UNITED NATIONS — The United States on Thursday signed a U.N. treaty enshrining the rights of the world's 650 million disabled people, saying it symbolized President Barack Obama's commitment to upholding human rights through international agreements.
The signing by U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice marked a dramatic shift from the Bush administration, which refused to take part in negotiations on the treaty, arguing that it would dilute protections for U.S. citizens under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.
Obama marked last week's 19th anniversary of the U.S. law barring discrimination against the disabled with the announcement that the U.S. would become the 141st signatory to the convention. "Disability rights aren't just civil rights to be enforced here at home. They are universal rights to be recognized and promoted around the world," the president said.
Rice said Obama will soon submit the treaty to the U.S. Senate for ratification. Once it is ratified, the United States will be bound by its provisions.
"It symbolizes that the United States is recommitting itself to upholding human rights through multilateral institutions," Rice said. "It is symbolic of the president's determination to adhere universally to those principles that he has championed and that the United States stands for domestically."
The treaty is the first new human rights convention of the 21st century. It was approved by the U.N. General Assembly in December 2006 and came into force in May 2008 after 20 countries ratified it.
The 32-page convention is a blueprint aimed at ending discrimination and exclusion of the physically and mentally impaired in education, jobs, and everyday life. It requires countries to guarantee freedom from exploitation and abuse for the disabled, while protecting rights they already have — such as ensuring voting rights for the blind and providing wheelchair-accessible buildings.
It says disabled persons must also enjoy the same right to life, to inherit, to control their financial affairs, and to privacy as the able-bodied. It also advocates keeping the disabled in their communities rather than removing them and educating them separately as many countries do.
According to the U.N., about 10 percent of the world's population, or 650 million people, live with a disability and the number is increasing with population growth. The disabled constitute the world's largest minority, and 80 percent live in developing countries, many in poverty.
"We all still have a great deal more to do at home and abroad," Rice said. "As president Obama has noted, people with disabilities far too often lack the choice to live in communities of their own choosing; their unemployment rate is much higher than those without disabilities; they are much more likely to live in poverty; health care is out of reach for far too many; and too many children with disabilities are denied a world class education."
White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett, who also attended the signing ceremony, announced the creation of a new senior-level post in the State Department to promote the rights of people with disabilities internationally and coordinate government efforts to ratify the treaty.
Several U.S. campaigners for the disabled — two in wheelchairs — attended the signing ceremony in a conference room on the 38th floor of U.N. headquarters and applauded loudly after Rice wrote her name in the treaty book.
Marca Bristo, president and CEO of Access Living, who chairs the U.S. International Council on Disabilities, said the council would be coordinating civil society efforts to ratify the treaty.
William Kennedy Smith, president and founder of the Center for International Rehabilitation, who helped organize activists from around the world to work on drafting the convention, recalled how disappointed U.S. campaigners for the disabled were that the Bush administration refused to participate.
"With the signing today, the U.S. rejoins the arena where they have traditionally set the benchmark in disability rights internationally and I think it's a huge step for people with disabilities and a huge step for our country," he said.
"I think that it represents a profound difference in how the two administrations view international cooperation, international engagement," Smith said.
-The Associated Press
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Disabled grandmother shoved, locked out of her house
A disabled 68-year-old woman was shoved to the ground by her grandson, who later came back, confronted her, physically removed her from her home and locked her out, Bossier City police say.
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Martin Dewayne Brown, 32, of the 1200 block of Estelle Street in Bossier City, is charged with one count each of cruelty to the infirm and simple battery. He is being held in Bossier Minimum Security Facility, where his bond has been set at $25,500.
Brown is accused of shoving his grandmother, who uses a walker due to a physical disability, when she tried to intervene during a fight between him and his adult brother at her home, where Brown’s brother lives, according to Mark Natale, a Bossier City spokesman. She called police; her grandsons fled before they arrived, Natale said.
Bossier City Fire Department personnel treated the woman on the scene.
Brown returned after police left, Natale said. The woman again called authorities after being removed from her house and locked out. Brown was arrested at the residence.
-shreveporttimes.com
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Martin Dewayne Brown, 32, of the 1200 block of Estelle Street in Bossier City, is charged with one count each of cruelty to the infirm and simple battery. He is being held in Bossier Minimum Security Facility, where his bond has been set at $25,500.
Brown is accused of shoving his grandmother, who uses a walker due to a physical disability, when she tried to intervene during a fight between him and his adult brother at her home, where Brown’s brother lives, according to Mark Natale, a Bossier City spokesman. She called police; her grandsons fled before they arrived, Natale said.
Bossier City Fire Department personnel treated the woman on the scene.
Brown returned after police left, Natale said. The woman again called authorities after being removed from her house and locked out. Brown was arrested at the residence.
-shreveporttimes.com
Disabled man may have case against NJ restaurant
TRENTON, N.J. - An Essex County restaurant that refused to seat a disabled man and his guide dog in its main dining room may have violated New Jersey's law against discrimination.
The Division on Civil Rights has made a probable cause finding against 88 Cafe in Livingston and its owner, Johnny Wong. That means there is evidence of a civil rights violation, though the case is ongoing.
