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IRLU TIRR
This program is being presented by two organizations: one, The State Bar Disability
Issues Committee, which is the State Bar Committee that was formed to address issues
pertaining to Attorney's with disabilities, law students with disabilities, and to make sure
that Stare Bar programs were accessible to people with disabilities and to assist attorneys,
law firms, corporate law departments with applying the standards of the ADA in making
sure that the spirit of the AK is followed by the State Bar and attorneys throughout Texas.
The other organization that's presenting this program is the Southwest Disability and
Business Technical Assistance Center and they've really done the bulk of the work for this
program, so we'd like to thank them for all their hard work. The southwest DIBTAC is
authorized by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research to provide
the trainings, materials, and technical assistance to businesses, State and local
governmental entities, and the public in general, regarding the ADA. They are based in
Houston and they are a very good resource for questions and assistance involving the
ADA.
So, now without further adieu we'll start our program, and Joe Bonky will introduce our
first speaker.
Joe Bonky:
"Good morning folks. I have just some business things before we get started. The folks
who are putting the books together have been up all night and when I got to IORD they
didn't have this, they gave me 97 or 99 of them, so at 9:30 they promised to be finished, I
will get the rest of the books then for those of you who do not have books will have them
this morning.
Um, during a day like today, when we look at issues of the Americans with Disabilities
Act, I think it's a good opportunity to look at issues of pigeonholing and stereotyping. I
work for the EEOC, so that's one of the things that is a pretty important priority to me.
And I think issues of pigeonholes are one of those aspects that we all do as a society. For
example, I didn't know I was a Yankee until came to Texas. But I always thought that
label was comical because I was coming from some place else. Shortly after I got here I
found out I was a damn Yankee for staying. I thought, 'Wow! First they label you here
then they qualify you', this is fascinating. And we bought a home and my wife and I were
going to our new home and she turned to me and she said, "Joe, I like this label of damn
Yankee". Now, when your spouse says this to you it really catches you off the hook. I
said, 'Joyce, why is that?' She said, "Remember when we lived in New Jersey we were
considered white trash from Brooklyn." So, in her mind we're moving up the social
ladder and all we did was buy a house north of Jersey Village.
IRLU-TIRR
Page 2
While I was in college I dabbled in stand-up comedy, a medium takes the ordinary and
heightens it to the extraordinary for the laugh and that's nothing more than what we do
with the stereotypes; being Irish Catholic from Brooklyn, New York, I could do 22
minutes just on those stereotypes. And I used to think they were all funny until one day
my sister and I were shopping across the street in Neiman Marcus, my daddy used to call
it "Needless Markup", just to pigeon hole them for a moment. And, she was holding a
sweater up against herself and the sales girl came around the clothing rack - my sister was
seated in a wheel chair - and the sales lady turned to me and said, "Would she like to try
that on?" And, I thought, "There's the example of a pigeonhole that's not funny. There's
that stereotypical behavior". And, I was upset at that moment that Neiman Marcus didn't
have enough customer service to teach their staff the appropriateness of communicating
with someone in a chair. So, the only thing that came to mind was I signed to the woman
that I could neither hear nor speak and if she needed to communicate with me she should
communicate with my friend in the wheelchair - I don't sign, by the way. Well, the look
on this young lady's face is "Oh my God, the big guy doesn't talk!" And I stepped away
and I let them transact their business. My sister bought the sweater and we were leaving
the department that morning and I turned to the young sales lady and said, "Thank you,
have a nice day.' And it blew her mind. Now, today is not a day to teach you how to
inappropriately deal with people who happen to inappropriately deal with people in
wheelchairs. But I think we are planting a seed. We're nine years into the legislation of
the ADA, we've got a long way to go and it's events like this that sprinkle more education
out there to help with the effort of treating people as people first. It's with long
introduction that I have privilege of introducing Lex Freedan. Now, I could rattle off
probably hundreds of awards and recognitions that Lex has received over his lifetime. I
could tell you a myriad of stories that, as his friend for the last 10 years, I have learned.
But I think more importantly is to tell you that Lex is raising a grandson who is now a blue
belt in Tae Kwan Do; I think that's his greatest achievement, and when you get to know
him, what makes his eyes sparkle most is talking about the people who he loves and the
people who love him. It's without further adieu that I give you really the founding father,
in my eyes, of the Americans with Disabilities Act, senior vice president of the TIRR, Lex
Freeden."
Lex Freeden:
"Thank you all very much. I enjoy having Joe introduce me because he is sort of lightens
everything up a little bit and besides that he tends to talk for an extended period of time
when he is supposed to do a short introduction, so that means I have less time to fill and in
a CLE course, which I understand this is, that's one of the objectives is to avoid getting
too serious and to try and get some material across and having people still awake and
paying attention. I am a professor at Baylor College of Medicine, and in that role, we do a
lot of continuing medical education and I don't know if lawyers are anything like doctors,
but I do know that doctors, when they are involved in continuing medical
IRLU-TIRR
Page 3
education, must have to be a hundred other places at that time but they still need their
hours credit and it's very hard to keep them focused and which worries me sometimes
by the way. Again, I don't know what the implications are for doctors or for lawyers,
but, for doctors, you know, if you're doing continuing medical education on brain surgery
and your mind is somewhere else, that, you know, that leaves something to be desired. So,
those of you who are here learning about the ADA, um, whatever we can do to help you
focus, I'm sure up for that, 'cause, I want that doctor who's learning about brain surgery
to pay attention when the CME course comes up.
