After serving seven years as an Army Ranger, Eric Miller received a medical
discharge when doctors diagnosed him with Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome,
a genetic disease that makes one susceptible to uncontrollable tumor growth.
Since 1986, the United States military has claimed non-responsibility
for providing disability benefits to "soldiers with 'congenital
and hereditary' conditions," which include Eric Miller's
disease. Due to this discrimination, military doctors discourage patients
from genetic testing, prohibiting them from giving the best care available.
Although genetic discrimination was banned in group health plans in 2000
and Congress is trying to extend the law by applying it to individual
medical policies via the "Genetic Information Nondiscrimination
Act," personnel in the Armed Forces such as Eric Miller are still
vulnerable to such discrimination.

Full Story:

Karen Kaplan, U.S. Military Practices Genetic Discrimination in Denying
Benefits, Los Angeles Times, August 18, 2007, available at

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/kids/la-sci-genes18aug18,1,5560499.story

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007:

H.R. 493, 110th Congress (2007), available at

http://www.genome.gov/24519851

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviews of large federal disability
programs indicate that disability policy has failed to reflect the societal
changes accompanying economic, medical, technological, and social advances.
An August 2007 GAO report, discussing attitudes from a forum of employers,
advocate groups, researchers, and federal officials, identifies strengths
in federal cooperation with the private sector to boost employment of
persons with disabilities, the shift toward home and community based services,
and improving assistive technologies. Participants also identified necessary
improvements in coordination between different programs and services,
and a more comprehensive understanding of the lifetime needs of persons
with disabilities and their families.

Full Report:

Government Accountability Office, Modernizing Federal Disability Policy
GAO-07-934SP, August 2007, available at

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07934sp.pdf

William Sarmento and John A. Sarro, charged but "found not guilty
of murder by reason of insanity," were recently denied the right
to vote in future elections. In the past, the men had participated in
elections even following their confinement in a state mental hospital;
however, the Rhode Island Board of Canvassers has taken away their right
to vote. The Rhode Island Disability Law Center has expressed disappointment
and promises to appeal the decision. This debate is not solely happening
in Rhode Island as nine states prohibit "'idiots' or
the 'insane'" from voting. Researchers at the Burton
Blatt Institute have also found that currently forty-four states exclude
persons with intellectual and psychiatric disabilities from voting through
statutes or constitutional provision. New Jersey is one state that is
facing the debate by putting the matter to vote.

Full Story:

David Scharfenberg, Insanity Ruling Costs 2 Men Their Right to Vote,
Province Journal, August 21, 2007, available at

http://www.projo.com/news/content/INSANITY_VOTING_08-21-07_DQ6QEK3.33924a1.html

Michael J. King & Roufeda Ebrahim, Voting Rights Under the Americans
with Disabilities Act: Are People with Intellectual or Psychiatric Disabilities
Protected? (Burton Blatt Institute, July 2007), forthcoming at

http://www.sedbtac.org/legalissues.php?idpg=54#casebriefsnew

The 2004 reauthorization of IDEA requires states to collect and report
data to plan and evaluate their obligations under the law. Since increased
accountability in the area of dropout prevention is crucial to avoiding
costs such as unemployment and higher rates of incarceration incurred
by individuals with disabilities and society as a whole, the National
High School Center (NHSC) has published an issue brief on this topic.
The NHSC's brief provides recommendations for data collection by
state education agencies, identifies successful programs, and lists guidelines
for states developing performance plans.

Full Report:

National High School Center, Dropout Prevention for Students with Disabilities:
A Critical Issue for State Education Agencies, May 2007, available
at

http://www.betterhighschools.org/docs/NHSC_DropoutPrevention_052507.pdf.

A growing concern among parents with children receiving special education
services is that their children are coasting through the programs. Parents
have found their children receive special accommodations outside the guidelines
of their Individualized Education Program (IEP) and many with poor attendance
and low quality work still receive passing grades. Parents are happy to
see their children moving through the system, but not without making appropriate
academic progress.

Full Story:

John Hechinger & Daniel Golden, When Special Education Goes Too Easy
on Students, Wall Street Journal, August 21, 2007, available at

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118763976794303235.html?mod=hpp_us_pageone

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has prepared
an informational pamphlet in response to the growing number of students
with disabilities entering postsecondary education. The pamphlet explains
what students with disabilities should expect to provide and receive from
their postsecondary school. It clearly outlines the obligations of the
school and informs the students of the differences between secondary and
postsecondary education. Some of the questions addressed in the pamphlet
include; "Do I have to inform a postsecondary school that I have
a disability?" and "What academic adjustments must a postsecondary
school provide?"