Clifford Aaron sought to be seated in the main restaurant with his wife, daughter and golden retriever, Alto, a certified guide dog. The Civil Rights Division says Wong instead offered the family a table near the kitchen, fearing other patrons would object to the presence of the dog.
A woman who answered the phone at 88 Cafe says Wong is off and no one else was available to comment.
-The Associated Press
The Division on Civil Rights has made a probable cause finding against 88 Cafe in Livingston and its owner, Johnny Wong. That means there is evidence of a civil rights violation, though the case is ongoing.
Clifford Aaron sought to be seated in the main restaurant with his wife, daughter and golden retriever, Alto, a certified guide dog. The Civil Rights Division says Wong instead offered the family a table near the kitchen, fearing other patrons would object to the presence of the dog.
A woman who answered the phone at 88 Cafe says Wong is off and no one else was available to comment.
-The Associated Press
Alaska police: Taser use on disabled man justified
MOBILE, Ala. — Officers who used pepper spray and a Taser to remove a man from a store bathroom found out only later he was deaf and mentally disabled and didn't understand they wanted him to open the door, police said Tuesday.
A spokesman for the Mobile Police Department said the officers' actions were justified because the man was armed with a potential weapon — an umbrella.
But relatives of Antonio Love, 37, have asked for a formal investigation and said they plan to sue both the police and the store.
"I want justice," Love's mother, Phyllis Love, said Tuesday.
The woman said her son hears only faintly, has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old and didn't realize that it was the police who were trying enter the bathroom.
"He thought the devil was out there trying to get in to get him," she said.
Antonio Love, in a written statement and in a television interview given in sign language about the confrontation, said he had a badly upset stomach last Friday and went into a Dollar General store to use the restroom.
Police spokesman Christopher Levy said Tuesday store workers called officers complaining that a man had been in the bathroom for more than an hour with the door locked. Officers knocked on the door and identified themselves, but the person didn't respond.
Officers used a tire iron to open the door, but the man pushed back to keep it shut. Officers saw the umbrella and sprayed pepper spray through a crack trying to subdue the man, Levy said. They shot the man with a Taser when they finally got inside, he said.
Officers didn't realize Love was deaf or had mental problems until he showed them a card he carries in his wallet, Levy said. He was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct, but officers released him and took him home after a magistrate refused to issue a warrant.
Levy said officers were justified in using force against Love since he had an umbrella.
"The officers really worked within the limits of our level-of-force policy," he said. "We had no information about who this guy was."
Phyllis Love said her son, who has worked in the garden department at a Lowe's store for several years, was scared when he realized someone was trying to get into the bathroom with him. He put water on his face and on the floor after being hit with pepper spray, she said.
"He didn't know it was a policeman until they busted the door in on him," she said. "He had a knot on his head from where it hit him."
Levy said police wish the confrontation had never occurred. The internal investigation will include a review of Love's complaints that officers laughed at him after realizing he was deaf, he said.
"We'll make whatever efforts we can to resolve this situation, hopefully so this man will be able to trust police in the future so we can help him. Obviously, it's going to be a rough road," he said.
The Associated Press.
A spokesman for the Mobile Police Department said the officers' actions were justified because the man was armed with a potential weapon — an umbrella.
But relatives of Antonio Love, 37, have asked for a formal investigation and said they plan to sue both the police and the store.
"I want justice," Love's mother, Phyllis Love, said Tuesday.
The woman said her son hears only faintly, has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old and didn't realize that it was the police who were trying enter the bathroom.
"He thought the devil was out there trying to get in to get him," she said.
Antonio Love, in a written statement and in a television interview given in sign language about the confrontation, said he had a badly upset stomach last Friday and went into a Dollar General store to use the restroom.
Police spokesman Christopher Levy said Tuesday store workers called officers complaining that a man had been in the bathroom for more than an hour with the door locked. Officers knocked on the door and identified themselves, but the person didn't respond.
Officers used a tire iron to open the door, but the man pushed back to keep it shut. Officers saw the umbrella and sprayed pepper spray through a crack trying to subdue the man, Levy said. They shot the man with a Taser when they finally got inside, he said.
Officers didn't realize Love was deaf or had mental problems until he showed them a card he carries in his wallet, Levy said. He was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct, but officers released him and took him home after a magistrate refused to issue a warrant.
Levy said officers were justified in using force against Love since he had an umbrella.
"The officers really worked within the limits of our level-of-force policy," he said. "We had no information about who this guy was."
Phyllis Love said her son, who has worked in the garden department at a Lowe's store for several years, was scared when he realized someone was trying to get into the bathroom with him. He put water on his face and on the floor after being hit with pepper spray, she said.
"He didn't know it was a policeman until they busted the door in on him," she said. "He had a knot on his head from where it hit him."
Levy said police wish the confrontation had never occurred. The internal investigation will include a review of Love's complaints that officers laughed at him after realizing he was deaf, he said.
"We'll make whatever efforts we can to resolve this situation, hopefully so this man will be able to trust police in the future so we can help him. Obviously, it's going to be a rough road," he said.