Um, I have about three stories that I want to tell you this morning. One of them is a
personal story; actually all three are personal to some degree. The first story is a story
about my own experience with disability, quite frankly. I grew up in Northwestern
Oklahoma in a small rural community of about 5,000. Some of you from this part of the
Country may know Alva, Oklahoma, it's a County Seat in Wood's County, and it's a
farming community. And, there were 97 people in my high school graduating class. I
think that's the largest graduating class that Alva High School ever had, and we were all
ambitious kids. You know, we don't come up in a community that was pretty well
homogenous. The community was White, upper middle class. It was a farming
community and anybody who wasn't a farmer worked in an industry that supported the
farmers. My father was the gasman; he was the public utilities manager for the gas
company in Alva, Oklahoma. Going to school we all had the benefits of a good education
and we were all expected to go on, go to college, and do something more than our parents
did. And I know a lot of you grew up in that same generation and had that same
experience growing up. But, as I got into high school, we did have television in
Northwestern Oklahoma back in the, I mean I think it got there in the '60's, but we had it
in the '60's none the less. And, there were a lot of things on television about the Civil
Rights Movement at that time, I recall, and things that were happening in Alabama and
things that were happening in Arkansas and things that were happening around the
Country in the area of Civil Rights. And, we studied this in our Social Studies class in
high school but it was all like distant, because there weren't any people of Color in Alva,
Oklahoma. There were in the city, Oklahoma City, where we would drive once a year to
get our school clothes, and I had met some people of color, some African-American
people. We did have in our school, a family named Manceas, but we didn't think of the
Manceas family as being Hispanic, we didn't think about them as coming from Mexico
because they lived in Alva. Their father had worked for the railroad and he had been there
as long as our father's had and he was part of the community and we didn't' see the
Manceas family as being Mexican. We saw them as being members of the community. I
remember that growing up down the street from me was a person of short stature, a
dwarf, and we didn't much think of this person when we were growing up as kids, as
being handicapped, because she came over and she played in the yard like everybody else.
She grew up with us and she was part of the community. There was another fellow
IRLU-TIRR
Page 4
that lived down the street the other direction from me and he was mentally retarded and
we didn't think much about that either; he'd come and play with us until he got school age
and then he disappeared. He wasn't there any more, and I remember asking my mother
(after I had missed him one summer because that's when we used to play together; we
were different ages, so we weren't in class together, wouldn't expect to be) whatever
happened to David and my mother explained to me that David had some Special
Education needs and he was now living in a Special School for mentally retarded people
on the other side of the State and I wouldn't likely see him again. But, you know, as all
kids growing up you sort of live with these things and you hear them and you learn about
them. But the Civil Rights thing was something that really had a kind of abstract concept
about because she didn't have a personal appreciation for what discrimination meant. We
could only hear these stories about people using separate facilities and people sitting in the
back of the bus and this was all like an abstract. it could have been an historical kind of a
thing, it could have been a novel, a drama, it could have been happening somewhere else
in the world but it wasn't happening in our community. It was something that we knew
about by the television. So, that was me growing up.
I went to college at Oklahoma State University. I was valedictorian of my high school
class and I had a scholarship and I went there and I was studying engineering, and in know
that in the engineering school where I would go to the classroom building every morning
there was a fellow who would go up to that building in a wheelchair. The only people in
wheelchairs that I knew before were my grandmother and some of her friends who lived in
the nursing home in Alva. So, I didn't know much about people in wheelchairs. Nick was
a young guy in a wheelchair and I didn't really fully appreciate what could have caused
him to be in a wheelchair, but I didn't want to deal with the question of should I open that
door for him or should I let him do it himself and I would purposely every morning when I
walked to class, go to the other door to avoid having to make this decision, because it
seemed like if I went to the other door the guy in the wheelchair was always there going in
about the same time I was. So, I went to class that way. Six weeks later, I broke my neck
in a car accident. They took me to the hospital in Oklahoma City and I was there. I was
there for about six weeks and then I went to Houston to rehabilitation at TIRR where I
work and I learned I wouldn't walk again. The counselors told me I could do anything
that I could have done before I broke my neck except I'd have to figure out how to do it
from a wheelchair, and in fact, they suggested that I might want to consider being a school
teacher because school teachers are engaged in a sedentary task and they can sit up. I had
a good aptitude and I could sit in front of the classroom and lecture all day long and then
somebody could wheel me home and put me to bed. So, I figured, you know, there was
plenty to do. I wasn't really put out by the fact that I was disabled the rest of my life or
going to be in a wheelchair. didn't think about the implications about that, at that time, I
mean, good grief, the Americans were sending the people to the moon cooped up in a
IRLU-TIRR
Page 5
little spaceship where they couldn't move, so what was the big deal about being in a
wheelchair. I went back to Alva and simultaneously my father was given the opportunity
with the gas company to move to Tulsa and so we packed and moved and I thought this a