Full Story:

U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Students with
Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights
and Responsibilities, March 2007, available at

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html

Many individuals with disabilities have come to rely heavily on broadband
Internet service as an independent tool or one used with a form of assistive
technology. Enhanced transmission speeds provide children with disabilities
and families, outlets to education, economic opportunity, social participation,
and health care options that match industry standards. Although 9% of
U.S. children have a disability, many miss out on effective applications
of high speed Internet.

In a 2006 survey, only 38% of children with disabilities aged 15 and older
had access to the Internet at home, as compared to 64% of children without
disabilities. This report provides a "four point plan to significantly
improve the quality of life for young people with disabilities through
the wise deployment of these technologies": 1) Promote access to
affordable broadband everywhere by maintaining the service principles
of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and encouraging competition and
growth to all geographic areas. 2) Enforce and educate the public about
existing laws. 3) Allow for more research in the area of broadband and
its impact on children by funding and supporting research endeavors. 4)
Ensure access and training for accessible and assistive technologies through
funding and incorporation into in-service and pre-service training for
teachers and caregivers.

Full Report:

The Children's Partnership, Helping our Children with Disabilities:
What's Broadband Got to Do with It, Digital Opportunity for Youth
Issue Brief No.2, July 2007, available at

http://home.graffiti.net/tcpaccessible/specialneeds.html

IBM recently developed the Desktop Hindi Speech Recognition Technology,
a voice recognition program for the Hindi language, in collaboration
with the Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). The company
hopes that with this development, Hindi speaking individuals with physical
disabilities or limited literacy will be able to use information technology
easily.

The technology is capable of recognizing 75, 000 words in various dialects
with an accuracy of 90-95%, and incorporates several word processing features
such as a spell checker. In addition to finding usage in voice enabled
hardware systems and web-enabled consumer services, the product can be
used for a myriad of translational services performed by C-DAC.

Full Story:

Zee News, IBM Launches Hindi Speech Recognition, August 16, 2007, available
at

http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=389204&sid=ENV&ssid=29&news=IBM

While women generally are more likely to experience depression than men,
those in rural areas are at an even higher risk, because in part of
geographic barriers such as scarce public transportation and limited
healthcare. In an effort to assist women in rural areas, researchers
at the University of Montana Rural Institute tested the effectiveness
of peer-led depression self-management programs for women with physical
disabilities living in rural areas. The first part of the study reports
on their characteristics and treatment patterns, and the second part
will report on the self-management program.

The study found that to detect and treat depression among rural women
with disabilities, a disability service provider should 1) know what
depression is and be able to identify its symptoms; 2) have support groups
available to assist women experiencing depression; 3) look for the signs
of depression and have direct and private discussions with the women
about the possibility of depression; 4) encourage women affected by depression
to visit a health care provider; 5) "[t]rain staff and consumers on the
symptoms and treatment of depression"; and 6) "[p]rovide resources on depression."


Full Story:

Rosemary Hughes, Ph.D., Rural Women with Disabilities and Depression,
Part One: Characteristics and Treatment Patterns, Research and Training
Center on Disability in Rural Communities, July 2007, available
at

http://rtc.ruralinstitute.umt.edu/health/Depression.htm

The California Endowment recently provided funding to the Disability Rights
Legal Center (DRLC) in Los Angeles to support their work involving the
Respect-Ability Coalition, a "statewide group of disability rights
and service organizations." DRLC has worked with the California
Foundation for Independent Living Centers and other coalition partners
to develop a survey that will properly assess the accessibility of health
care service providers in California. Individuals who participate in the
survey will aid in assembling a fact sheet about the accessibility of
health care across California. The survey is available in Braille, large
print, on computer disk, in Spanish, and online.

For more information:

Respectability Coalition, Respect-ABILITY Health Care Survey, 2007,
available at

http://www.respectabilitycoalition.org/

The University of Florida recently received a $1.6 million grant from the
Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to establish a centralized program
to design, monitor, implement, and evaluate state and community programs
and services for people with disabilities. The office will provide assistance
in assuring that the state incorporate best practices in utilizing standardized
methods and tools for data collection. More then 22% of Florida's
population reports having a disability, and only 68% reports "always
or usually getting" the support they need. By 2008, the office will
have a plan in place addressing three objectives, "reducing the
incidence and severity of secondary conditions for people with a disability,
improving their access to public health programs, and implementing health
promotion and wellness programs for people with disabilities."

Full Story:

University of Florida Establishes State Office on Disability, South Florida
Sun Sentinel, August 23, 2007, available at

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sfl-fljjbcdisability0823jjbcaug23,0,5114478.story

A recent study among individuals with disabilities receiving vocational
rehabilitation services discovered that substance abuse screening was
underdetecting the incidence of abuse. The study suggests that counselors
lack the training to sufficiently identify or assess substance abuse
problems. To address these concerns, researchers began a five year study
in 2004 to develop a screening tool specifically for the vocational
rehabilitation setting.