The Associated Press.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Mentally disabled home's workers fired after death
LUBBOCK, Texas — A Texas state official says six employees at a state-run home for the mentally disabled were fired for their involvement in the June death of a resident.
Laura Albrecht, spokeswoman for the Department of Aging and Disability Services, says the workers were involved in the "physical abuse and neglect of the patient" at the Lubbock State School. Albrecht told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that the employees worked with mentally disabled residents and were involved in direct patient care.
The school, recently renamed the Lubbock State Supported Living Center, houses about 300 mentally disabled patients. Widespread problems within the 13-school system prompted state lawmakers earlier this year to pass legislation that will increase oversight and security at the facilities.
Lubbock police were called to the school to investigate the death of a 46-year-old male resident who fell in his room after a struggle with staff on June 6. Officials said emergency responders were unable to revive him at the school.
Sgt. Jimmy Pachall said a criminal investigation was closed after the Lubbock County medical examiner concluded the victim did not receive a fatal injury during the struggle.
Pachall said the investigation was turned over to the Texas Attorney General's Office, where officials don't say whether they're looking into cases.- AP Texas News
Laura Albrecht, spokeswoman for the Department of Aging and Disability Services, says the workers were involved in the "physical abuse and neglect of the patient" at the Lubbock State School. Albrecht told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that the employees worked with mentally disabled residents and were involved in direct patient care.
The school, recently renamed the Lubbock State Supported Living Center, houses about 300 mentally disabled patients. Widespread problems within the 13-school system prompted state lawmakers earlier this year to pass legislation that will increase oversight and security at the facilities.
Lubbock police were called to the school to investigate the death of a 46-year-old male resident who fell in his room after a struggle with staff on June 6. Officials said emergency responders were unable to revive him at the school.
Sgt. Jimmy Pachall said a criminal investigation was closed after the Lubbock County medical examiner concluded the victim did not receive a fatal injury during the struggle.
Pachall said the investigation was turned over to the Texas Attorney General's Office, where officials don't say whether they're looking into cases.- AP Texas News
Disabled, impoverished: For some, losing the $261 a month will be devastating
More than 800 disabled, impoverished Utahns will lose their monthly state benefits over the next six months, pushing some into homelessness, advocates fear.
They are among the state's most vulnerable: typically unable to work beyond a small number of hours and waiting for Social Security benefits.
Their $261 monthly checks from the General Assistance program, which help them pay rent and afford medication, is often their only income.
"So you're going to have people with severe medical problems in the shelter or on the street," said Bill Tibbitts, an advocate at Crossroads Urban Center.
A coalition of anti-poverty leaders submitted a letter to the outgoing and incoming governors this week protesting changes that will go into effect on Aug. 1. The cuts are a result of a $3 million budget cut made by the Legislature in the past year.
Critics believe changes to the program, which serves about 1,500 disabled people, are too harsh and will have an even larger effect than predicted by Department of Workforce Services officials.
The state concedes that the full consequences of the changes are unclear, particularly how stricter eligibility requirements will affect the number of new participants.
"Until it occurs we don't know," said Helen Thatcher, an assistant director at Department of Workforce Services. "We don't intend to hurt people more than they're already being hurt."
New rules will limit the amount of time someone can receive General Assistance to 12 months instead of two years.
That limit will automatically kick hundreds off the program before they have secured Social Security benefits, advocates worry. But officials say new systems are expected to speed up the Social Security application process.
Tibbitts questions why more than half of the current recipients will lose their benefits -- many on Aug. 1, others in subsequent months -- when the budget was not cut in half. Anti-poverty leaders also are upset that a public comment period and public hearing has not yet taken place.
"Consequently, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to undo the harm caused to hundreds of homeless and near homeless people if the impacts of these rules are as great as we fear they will be," the letter to the governors states.
The state does plan to monitor the effects of General Assistance cuts. "We don't want to be so strict -- we don't want money left over," Thatcher said.
Madeline Wesson, 58, who lived at the downtown Salt Lake City homeless shelter for 17 months and has struggled with mental illness, relies on a General Assistance check to buy the basics that food stamps don't cover.
"What am I going to do if I don't have toilet tissue?" she said.
For residents like her at Grace Mary Manor, an apartment complex for the formerly homeless, losing their monthly General Assistance checks will typically reduce their rent to $25 per month. With no other income or savings, people often turn to panhandling or plasma donation to come up with the cash. - The Salt Lake Tribune
They are among the state's most vulnerable: typically unable to work beyond a small number of hours and waiting for Social Security benefits.
Their $261 monthly checks from the General Assistance program, which help them pay rent and afford medication, is often their only income.
"So you're going to have people with severe medical problems in the shelter or on the street," said Bill Tibbitts, an advocate at Crossroads Urban Center.
A coalition of anti-poverty leaders submitted a letter to the outgoing and incoming governors this week protesting changes that will go into effect on Aug. 1. The cuts are a result of a $3 million budget cut made by the Legislature in the past year.
