- After one year of employment, the retention rate of persons with disabilities is 85 per cent.
- Persons with disabilities are more likely to be victims of violence or rape and less likely to obtain police intervention, legal protection or preventive care.
- Research indicates that violence against children with disabilities occurs at annual rates at least 1.7 times greater than for their non-disabled peers.
- Myth 1: The lives of people with disabilities are totally different than the lives of people without disabilities.
- Fact: People with disabilities go to school, get married, work, have families, do laundry, grocery shop, laugh, cry, pay taxes, get angry, have prejudices, vote, plan and dream like everyone else.
- Myth 2: Curious children should never ask people about their disabilities.
- Fact: Many children have a natural, uninhibited curiosity and may ask questions that some adults consider embarrassing. But scolding curious children may make them think having a disability is "wrong" or "bad." Most people with disabilities won't mind answering a child's question.
- Myth 3: People with disabilities are brave and courageous.
- Fact: Adjusting to a disability requires adapting to a lifestyle, not bravery and courage.
- Myth 4: Most people with disabilities cannot have sexual relationships.
- Fact: Anyone can have a sexual relationship by adapting the sexual activity. People with disabilities can have children naturally or through adoption. People with disabilities, like other people, are sexual beings.
- Myth 5: It is all right for people without disabilities to park in accessible parking spaces, if only for a few minutes.
- Fact: Because accessible parking spaces are designed and situated to meet the needs of people who have disabilities, these spaces should only be used by people who need them.
Disability Resources Inc., is a Washoe County based non-profit organization commited to helping local individuals with disabilites achieve their highest potential through the development of individualized goals and supports.
Disability Resources Inc., strives for the community to embrace individuals with differences.
Business Office Hours:
Monday thru Friday from 9am to 5pm
775-329-1126
775-329-8911
info@disabilityresourcesnv.org