perfect example of opportunity because in Tulsa was a brand new school, Oral Roberts
University that had just been built. It was built according to modern architectural
standards, it was built level, it didn't have the steps that OSU had or OU or SMU or any
of the other schools that I might consider going to. Oral Roberts was built flat on the
Oklahoma plains. And, not only that they had all kinds of money that people had sent to
Oral to make his school the most modern in the world. They had audiovisual things they
taped all the classes. I thought, you know, if there's a day that I can't go to class, um, I
can get a copy of the tape and I can study it at home and keep caught up that way. There
were a lot of reasons why this was a wonderful place for me to go, I mean, good night, all
the other students would be Christians, so they would be helping me in and out of the
classroom and, you know, this was wonderful. It was a blessing and I applied to Oral
Roberts University. Well, I was supposed to start in September of that year, 1968, and I
got a letter back from the Dean of Admission. I was really anxious, I opened it up, I read
it - this was about June after I had broken my neck the previous year- and I got this letter
and read it and it said, 'You've been denied admission to the University'. Well, I thought
this has got to be a mistake, you know, these things happen. The letter came to me, the
secretary was busy processing this, she picked it off the wrong files - always the
secretary's fault, right" - came to me I opened it - no big deal- looked up the guys name -
phone number's on the stationary - I called him right then, asked to speak to the Dean
who picked up the phone. I said, 'Excuse me, my name is Lex Freeden, I made an
application a couple of months ago to come to the University and start this fall. I just got a
letter from you. It says I have been denied admission. I'm sure this is an error and I just
wanted to notify you so you could send me the right letter'. And he said, "That's possible,
just a minute, let me get your file", and he came back to the phone. He said, "I have your
file in front of me now Mr. Freeden". He's humming to himself, he says (no doubt a
Christian song), "I see from your application that you were the valedictorian of your high
school class". I said, 'Yes sir, that's true'. Well, he said, "You did very well in the
school". Well he turned a couple more pages. He said, "I see from your application that
you were in the top 5% on the SAT scores". I said, 'Yes, that's true'. And he said, "You
do very well in testing Mr. Freeden". I said, thank you. He turned another page, he said,
"I have here a letter in the folder from your minister who gives you a fine
recommendation", and I thought to myself, and, 'Yes, I did very well in Sunday School'.
But I said, 'And you'll notice that that's a Methodist minister'. Well, the story behind that
is that Oral Roberts turned to Methodist when he started Oral Roberts University because
there were more Methodists sending money than there were Pentecostals which he was
before. But I made the point that my Minister was a Methodist Minister and the Dean
said, "Well, you actually have an outstanding record here. I'm sorry that we have to deny
you admission to the University, but it seems that you've indicated that you use a
wheelchair for mobility".
IRLU-TIRR
Page 6
And I said, 'Excuse me, that's true. I don't understand'. He said, "Well, we have a policy
of not admitting people with disabilities to the University". Well, you know, this sounded
odd to me, but this is the first time that anybody had ever said anything like that to me in
my life and I, just, you know, I took it at face value and I said, 'Well, I have been to the
University. My family toured there and it's wonderful. I won't have any problems. All
the classroom buildings are level. That's one of the reasons that I want to come to your
school'. And he said, "I think we have a good campus here". And I said, 'And
furthermore, some of my friends are going to school there and they'd be available to help
me if there's any help that I needed'. Well, he said, "That's sort of the point. We don't
want to have people here who would impose on our students. It's our role to pool
students who want to pay attention to our education and we don't need distractions on the
campus". And I said, 'My friends would be glad to help me', you know, and What do
you say? What do you think about it? I just couldn't think of anything else to say. He
said "Thank you for calling". And I said, 'Well thank you'. I couldn't hang up the phone,
I have to sort of pitch it towards the hook and this time I just dropped it and it was just
hanging there from the wall, and I just sat there, and I sat there for a long time and my
mother didn't hear me talking and she came from another room and she said, "Are you
okay?" and I said, 'Okay'. I couldn't tell her what happened. And my father came home
from work a few hours later and my mother said to him "I think something's wrong with
Lex". Ad my dad said to me "What's the matter son?" and I couldn't tell him. I mean, it
was three days before I could tell my family about that conversation. And I still didn't
understand it. I mean, some of you in this room, because of your own personal
characteristics have experienced this feeling. For those of you who haven't I can not
describe to you what it feels like. I consider myself to be a relatively articulate person and
I've tried for years to figure out how to explain to somebody what discrimination feels
like. But until you feel it, you don't know what it is. And that it's a feeling; it's not an
intellectual experience. I'm sorry. It is a feeling; it's something that eats at your gut. And
it's something that is really painful. And, there is no purpose for it. We make, in society,
judgments about people based on characteristics which have absolutely no correlation to
what those people can do, who they are, or anything else. And when we make those kinds
of judgments we are discriminating. And, don't ask me as a Christian person why
prejudiced ever got introduced into our souls but it's there, and the only way that we as a
society can grow, can progress, can move forward, is to understand that discrimination
exists and to get rid of. Because making judgments about people as a basis of
characteristics for which they have absolutely no control is not a constructive thing to do.