Critics believe changes to the program, which serves about 1,500 disabled people, are too harsh and will have an even larger effect than predicted by Department of Workforce Services officials.
The state concedes that the full consequences of the changes are unclear, particularly how stricter eligibility requirements will affect the number of new participants.
"Until it occurs we don't know," said Helen Thatcher, an assistant director at Department of Workforce Services. "We don't intend to hurt people more than they're already being hurt."
New rules will limit the amount of time someone can receive General Assistance to 12 months instead of two years.
That limit will automatically kick hundreds off the program before they have secured Social Security benefits, advocates worry. But officials say new systems are expected to speed up the Social Security application process.
Tibbitts questions why more than half of the current recipients will lose their benefits -- many on Aug. 1, others in subsequent months -- when the budget was not cut in half. Anti-poverty leaders also are upset that a public comment period and public hearing has not yet taken place.
"Consequently, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to undo the harm caused to hundreds of homeless and near homeless people if the impacts of these rules are as great as we fear they will be," the letter to the governors states.
The state does plan to monitor the effects of General Assistance cuts. "We don't want to be so strict -- we don't want money left over," Thatcher said.
Madeline Wesson, 58, who lived at the downtown Salt Lake City homeless shelter for 17 months and has struggled with mental illness, relies on a General Assistance check to buy the basics that food stamps don't cover.
"What am I going to do if I don't have toilet tissue?" she said.
For residents like her at Grace Mary Manor, an apartment complex for the formerly homeless, losing their monthly General Assistance checks will typically reduce their rent to $25 per month. With no other income or savings, people often turn to panhandling or plasma donation to come up with the cash. - The Salt Lake Tribune
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Advocates for disabled unhappy with Texas state school settlement
AUSTIN – A settlement Texas officials signed with the U.S. Justice Department to improve conditions at the state schools for the mentally disabled doesn't do enough to move people out of institutions and into the community, advocates for the disabled said Thursday.
The advocates, complaining that they were left out of the negotiations, are asking Gov. Rick Perry to ensure they play a role in the agreement's implementation and monitoring.
"We're not here to impede this settlement," said Dennis Borel, executive director for the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities. "But we are interested in ensuring nobody stays in an institution who is able and wants to get out."
The five-year, $112 million agreement, signed this spring after a four-year federal investigation into civil rights violations at Texas' 13 state schools for the disabled, calls for hiring more than 1,000 new workers, and drastically improving living conditions at the facilities.
It's a response to years of media reports about abuse and neglect inside the facilities, culminating with news this winter that employees orchestrated a "fight club" at the Corpus Christi State School.
But the advocates for the disabled say the measure simply pours millions of dollars into a system that is broken, and will do little to move institutionalized people into more integrated settings.
Officials with the Department of Aging and Disability Services, who oversee the state schools and helped craft the settlement agreement, say advocacy groups had ample time to play a role in the process.
"There were legislative hearings, interim committee hearings, public meetings where input was welcomed and considered," said Laura Albrecht, spokeswoman for the agency.
And they say the agency continues to try to move people who want to live in the community out of the state schools, reporting the facilities' population has dropped by nearly 80 people since February.
But advocates say that pumping more than $100 million into the state schools through the settlement agreement merely delays emptying out the facilities all together.
"We are talking about more than money and bricks and mortar," said Tanya Winters, director of the Texas Advocates Peer To Peer project, which trains people with disabilities to be their own advocates. "We're talking about peoples' lives and happiness." - Dallas Morning News
The advocates, complaining that they were left out of the negotiations, are asking Gov. Rick Perry to ensure they play a role in the agreement's implementation and monitoring.
"We're not here to impede this settlement," said Dennis Borel, executive director for the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities. "But we are interested in ensuring nobody stays in an institution who is able and wants to get out."
The five-year, $112 million agreement, signed this spring after a four-year federal investigation into civil rights violations at Texas' 13 state schools for the disabled, calls for hiring more than 1,000 new workers, and drastically improving living conditions at the facilities.
It's a response to years of media reports about abuse and neglect inside the facilities, culminating with news this winter that employees orchestrated a "fight club" at the Corpus Christi State School.
But the advocates for the disabled say the measure simply pours millions of dollars into a system that is broken, and will do little to move institutionalized people into more integrated settings.
Officials with the Department of Aging and Disability Services, who oversee the state schools and helped craft the settlement agreement, say advocacy groups had ample time to play a role in the process.
"There were legislative hearings, interim committee hearings, public meetings where input was welcomed and considered," said Laura Albrecht, spokeswoman for the agency.
And they say the agency continues to try to move people who want to live in the community out of the state schools, reporting the facilities' population has dropped by nearly 80 people since February.
But advocates say that pumping more than $100 million into the state schools through the settlement agreement merely delays emptying out the facilities all together.
"We are talking about more than money and bricks and mortar," said Tanya Winters, director of the Texas Advocates Peer To Peer project, which trains people with disabilities to be their own advocates. "We're talking about peoples' lives and happiness." - Dallas Morning News
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Iowa bill requires disabled housing registration
An Iowa House committee on Tuesday approved a measure that would require registration for houses that shelter disabled workers.