Researchers chose to use the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory
(SASSI) in place of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS), which took
too long to administer. Using the SASSI test, researchers developed
the Substance Abuse and Vocational Rehabilitation Screener (SAVR-S),
which is specifically aimed at people with disabilities. Researchers
established the validity of SAVR-S by testing it against the results of
the DIS. They hope that the early success of this study indicates an expansion
into other parts of the United States.

Full Story:

CROR Outcomes, Vocational Rehabilitation: Screening for Alcohol and Substance
Abuse Disorders, Vol. 2 Issue 2, Spring 2007, available at

http://www.ric.org/pdf/Spring%202007%20Newsletter.pdf

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found in favor of a man with paraplegia,
ruling that strict punctuality is not an essential job function. Tommy
Holly, a mold polisher for Clairson Industries, sued Clairson claiming
that the employer failed to reasonably accommodate him, violating Title
I of the ADA. Holly was often late for work by a minute (occasionally
more) for reasons relating to his disability. Clairson informally accommodated
Holly for fifteen years. However, after creating a blanket no-tardiness
policy, Clairson fired Holly after he quickly filled his allowable late
occurrences.

Clairson argued that Holly was not a "qualified individual"
within the terms of the ADA because he was unable to perform an essential
function of his job (being punctual) with or without an accommodation.
Supervisors testified that the nature of Holly's job did not require
strict punctuality, and that Holly usually made up any lost time within
the business day by working during breaks or staying late. The district
court agreed with Clairson; however, the Court of Appeals reversed the
decision after looking at the totality of the circumstances and finding
that strict punctuality was not an essential job function. Holly is thus
a qualified individual entitled to reasonable accommodations.

Full Decision:

Holly v. Clairson Industries, LLC, No. 06-13365, 2007 WL 2050769, *1 (11th
Cir., July 19, 2007), available at

http://www.ceridian.com/www/content/10/12487/14787/14796/hollycase.pdf

The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), was launched
in March of 2007 to advocate for "legislative and regulatory safeguards
that will ensure full access by people with disabilities to evolving high
speed broadband, wireless and other Internet protocol technologies."
COAT is filing complaints against the cell phone industry on behalf of
consumers with disabilities, who argue that cell phones lack accessibility
features such as hearing aid compatibility and the ability to distinguish
the different keys. Paul Schroeder, VP of the Programs and Policy Group
at the American Foundation for the Blind stated that "these complaints
illustrate a market failure on the part of the cell phone industry
to address accessibility."

Full Story:

American Foundation for the Blind, COAT Members Urge Action by Wireless
Industry to Improve Disability Accessibility, August 14, 2007,
available at

http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?DocumentID=3617

The Office of the Director General of Civil Aviation (Government of India)
recently released civil aviation requirements on air transport and persons
with disabilities, and which took effect on August 15, 2007. The requirements
cite the need for standardization of travel conditions to facilitate air
transportation for persons with disabilities, and will apply to all operators
engaged in transportation of passengers by air.

Moreover, the requirements address increases in the availability of assistance
through improved communication, staff training programs, assistive devices
(such as wheelchairs or stretchers), boarding and seating guidelines,
and restrictions as to when medical clearance may be required of passengers.
Although the requirements prohibit airlines from discriminating against
travelers with disabilities, they allow the airlines to make exceptions
based on subjective judgments about the safety risk posed by the individual.
Disability rights advocates have expressed concerns about the ambiguity
of many provisions and criticized the lack of time given for citizen comments
and input.

Full Story:

Ananth Krishnan, The disabled cannot be denied air passage, The Hindu,
August 16, 2007, available at

http://www.thehindu.com/2007/08/16/stories/2007081660221000.htm

Full regulation:

Government of India, Civil Aviation Requirements: Carriage of Physically
Challenged Passengers by Air, July 25, 2007, available at

http://dgca.nic.in/misc/draft%20cars/D3M-M1%20(R1%20draft).pdf

The Orissa State Government's responses to heavy floods in several
districts of eastern India have been inadequate to protecting persons
with disabilities. A survey conducted by the Youth Service Center in
the province of Balasore, indicated that some relief efforts failed to
protect the entire population, often leaving persons with disabilities
behind. Because of flood conditions, preparing food, reaching shelters,
and acquiring medical attention were often difficult or impossible for
persons with disabilities.

Full Story:

Relief Web, India Floods: Orissa Province - Disabled Left Out, August
7 2007, available at

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/TBRL-75UKL6?OpenDocument

Post Extras