It's a bad thing to do and in the United States, thank God, it's illegal. And that's what the
Americans with Disabilities Act is all about as it relates to people with disabilities. Now,
in 1984, I had the opportunity to go to Washington, DC and work as Executive Director
of the National Council on Disability, and when I was interviewed for that job the
IRLU-TIRR
Page 7
members of the council asked me, "What do you want to accomplish while you're the
Director of this agency?" And I said, 'Well I haven't really given a lot of thought to that
but I want to have something tangible to show when I'm finished. My life is too short to
go around in circles without anything to show as a product of the time I've spent trying to
do something. So, I want to have something tangible to show". And the council members
said, "Well, we have an idea and we need somebody to help us fulfill this idea. And the
idea is that there would be a Civil Rights Act to protect people with disabilities from
discrimination". And, as a matter of fact, I said, 'That's a good idea'. And the idea of the
ADA was born at that time.
The National Council on Disability worked from 1984 to 1986 on a report called
"Dwarting the Past". On January 26th we were scheduled to present that report to
President Reagan and the first recommendation in the report, the Federal report, the first
recommendation was that there should be a Civil Rights Act protecting people with
disabilities from discrimination. Because it was a Republican administration, and
particularly because it was the Reagan administration, we didn't use the word Civil Rights,
we used the words Equal Opportunity. But everybody in this room knows it means the
same thing. So, we were scheduled to present to the President this recommendation and
we had hoped that he would welcome it. As it turns out, the Shuttle disaster occurred
and, most of you remember; the Shuttle blew up with the teacher on board and the other
astronauts, and as a result of that, the President had to cancel, He did cancel his
appointments and we were distraught about that because we worked for two years on this
report and this important recommendation, we had interviews, and so on. The scheduling
secretary said, "I'm sorry, we are not going to be able to arrange for you to meet the
President but you can meet the Vice-President". Well that was "Old George", you know.
And at that time the Washington Post called him "Old George". I mean, "Do nothin',
know nothin' George". And we were just disappointed as heck because we had this great
report, we were gonna convince the President that he should be an advocate of Civil
Rights for people with disabilities, and what did we get? George Bush, the Vice-President
that nobody thought much about. But, nonetheless, we had a meeting with the Vice-
President. We went in there, four of us from the council, we were surprised when we
went in because George Bush had actually read this report before we got there, he had it
open on his desk. We had a 10-minute photo opp scheduled with the Vice-President and
he cancelled the rest of his meetings for the next hour so he could talk to us about that
report. He was interested in it because he understood something about it. Two of his kids
had disabilities. Now, that tells you something right there. We had a great meeting with
Vice-President Bush and at the end of the meeting, at the end of the meeting, he sort of
poured cold water on it. He said, "You know this is really a great thing that you've done.
I really support it". He said, "But I must remind you that I'm just the Vice-President".
He said, "I'll try to pass it along to the President when I meet him and encourage him to
be supportive of it but, you know, part of the what the Press says is true; there's not much
of a role and function for the Vice-President". And he said, "I'll do whatever I can". Well,
IRLU-TIRR
Page 8
we left that meeting and we were happy on the one side that somebody, a high-ranking
public official, had seen and appreciated what we had done. We were disappointed
because we were convinced at that point that the administration probably wouldn't move
forward without a recommendation. That was in 1986. The Congress thought it was a
great thing. Senators came and waived the book, said, "This is the emancipation of people
with disabilities". In 1987 they didn't do anything about it. The council decided at that
point that if the Congress wasn't going to write a bill we would. We put together a
legislative proposal. We found a Senator, Lowel Wyker, from Connecticut who
introduced the ADA because he had a child with mental retardation and he understood
what discrimination on the basis of disability was all about. Well, I'm sorry, but there
wasn't a whole lot of interest in it at that time. However, something very, very important
occurred and that is, George Bush was elected President of the United States. And in his
inaugural address George Bush said, "One of the first things I want to achieve as President
is to eliminate discrimination on the basis of handicap or disability". And within six
months the ADA was passed and signed. So, the lesson behind that is don't burn any
bridges. The ADA is law; we're all living with it.