The measure is in response to a dilapidated house in Atalissa where 21 mentally disabled Texas men lived while they worked at a nearby turkey processing plant operated by Texas-based Henry's Turkey Service.
The package was recommended by a task force created by Gov. Chet Culver after the men were found living in the run-down house.
Under the measure approved by the committee, other facilities would have to register with the state and subject to inspection.
Officials said the measure will give them a better handle on the number of facilities in the state and who is being housed in them.
"Does it solve all of the problems and close all of the gaps? No," said Rep. Vicky Lensing, D-Iowa City, head of the House Oversight Committee. "This is a first step."
The measure must still be approved by the House Appropriations Committee.
Though the Legislature is getting close to ending this year's session, the measure is likely to emerge because of the discovery of the disabled workers living at the house in eastern Iowa.
The men were employed since the 1970s by Henry's Turkey Service, which contracted for them to work at the meatpacker. They lived in a boarded-up house with only space heaters until a call to a state abuse hot line prompted an investigation and decision by the state to close the house in February and move the men to centers in Waterloo.
Allegations have since surfaced that the men saw little of their earnings and that most had almost no savings despite years of work.
John McCalley, director of the Department of Elder Affairs and chairman of the task force, told the committee that the package takes a series of steps to begin dealing with the issue.
"This bill represents a delicate balancing act," McCalley said.
Other recommended steps in the measure include:
_ Department of Human Services officials conducting assessments of conditions at the facilities.
_ Creating a multi-agency team that would oversee the care and treatment of dependent adults in the state.
_ Tighter scrutiny of special permits that are issued allowing workers with disabilities to take jobs.
Critics said the measure approved Tuesday would do little in the face of a bureaucracy that didn't rise to the occasion.
"For 34 years, 22 agencies have dropped the ball and now we're reacting," said Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield.
Similar legislation is moving through the Senate, and a criminal investigation in the case is continuing.
Source: Associated Press
The measure is in response to a dilapidated house in Atalissa where 21 mentally disabled Texas men lived while they worked at a nearby turkey processing plant operated by Texas-based Henry's Turkey Service.
The package was recommended by a task force created by Gov. Chet Culver after the men were found living in the run-down house.
Under the measure approved by the committee, other facilities would have to register with the state and subject to inspection.
Officials said the measure will give them a better handle on the number of facilities in the state and who is being housed in them.
"Does it solve all of the problems and close all of the gaps? No," said Rep. Vicky Lensing, D-Iowa City, head of the House Oversight Committee. "This is a first step."
The measure must still be approved by the House Appropriations Committee.
Though the Legislature is getting close to ending this year's session, the measure is likely to emerge because of the discovery of the disabled workers living at the house in eastern Iowa.
The men were employed since the 1970s by Henry's Turkey Service, which contracted for them to work at the meatpacker. They lived in a boarded-up house with only space heaters until a call to a state abuse hot line prompted an investigation and decision by the state to close the house in February and move the men to centers in Waterloo.
Allegations have since surfaced that the men saw little of their earnings and that most had almost no savings despite years of work.
John McCalley, director of the Department of Elder Affairs and chairman of the task force, told the committee that the package takes a series of steps to begin dealing with the issue.
"This bill represents a delicate balancing act," McCalley said.
Other recommended steps in the measure include:
_ Department of Human Services officials conducting assessments of conditions at the facilities.
_ Creating a multi-agency team that would oversee the care and treatment of dependent adults in the state.
_ Tighter scrutiny of special permits that are issued allowing workers with disabilities to take jobs.
Critics said the measure approved Tuesday would do little in the face of a bureaucracy that didn't rise to the occasion.
"For 34 years, 22 agencies have dropped the ball and now we're reacting," said Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield.
Similar legislation is moving through the Senate, and a criminal investigation in the case is continuing.
Source: Associated Press
Sunday, April 12, 2009
How does receiving Disability affect my Social Security benefits later in life?
Question from: Suzjoy
I started getting Disability in my 50s, and am now 61. I receive just Disability (not SSI), and am wondering what happens at age 65? Do I start receiving regular SS, and does it end earlier than if I hadnever gotten Disability?? Thanks.
Answer from : Little78
If you are receiving Social Security disability benefits when you reach full retirement age, those benefits will be converted to retirement benefits.
Source(s):
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10035...
To add to the above answer, there is no "ending" to Social Security. You get it as long as you live.
Source: Yahoo Answers
I started getting Disability in my 50s, and am now 61. I receive just Disability (not SSI), and am wondering what happens at age 65? Do I start receiving regular SS, and does it end earlier than if I hadnever gotten Disability?? Thanks.
Answer from : Little78
If you are receiving Social Security disability benefits when you reach full retirement age, those benefits will be converted to retirement benefits.
Source(s):
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10035...
To add to the above answer, there is no "ending" to Social Security. You get it as long as you live.
Source: Yahoo Answers
What steps does it take to qualify for disability from the state because of anxiety and depression?
