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March 2004

By Cause for Optimism

Shortly after President Bush presented his State of the Union address in January, a Harris Poll commissioned by the National Organization on Disability (NOD) was released, reporting on the “State of the Union” for people with disabilities. The data from the report was disappointing. According to the survey, only a third of Americans with disabilities, or 38%, feel satisfied about the state of the union, as opposed to a 47% satisfaction rate among Americans without disabilities. Compared to 2 years ago, when 58% of those with disabilities and 71% without said they were happy with the way things were, this is a marked reduction.

Other statistics weren’t much more promising. According to the poll, 40% of Americans with disabilities said they felt good about their future financial security, down from 51% 2 years ago; 62% said they felt good about their health, compared with 89% of Americans without disabilities; 41% said they felt good about their children’s future, down from 47% 2 years before; and 29% said they felt good about their jobs, compared with 65% of those without disabilities. Much of this is not surprising. In a weakened economy, people who are more likely to be out of work—which is unfortunately the case for those with disabilities—are going to feel the burden more heavily. People with disabilities also are more likely to have health problems than those without, so it makes sense that they would be less optimistic on this front. And, according to NOD, which issued a report with the survey in an effort to explain the statistics, often the jobs that people with disabilities are able to find are not satisfactory—financially or intellectually.

So what can rehab professionals do to help clients (and each other) combat these less-than-thrilled feelings about the way things are? Thankfully, NOD, along with many other sources in the industry, offers glimmers of hope for clients’ future financial situation, job outlook, health, and children’s well-being. For a good start, we can look to technological advances in medical treatments, devices, and services, which will benefit both the health and the overall quality of life for your clients. Yes, with new technology also comes new cost—not to mention insurance coverage quandaries—but the benefits should eventually outweigh today’s complications. We can also look to legislative changes that have come about thanks to continued work by people with disabilities, rehab professionals, and organizations, as well as the disability issues that will be brought out by the 2004 presidential candidates. As part of the report, NOD also provided a long list of advances for people with disabilities in communities around the country (go to www.nod.org).

The news from the report was not all bad. In fact, 84% of those with disabilities said they feel good about their quality of life overall, up from 81% 2 years ago and not far from the 88% of Americans without disabilities who said they were happy with this too. And for those of you who attended the recent American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting in Nashville, you know that there is just so much to look forward to as the rehab industry progresses. All we can hope for then is the ability to get the promise of the future—financially, technologically, and in day-to-day well-being—into the lives of your clients as fast as humanly possible, so next year, following the State of the Union by whomever it may be, people will look on what’s to come with a little more positive feeling.

—Sarah Schmelling
cwolski@medpubs.com

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