Next week I have the opportunity to go to Washington DC, I'm going to interview three
people for a television show. One of them is a woman who is deaf, who testified at the
ADA hearings for us in 1985. She was a professor at Galidet University. She testified that
the only job she could get given her credentials, despite her credentials in fact, was a job
teaching at the deaf school at Galidet University because the other Universities wouldn't
hire her; she was deaf. The second person I'm going to interview is a woman who wanted
to be a school teacher who was told that despite the fact she had the teaching credentials,
the certificate and everything else, by the New York City Public School System, that
because she was in a wheelchair, she could not be a school teacher because she couldn't
clean up after the children if they had an accident on the floor. And the third person I'm
going to interview happens to be a man that testified, again, before us in 1985 who, at the
time, was living in a nursing home, he can not speak, he has Cerebral Palsy, a very bad
case of Cerebral Palsy, he can not speak, you couldn't understand him. He testified that
he tried to live in the community, but nobody would rent him an apartment because he
couldn't' speak. Well, today, the first woman is now the Presidentially appointed National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Director, Kate Sealman. She'd be a
valued faculty member at any University in the world. The second woman, Judy Human, is
now the Assistant Secretary responsible for all the Special Education and Disability
programs in the United Stated Department of Education. And the third person, Bob
Williams is the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of Health and Human
Services.
IRLU-TIRR
Page 9
He lives in a condo in suburban DC in Silver Springs. He is married, he has a family and
he is responsible for all the programs that provide health and human services to people
with disabilities in the United States. The ADA is law, the ADA works and we need you
to help us implement the ADA.
" Thank you very much."
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NEW HÁRRIS SURVEY MARKS STRONG APPROVAL FOR ADA NINE
YEARS AFTER PASSAGE
9 of 10 Americans Who Are Familiar with Americans with Disabilities Act Express
Support
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, DC (April 15, 1999) - A new Harris poll released today reveals
strong and sustained public endorsement of national civil rights protections for
Americans with disabilities. Louis Harris & Associates surveyed 1,008 U.S. adults
about their attitudes and perceptions of the landmark Americans with Disabilities
Act.
The findings may be especially timely in light of this month's oral arguments before
the U.S. Supreme Court in the Olmstead case. This lower court decision from
Georgia will test key provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its
implications for state and local governments. [Former U.S. Attorney General Dick
Thornburgh has submitted an amicus brief in the Olmstead case on behalf of the
National Organization on Disability.]
Alan Reich, President of the National Organization on Disability, said, "This
survey knocks on the head any suggestion that America's commitment to ending
discrimination against people with disabilities is flagging. On the contrary, we see
new evidence that fundamental fairness, which is the essence of the ADA, remains
a cornerstone American value."
The Harris survey was conducted for the National Organization on Disability. The
wording of questions and format, however, were designed and executed solely by
the Harris organization. N.O.D.'s identity-was-not known to respondents.
Highlights include:
Nearly nine out of ten (87%), of those adults who are aware of the ADA,
support and approve of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
A full two-thirds, or 67% of all adult Americans have read or heard about
the Americans with Disabilities Act, which helps, supports and protects
people with disabilities
Three-quarters of all adults (75%) think that the benefits to people with
disabilities are worth the additional costs to governments and businesses.
On specific areas of discrimination, the support for ADA protection was
overwhelming:
More than eight out of ten adults (83%) felt that creating opportunities for
those with disabilities will decrease welfare rolls and increase employment
opportunities; while only 1 in 8 (12%) feel it will be very expensive and not
worth the cost for employers to hire more people with disabilities.
94% of the total sample believe employers should not discriminate against
any qualified, job candidate with a disability.
85% agree that employers with more than 15 workers should make
reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities.
91% want to see public transportation made accessible to disabled people.
95% agree that public places such as hotels, restaurants, theaters, stores
and museums, must not discriminate against visitors with disabilities.
And finally, 86% state that government must offer home care services that
allow more people with disabilities to live at home instead of in nursing
homes.
The National Organization on Disability promotes the full and equal participation
of America's 54 million men, women and children with disabilities in all aspects of
life. Founded in 1982, N.O.D. is the only national network organization concerned
with all disabilities, all age groups and all disability issues. N.O.D. receives no
government funds and is supported entirely by private donations from individuals,
corporations and foundations. For more information, please contact N.O.D. at
(202) 293-5960, TDD (202) 293-5968 or visit them on the World Wide Web at
www.nod.org <http://www.nod.org>
This Harris Poll was conducted by telephone within the U.S. between March 19
and March 23, 1999, among a nationwide cross-section of 1,008 adults. Figures
for age, sex, race, education, number of adults and number of voice/telephone lines
in the household were weighted where necessary to reflect their actual proportions
in the population. In theory, with a sample of this size, one can say with 95%
certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage
points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with
complete accuracy. The wording of the questions used in this survey are attached
[below] for reference.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT - HARRIS SURVEY MARCH
1999
AWARENESS OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)
Have you seen, heard or read anything about a law called the Americans
with Disabilities Act, which helps, supports and protects people with
disabilities or not?
Total
67% Have seen, heard or read about it
3 part packing
1, Planning and training for
Carry out
Culpenderle (define)
fused
2 Avelop support Ayslen
PAS infrastructure transpo, anthar
3. Concerne and implanant
coherent, consistent
incentive based public
policia that transition
pend back into the mainstream
Fersions are the easy
was Out
the promise we should offer
and deliver to pud isthotof
full prostipation
equal anD opportunity
What happens after injury?:
People with disabilities in search of independence and work.