Question from: Mel
I'm on my second leave of absence in the past year....I've worked maybe 3 months in the past year. The disability payments from work will only last so long and I'm not sure if I can go back to work at all after that....everytime I think about it...I get sick (nausea, vomiting, pounding heart, and crying). I know that my employers think that I'm lying which of course makes it worse and I think actually led me wind up going on sick leave the second time. I'm frustrated because I am used to taking care of myself and my kids, but now I feel helpless. All this worrying is not good for me and I know it, but as we all know money makes the world go round and without it we're lost. I feel like I'm turning into a recluse and that's very scary, especially since I have kids...the youngest of which, has no relationship with her father...so of course he's no help at all. I have suffered from anxiety my entire life, but it's gotten progressively worse over the past 10 years.
I'm not looking for a hand-out...I'm looking for help. If I can't out of bed to go to work...what am I supposed to do. Perhaps you think suicide would be a better option...wouldn't want to be a problem for you or society.
Of course I've tried doctors and medication...eventually they stop working and when they do work it's not perfect, otherwise I would be at work.
Your very ignorant to think I want a hand out...I'd rather be working...making a real check like I always have in the past. Yeah I'm real happy since I can't work...ooo hoo free time to sit at home and be miserable, with no one who understands. I sit at home every day...I'm not out partying, meeting with friends or having any fun at all....I'm sick, not lazy. People always invite me out, but they don't get it....my anxiety has me like a prisoner in my own body. I wonder when it will end or just be as bad it was before...at least I could still function.
You can judge me if you like, but I just wanted some help
Answer from: Zen
Please don't give up! Are you on antidepressents? If you are, theyr'e not the right ones for you! I waited till I was in my late forties to even go see a doctor, only then because my days had become so dark, I literally wanted to die rather than live this way. I was so anxious at times, I wanted to drink and just stay in the house with the blinds closed. I had to work, but just the drive had me fighting panic attacks the whole way there. I became so neurotic that I started counting things,.OCD. I lost weight, wanted to sleep all day, couldn't stay asleep at night. I trid meditation, self-help books and tapes, herbal vitamins, shots of Nyquil, u-name-it! I could tell you stories...like getting paranoid at bank & stores, leaving a full grocery cart behind. I had an attack years ago in an intersection in left lane, sooooo..I avoided most ALL left hand turns. I cried, got mad, withdrew, didn't find pleasure in ANYTHING!!!!!.....Then, there came a little med called Paxil. I tried two or three other ones, but they didn't work as well. 6 months later, I have NO panic attacks, my depressed moments are just normal moments. I don't count everything in sight...and I hated math!!!! I rarely cry and haven't thrown a dish across the room in months. You may need a little xanax until the meds "kick in", which takes a couple weeks...But, you'll be so glad you did!!!!!!!!!!ps..u can always e mail me! Hugs to you! oooooooooo oh, And I also considered looking into dissability as the last resort!
Last note from: Mel
Thanks so much for the support. I'm feeling a little better today. I'll see my doc on Tuesday, hopefully we can figure something else out. By the way, I been through most of the things you've been through. It's funny we always feel alone and so many of us are going through the same things.
Source: Yahoo Answers
I'm on my second leave of absence in the past year....I've worked maybe 3 months in the past year. The disability payments from work will only last so long and I'm not sure if I can go back to work at all after that....everytime I think about it...I get sick (nausea, vomiting, pounding heart, and crying). I know that my employers think that I'm lying which of course makes it worse and I think actually led me wind up going on sick leave the second time. I'm frustrated because I am used to taking care of myself and my kids, but now I feel helpless. All this worrying is not good for me and I know it, but as we all know money makes the world go round and without it we're lost. I feel like I'm turning into a recluse and that's very scary, especially since I have kids...the youngest of which, has no relationship with her father...so of course he's no help at all. I have suffered from anxiety my entire life, but it's gotten progressively worse over the past 10 years.
I'm not looking for a hand-out...I'm looking for help. If I can't out of bed to go to work...what am I supposed to do. Perhaps you think suicide would be a better option...wouldn't want to be a problem for you or society.
Of course I've tried doctors and medication...eventually they stop working and when they do work it's not perfect, otherwise I would be at work.
Your very ignorant to think I want a hand out...I'd rather be working...making a real check like I always have in the past. Yeah I'm real happy since I can't work...ooo hoo free time to sit at home and be miserable, with no one who understands. I sit at home every day...I'm not out partying, meeting with friends or having any fun at all....I'm sick, not lazy. People always invite me out, but they don't get it....my anxiety has me like a prisoner in my own body. I wonder when it will end or just be as bad it was before...at least I could still function.
