Book titled “Disabled Rights” by Jacqueline Vaughn Switzer published 2003
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008The following are excerpts from the book.
Page 4 - U.S. policy toward persons with disabilities (PWDs) remains fragmented. Millions of dollars are being spent on social welfare, vocational rehabilitation, and employment programs that virtually all observers agree have done little to better the lives of the disabled. The late activist Justin W. Dart, Jr., observed “Our society still is infected by insidious, now almost subconscious, assumptions that people with dsabilities are less than fully human and therefore are not entitled to the respect, the opportunities, and the services and support symstems that are available to other people as a matter of right.”
Page 9- Unlike other civil rights movements, advocates seeking equality for the disabled often have been working against one another. There are hundreds of disability-specific organizations.
Pages 31 & 32 - Perhaps the word that best describes the historical treatment of persons with disabilities is separation. Although in some cultures the family takes responsibility for the care of disabled persons, for the most part this has the exception rather than the rule in the United States. More commonly, disabled persons have been isolated, institutionalized, and ignored.
Page 54 & 55 - With the advent of the Reagan administration, cutbacks in social welfare programs overall were reflected in federal support for disabled persons. SSDI, for instance, was reduced from 3.1 percent of overall social welfare expenditures to about 2.5 percent between 1980 and 1987. Much of the decrease can be creditied to the Social Security Disability Amendment of 1980, which called for a review of eligibility every three years. The goal was to make regular determinations about whether beneficiairies were capable of retunring to work, but implementation of the act was impersonal and often without any medical review. a lack of qulaified staff to review recipients’ conditions allowed many cases to go unchecked. Yet after a General Accounting Ofice (GAO) audit cautioned authorities that many recipients who were taken off benefits would appeal the decisions and win, the Reagan administration moved forward to “purify” the disability rolls. ithin a two-year period, 838,00 recipients had their cases reexamined, and 360,000 were dropped from the rolls–many designated as “recovered” from being disabled without ever having been evaluated in person.
It was not until 1984 that the Senate and the House unanimously passed legislation that enabled about two-thirds of the recipients who had been dropped from the program to re-enroll under the Social Security Disability Reform Act of 1984. The legislation was a response to thousands of individuals who had requested an appeal of the their termination of benefits. Advocay organizations such as the Alliance of Social Security Disability Recipients, the Disability Rights Center, and others contacted members of Congress with horro stories about individuals who waited more than a year for review of their appeal. The 1984 statue was in complete contrast to the 1980 version, protecting individuals from being dropped from disability insurance became a more secure entitlement for those who managed to grt it; the coordination of programs and the reform of the disability systems remained as elusive as ever.
Page 169 - Invisible disabilities cover a wide range of conditions and illnesses. One website index lists impairments including brain injury, chronic fatigue syndrome, deafness and hearing loss, diabetes, epilepsy, fetal alcohol syndrome, narcolepsy, and repetitive stress injuries.
Page 172 - Some people believe that the term “invisible disability” is a misnomer, simply because it assumes that there is a difference between the barriers people with such disabilities face and those encountered by those with a “visible” disability. The latter category includes individuals who use wheelchairs, canes, hearing aids, crutches, walkers, and service animals. Persons with environmental or chronic illnesses who “do not look sick” often are accused, however, of faking or imagining their disability. There are no assistive devices that can help them when the illness is triggered by secondhand tobacco smoke, no barriers to make more accessible when the person is HIV-positive. Although the categorization of disabilities may seem divisive, it points to the individualiztion of disabilities and the realization that there is nothing wrong with a disability that is somehow different.
Page 175 - Although there is considerable anecdotal information about attitudes towards individuals with disabilities, one of the most widely cited resources is a 200 Harris and Associates poll commissioned NOD (National Organization on Disability). The poll was conducted in May-June 2000 among a nationwide cross-section of adults with and without disabilities. Respondents were asked about ten key measures of qulaity of life to determine whether the past decade has seen notable improvements for people with disabilities. NOD notes that people with disabilities are not a homogenous gropu, and those with slight or moderate disabilities have dramatically different needs than people with somewhat or ver severe disabilities. There also are substantial gaps between people with disabilities and the general population.
I found the book to be informative and a recommend read. I wish the author Jacqueline Vaughn Switzer would write and publish an updated second edition of the book.