Abstract of a presentation by Lex Frieden
This presentation will address quality of life from the perspective of an individual
with a spinal cord injury of 32 years. The speaker will reflect on his own
adaptation to disability and comment on the motives, incentives, and
disincentives which influence people's disposition in regard to independence and
work following injury.
In addition to the physical complications associated with mobility impairments,
more difficult issues pertaining to psychological adjustment will be addressed.
Attitudinal barriers which impose often subtle and complex spins on already
difficult circumstances will be described.
The impact of cultural issues on the individual's orientation towards
independence and work will also be addressed in this presentation. In particular,
the effects of discrimination and prejudice in regard to disability will be
discussed. Current efforts to combat such cultural dynamics in the United States
and the relative impact of these efforts will also be presented.
Finally, the presentation will address the relative responsibilities of the individual
with a disability and of the society in which the individual lives to accommodate
the impact of disability. The presentation will conclude with some hopeful words
about the next millennium.
story about friend
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That can you 20 to imprine QqL
adap, techology HAS med rehab.
education VR
transpo./ * loving / econ. asystance
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DISABILITYAGENDA
Volume 2
A Quarterly Publication of the NATIONAL ORGANIZATION ON DISABILITY
Number 3
Winter 1999
Economic Life and Disability
The National Organization on Disability, in part-
Disability and Age
nership with Louis Harris & Associates, last Fall con-
The gaps in employment also vary markedly
ducted the third nationwide survey of the lives and
according to age. For instance, among people aged 16
experiences of people with disabilities. As in previous
to 24, people with disabilities are only 57% as likely as
years, the survey focused heavily on the economic
their non-disabled counterparts to be in the labor
Inside:
well-being of individuals with disabilities. The find-
force (that is, either working or looking for work) and
ings were as sobering last year as they were in 1994
only 41% as likely to be employed full-time.
Statistical Snapshot
and 1986. Specifically:
Between ages 25 and 34, these percentages are
The Demographics of
even lower: people with disabilities are only 44% as
People with disabilities in 1998 were some two and
Disability
one-half times less likely than those without disabil-
likely as their non-disabled counterparts to be in the
Disability in
ities to be employed, with the 'employment gap'
labor force, and only 29% as likely to be employed
full-time.
Perspective
now standing at 50 percentage points - a slight
Youth and Disability
increase since the level of 1986.
These figures continue to decline with age to the
point that, between ages 55 and 64, people with dis-
Findings from the
One-third (34%) of adults with disabilities live in a
abilities are only 26% as likely as their non-disabled
Gallup Youth Survey
household with a poverty-level annual income of
counterparts to be in the labor force, and only 17% as
less than $15,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars,
likely to be employed full-time, thus creating an even
compared to about 12% of non-disabled Americans
greater income gap among older people with and
- a 22 point gap. This gap is virtually identical to
without disabilities.
the gaps reported in 1994 and 1986.
The Effect of Education
Page 3
In order to better understand these persistent gaps,
Order your copy of the
Educational attainment has a profound influence
Disability Agenda reviewed the latest data from the
N.O.D./Harris Survey
on employment levels. For instance, for individuals
U.S. Bureau of the Census.
of Americans with
between ages 16 through 64, people with disabilities
Disabilities
with fewer than 12 years of education are only 20% as
Employment and Disability
likely to hold a full-time job as are people without dis-
As previous Harris surveys have suggested, employ-
abilities with the same educational levels. In contrast,
ment rates vary greatly according to the severity and
for individuals with 16 or more years of education, peo-
type of disability. According to the U.S. Bureau of the
ple with disabilities are more than twice as likely - 41%
Census, the employment rates for people between ages
- as people without disabilities to have a full-time job.
21 and 64 are:
A similar picture emerges for earnings. Among
82%
for all people (disabled and non-disabled)
people with disabilities aged 16 to 64 who are
77%
for those with a non-severe disability
employed full-time, the average annual earnings for
52%
for those with any disability
those with fewer than 12 years of schooling are just
26%
for those with a severe disability
$19,200, compared to $45,500 for individuals with 16
or more years of schooling.
Employment rates differ as well according to the
Interestingly, it is simply the fact of full-time
type of disability. For instance, people with hearing
employment that has the most impact on the earn-
disabilities are about half as likely to be employed as
ings gaps between people with and without disabili-
are those with visual or mental disabilities, and some
ties. People with disabilities who are either working
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION ON
two to three times as likely to be employed as are peo-
(whether full-time or not) or looking for work earn
DS
ABILITY
ple with physical disabilities.
only 60% to 70% of what demographically similar
non-disabled people earn. However, people with disabilities who have
Disability and Age
a full-time job earn approximately 80% - thus approaching parity
According to the U.S. Bureau of the
U.S. Population
of what demographically similar non-disabled people do.
Census, by the middle of the 1990s,
approximately 20% of the U.S. popula-
Age
% with
a Disability
Interpreting the Findings
tion, or about 54 million people, had
0 to 2
2%
These findings do have a number of important implications for
some level of disability, with approxi-
3 to 5
5%
the future.
mately half of those disabilities classi-
6 to 21
13%
First, disability's effects on employment and earnings are not uni-
fied as severe. Disability ratios rise
22 to 44
15%
form. They vary greatly according to age and the severity and type of
sharply with age.