You can judge me if you like, but I just wanted some help
Answer from: Zen
Please don't give up! Are you on antidepressents? If you are, theyr'e not the right ones for you! I waited till I was in my late forties to even go see a doctor, only then because my days had become so dark, I literally wanted to die rather than live this way. I was so anxious at times, I wanted to drink and just stay in the house with the blinds closed. I had to work, but just the drive had me fighting panic attacks the whole way there. I became so neurotic that I started counting things,.OCD. I lost weight, wanted to sleep all day, couldn't stay asleep at night. I trid meditation, self-help books and tapes, herbal vitamins, shots of Nyquil, u-name-it! I could tell you stories...like getting paranoid at bank & stores, leaving a full grocery cart behind. I had an attack years ago in an intersection in left lane, sooooo..I avoided most ALL left hand turns. I cried, got mad, withdrew, didn't find pleasure in ANYTHING!!!!!.....Then, there came a little med called Paxil. I tried two or three other ones, but they didn't work as well. 6 months later, I have NO panic attacks, my depressed moments are just normal moments. I don't count everything in sight...and I hated math!!!! I rarely cry and haven't thrown a dish across the room in months. You may need a little xanax until the meds "kick in", which takes a couple weeks...But, you'll be so glad you did!!!!!!!!!!ps..u can always e mail me! Hugs to you! oooooooooo oh, And I also considered looking into dissability as the last resort!
Last note from: Mel
Thanks so much for the support. I'm feeling a little better today. I'll see my doc on Tuesday, hopefully we can figure something else out. By the way, I been through most of the things you've been through. It's funny we always feel alone and so many of us are going through the same things.
Source: Yahoo Answers
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Looking for toilets
The search for a model disabled-friendly rest room yielded some interesting results.
I was involved in an unusual assignment a week ago. Together with another gentleman in a wheelchair, accompanied by a team of experts from the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), our montley crew went out as “roving investigator” in Petaling Jaya.
We went to look at, of all things, toilet. And we were only interested in loos that were user-friendly for disabled and elderly individuals.
The purpose of our trip was a well-known hotel. We oozed and aahed at most of the outfit’s disabled-friendly designs. The most impressive was the entry/exit door of the loo, which was an electronic one.
All a patron in a wheelchair needed to do was press a button with one finger and presto: it would open for him. Once inside he has only to push another button. The door closes, offering him all the privacy he needs.
If only all other hotels in the country would follow the good example of the hotel we visited and provide electronics doors as well, it would make the lives of disabled and elderly persons much easier when they visit such outfits.
Even though posh hotels may have disabled-friendly loos little attention is given to he doors. The doors are often so heavy that we have a hard time trying to open them.
Not everything was smooth sailing during our assignment. Together with the good came the not-so-good.
We had a lesson on how important it was to train everyone to handle an emergency.
When we tried to get into the loo for the first time it suddenly got locked and refused to open untill 20 minutes later. None of the staff knew how to open the door.
They claimed the person in charge was not around. Fortunately, this was not real emergency. We dreaded to think of what could happened if disabled person had fallen inside the loo and needed help.
It was disappointing too that the five-star hotel had a steep ramp at its entrance which disabled guests were forced to use to access the building.
The reserved parking lot for disabled was located far from the entrance to the building.
The management promised to rectify the situation soonest possible.
Our journey also took us to Ikea and Ikano shopping centers in Mutiara Damansara.
No sooner had we arrived when we were greeted by smiling security guards at the generously-size parking lots for the disabled. These people are so serious about their car parks for the handicapped that they clamp any unauthorized cars and make them pay a fine for abusing the facilities.
The money collected is donated to a local charity for disabled.
I was shocked to hear about the reactions of some people who misuse the disabled parking bays. One or two of them even resorted to violence when their cars were clamped, I was told.
The majority, however, apologetic when they realized the errors of their ways.
As for the toilets, especially Ikea’s, I think they have close to the perfect one I’ve seen so far.
The toilet is spacious enough for a helper to accompany a disabled person. There’s an alarm bell (panic button) in case of emergency and a face mirror that leans slightly downwards from a strategic height to allow a wheelchair-user to view his upper body.
We were all touched by the willingness of these two shopping centers to improve on what they were providing for shoppers.
(Articles written by Anthony Thanasayan - athanasayan[at]yahoo.com)
I was involved in an unusual assignment a week ago. Together with another gentleman in a wheelchair, accompanied by a team of experts from the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), our montley crew went out as “roving investigator” in Petaling Jaya.
We went to look at, of all things, toilet. And we were only interested in loos that were user-friendly for disabled and elderly individuals.
The purpose of our trip was a well-known hotel. We oozed and aahed at most of the outfit’s disabled-friendly designs. The most impressive was the entry/exit door of the loo, which was an electronic one.
All a patron in a wheelchair needed to do was press a button with one finger and presto: it would open for him. Once inside he has only to push another button. The door closes, offering him all the privacy he needs.
If only all other hotels in the country would follow the good example of the hotel we visited and provide electronics doors as well, it would make the lives of disabled and elderly persons much easier when they visit such outfits.
Even though posh hotels may have disabled-friendly loos little attention is given to he doors. The doors are often so heavy that we have a hard time trying to open them.
Not everything was smooth sailing during our assignment. Together with the good came the not-so-good.
We had a lesson on how important it was to train everyone to handle an emergency.
When we tried to get into the loo for the first time it suddenly got locked and refused to open untill 20 minutes later. None of the staff knew how to open the door.
They claimed the person in charge was not around. Fortunately, this was not real emergency. We dreaded to think of what could happened if disabled person had fallen inside the loo and needed help.