45 to 54
25%
disability - and SO any solutions cannot be uniform either.
Gender and Race
55 to 64
36%
Second, greater educational attainment is perhaps the most pow-
Disability varies somewhat by
65 to 79
47%
erful route to higher employment and earnings levels for people with
gender, with just over 8% of women
80 and above
72%
disabilities. All else being equal, anything that makes it possible for
young people with disabilities to obtain more education will enable
aged 22 to 64 but 11% of men in the
them, as a group, to more easily find a job and to earn higher
same age range reporting a severe
income levels, thereby helping to close the gaps in employment and
disability. These variations are relatively constant through age 80;
earnings throughout their working lives.
above that age, the proportion of women with a severe disability
Third, and perhaps most importantly, full-time employment
becomes considerably greater than for men - 58% versus 45% (pri-
emerges as the greatest single factor in closing the income gaps
marily because women tend to live several years longer than men).
between people with and without disabilities. On average, individuals
The proportion of Hispanics aged 22 to 64 with a severe disability,
with disabilities who have a full-time job earn nearly as much as do
at just over 10%, is only slightly higher than the proportion of non-
demographically similar individuals without disabilities.
Hispanic whites (9%). However, the proportion of blacks aged 22 to
64 with a severe disability, at 16%, is nearly double that of whites.
Closing the Gaps
The chain of cause and effect for economic well-being among
people with disabilities is thus much the same as for the rest of the
Disability in Perspective
population.
Youth and Disability - Findings from the Gallup
Education increases the probability of employment. Employment
Youth Survey
increases earnings. And education, employment, and adequate earn-
ings, in turn, are the first step - both the enabler and the fundamen-
Public opinion surveys sponsored in recent years by the National
tal economic prerequisite for full participation by people with dis-
Organization on Disability and others have shed a great deal of light
abilities in American life.
on the lives and experiences of Americans with disabilities. Youth
Ensuring that young people with disabilities have access to the
with disabilities particularly teenagers - remain much less well
best education possible, and doing all that we can to make sure that
understood. Fortunately, research by The Gallup Youth Survey, con-
people with disabilities can find full-time work, therefore must be the
ducted by The George H. Gallup International Institute, is starting to
heart of America's disability agenda - particularly as it pertains to
provide us with some important new insights.
economic well-being as the new century begins.
The Gallup Youth Survey, says George H. Gallup, founder and
chairman of the Institute, "reveals that young people have had a good
deal of experience with disability in their social lives, and that these
Statistical Snapshot
encounters are largely positive." This foundation of experience and
The Demographics of Disability
understanding, he notes, "creates a great opportunity to improve the
lives and conditions of youth with disabilities in the years ahead."
"The Demographics of Disability" is the first in a series of articles
Experience with Disability
that presents the key numbers governing the circumstances of dis-
According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, only a relatively small
ability in America the statistical backdrop for America's disability
proportion of young people actually have a disability. For youth
agenda. Subsequent articles in this series will explore the nature and
between the ages of 15 and 21, the figure is approximately one in
effects of disability and the role of government in the lives of individ-
eight (13%). This figure is about the same, 12%, for youth between
uals with disabilities.
ages 6 and 14, and considerably less, from 2% to 5%, for preschoolers
aged 0 to 5.
things, these youths have learned to be more patient and to enjoy
doing things for others; in turn, they appreciate receiving additional
love and support from the relative with a disability. Only one in ten
teens say that they are jealous because of the extra attention that the
family member with a disability receives.
Likewise, in church congregations, nine out of ten (89%) youths
say that their fellow churchgoers with disabilities "feel very wel-
come" and another 10% say that they feel "somewhat welcome."
The experience does not appear to be quite as positive in school. Only
37% of youths say that schoolmates with disabilities feel "very wel-
come" in their school, while 46% say that they feel only "somewhat
welcome" and another 17% say they "don't feel too welcome."
George H. Gallup, Jr., Chairman, The George H. Gallup International Institute
Looking to the Future
Young people seem to understand that attitudes toward youth
Despite this comparatively low incidence of disability, young people
with disabilities need to be improved. In the Gallup Youth Survey,
as a group do have extensive experience with disability in their social
70% of teens said that people with disabilities receive too little respect
environment. According to the Gallup Survey, fully three-quarters of
in our country. Given the increasing exposure to individuals with dis-
American teens go to school with one or more disabled schoolmates,
abilities that ongoing public policy changes encourage, says Mr.
while 54% see people with disabilities at church or Sunday School. A
Gallup, "the fundamental open-mindedness and generosity of
smaller proportion of teens (12%) have a direct experience with a fami-
American teens bodes well for the future of youth with disabilities."
ly member with a disability, usually a parent, sibling, or grandparent.
This, he says, means that we are likely to see a continuing closing
These experiences with disabilities tend to be overwhelmingly
of the gaps in the experiences and opportunities facing youth with
positive. Nine out of ten teens with a disabled family member say
and without disabilities. As a result, all Americans - young and old
that they have learned special things from their relative with a dis-
alike - will gain.
ability, and enjoy spending time with him or her. Among other
1998
The complete report on the 1998 N.O.D./Harris Survey
N.O.D./Harris Survey
of
of Americans with Disabilities is now available!
Americans With Disabilities
Includes:
Executive summary with trend data comparing 1998, 1994
and 1986 Harris Survey findings.
Conducted by
Complete data tables
Louis Harris and Associates, Inc.
Complete survey questionnaire
National Organization on Disability
Commissioned by the
Price of survey is $95; $60 for disability organizations
To order:
CLOSING
THE
MAIL your name, address and your check to: National Organization on
Disability, 910 Sixteenth Street, NW Washington, DC 20006
FAX your request to: (202) 293-7999
PHONE (202) 293-5960
E-MAIL your request to: [email protected]
TDD: Call (202) 293-5968
Copies of Closing the Gaps: 1998 - a summary of the 1998
N.O.D./Harris Survey of Americans with Disabilities can be
purchased for $20 each.
The 1995 N.O.D./Harris Survey on Employment of People with
Disabilities is also available for purchase for $25.
About This Publication
DISABILITY AGENDA
DISABILITY AGENDA is a publication of the National
Advisory Committee
Organization on Disability. Reproduction without written permis-
Arlene E. Anns, Former Publisher, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
sion is prohibited.
Peter Blanck, Ph.D., J.D., Professor, University of Iowa, College
of Law
SUBSCRIPTION IS FREE. If you wish to subscribe, simply send a
George H. Gallup Jr, Chairman, The George H. Gallup
letter with your name and address to: DISABILITY AGENDA,
International Institute
National Organization on Disability, 910 Sixteenth Street NW,
Kevin R. Hopkins, Editor, Disability Agenda; Director,
Washington, DC 20006. Or send the information via e-mail to
Electronic Commerce, US Interactive
[email protected] or fax 202-293-7999. This publication is
Mitchell P. LaPlante, Ph.D., Disability Statistics and Research
available in alternative formats.
Training Center
© Copyright 1999 by the National Organization on Disability. All rights reserved.
N.O.D.
The National Organization on Disability, founded in 1982, is
the only national network organization concerned with all dis-
abilities, all age groups, and all disability issues. N.O.D.
This publication is made possible by a generous grant from
involves people with and without disabilities in carrying out its
Provident Companies, Inc.
programs. N.O.D. is supported by private sector donations
from individuals, corporations and foundations and receives
no government funds. Your financial support is greatly appre-
ciated. Contributions can be sent to National Organization on
Disability, 910 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20006.
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION ON
Non Profit Org.
D
SABILITY
U.S. Postage
PAID
910 Sixteenth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Washington, D.C.
Permit No. 3753
Mr. Lex Frieden
Focus on Ability
1333 Moursund
Houston TX 77030
33% Have not
FAVOR/OPPOSE THE ADA
Overall do you favor and support the American with Disabilities Act or
disapprove and oppose it?
[This question was asked only of those who have seen, heard, and/or read
about the ADA]
Total
87% Favor and Support
8% Disapprove and Oppose
5% Don't Know
SUPPORT/DO NOT SUPPORT SPECIFIC PROVISIONS OF THE ADA
A. Employers may not discriminate against someone who is qualified to do
a job just because they are disabled.
B. Employers with more than 15 employees must make reasonable
accommodations for employees with disabilities.
C. New public transportation vehicles must be made accessible to disabled
people.
D. Public places like restaurants, hotels, theatres, stores and museums may
not discriminate against customers on the basis of disability.
E. Government must offer home care services that allow more people with
disabilities to live at home instead of in nursing homes.
Total
Items
Support
Do Not Support
Don't Know
A.
94%
5%
1%
B.
85%
14%
1%
C.
91%
8%
1%
D.
95%
4%
1%
E.
86%
12%
2%
COST/BENEFITS OF THE ADA
Given, what we have just told you about the Americans with Disabilities
Act, do you think that the benefits of the ADA are worth the additional
costs involved or that it is too expensive?
Total
75% Benefits are worth the additional costs
17% Too Expensive
7% Don't Know
1% Refused
EMPLOYER VS. WELFARE COSTS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Which of the two following statements comes closes to your opinion?
A. If more people with disabilities had paid employment, it would reduce
welfare payments, they would become productive taxpayers and everyone
would benefit.
OR
B. It will be very expensive for employers to hire many more people with
disabilities and it will not be worth the extra cost.
Total
83% Agrees with A
12% Agrees with B
5% Don't Know
ADA AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE
Do you think the ADA has helped or has not helped improve the lives of
people with disabilities?
Total
84% Has Helped
10% Has not Helped
6% Don't Know
Media seeking comment or interviews with spokespersons for the National
Organization on Disability, please contact:
Mary Dolan, N.O.D.
Phone: 202-293-5960