It was disappointing too that the five-star hotel had a steep ramp at its entrance which disabled guests were forced to use to access the building.
The reserved parking lot for disabled was located far from the entrance to the building.
The management promised to rectify the situation soonest possible.
Our journey also took us to Ikea and Ikano shopping centers in Mutiara Damansara.
No sooner had we arrived when we were greeted by smiling security guards at the generously-size parking lots for the disabled. These people are so serious about their car parks for the handicapped that they clamp any unauthorized cars and make them pay a fine for abusing the facilities.
The money collected is donated to a local charity for disabled.
I was shocked to hear about the reactions of some people who misuse the disabled parking bays. One or two of them even resorted to violence when their cars were clamped, I was told.
The majority, however, apologetic when they realized the errors of their ways.
As for the toilets, especially Ikea’s, I think they have close to the perfect one I’ve seen so far.
The toilet is spacious enough for a helper to accompany a disabled person. There’s an alarm bell (panic button) in case of emergency and a face mirror that leans slightly downwards from a strategic height to allow a wheelchair-user to view his upper body.
We were all touched by the willingness of these two shopping centers to improve on what they were providing for shoppers.
(Articles written by Anthony Thanasayan - athanasayan[at]yahoo.com)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
She had her tubes tied so that she could care for disabled child
THE baby's brain is only 1mm wide.
 |
| DEVOTED: Madam Yang and Yurong. PICTURE: GUANG MING DAILY |
But her mother's love for her is immeasurable.
Huang Yurong, a 6-month-old Malaysian baby, suffers from hydrocephalus, a condition where fluid accumulates in the cavities of the brain.
Because of this, her brain has shrunk, and her head has ballooned to the size of a football.
Guang Ming Daily reported that she was also born with spinal deformities and her nerves are exposed. The baby also can't move the lower part of her body.
When her mother, Madam Yang Shu Jun, 38, was five months pregnant, she was told that her baby would develop spinal deformities and would be disabled for life.
She was then asked if she wanted to abort the child.
Madam Yang calmly replied: 'I want to keep her. I must give birth to her. Who can abandon their own flesh and blood?'
'I understood what I have to face if I went ahead. But I couldn't give her up. I told myself that it was a trial from heaven which I must accept.'
After Yurong was born, Madam Yang and her husband approached all the private hospitals in Penang to treat Yurong.
But they turned her down.
Eventually a hospital said yes, and it has now become Yurong's second home.
Madam Yang said Yurong, her third child, had already gone through a brain operation, which reduced the size of her head. It was about two times bigger before the surgery.
Yurong frequently waves her little arms to attract her mother's attention. But because she has kidney problems, Madam Yang has to drop by the hospital five times a day to collect her urine through a catheter, often in the middle of the night.
When asked if she was tired from taking care of Yurong, Madam Yang said: 'She's lovely, she never throws any tantrums. She is my child, I have no reason and no right to complain.'
She remembered quarrelling with a doctor after giving birth to Yurong.
She had asked for her Fallopian tubes to be cut, a process called ligation.
'I told the doctor that I wanted the operation so that I couldn't have any more children. I wanted to give Yurong and my two other girls my complete love and care.'
The doctor refused, but eventually gave in.
'I realised my daughter was a fighter. She has a strong will to live and is no normal child. I think my decision to give birth to her was the right one.'
Source: Guang Ming Daily
Disabled worker fails in discrimination plea
A father-of-four did not face discrimination by bosses at a Bradford job centre because of his disability, an employment tribunal has ruled today.
David Lambert, who uses a wheelchair and is often in severe pain following an industrial accident in 1996, claimed his managers should have taken his disability into account before verbally warning him for missing too many days off work at JobCentre Plus in Bradford.
Mr Lambert, 34, of Walden Drive, Heaton, Bradford, also should have been allowed to work from home occasionally because of sickness caused by a daily dose of painkillers, he told the Leeds Tribunal today.
He said: “All I can do is my best to get into work on a daily basis and what I would expect, especially from a Government department like JobCentre Plus, is that it takes my medical condition into account.”
But giving evidence the centre’s customer operations manager, Tim Dibb, said managers were justified in disciplining Mr Lambert in March, 2008, after he took more than 28 days sick leave in a year.
Because of Mr Lambert’s unpredictable condition, he would often call up the same morning saying he could not come to work, leaving about ten colleagues to deal with 50 extra compulsory interview appointments to find jobs for benefits claimants, he said.
And, if there were already too few staff in the office, job-seekers would have their interviews cancelled and simply turn up to sign on. Mr Lambert had been allowed to start work late when he was feeling ill, had been given a higher desk for his wheelchair and had been found a back office job when he found it difficult to interview job-seekers, Mr Dibb said.
And he told the tribunal there would be a “serious security risk” should Mr Lambert be allowed to take home his work – sensitive documents containing job-seekers’ personal details.
Tribunal judge David Burton sympathised with Mr Lambert but ruled JobCentre Plus managers had taken reasonable steps to account for his disability.
He said: “While this tribunal has considerable admiration for the claimant (Mr Lambert) for the efforts he makes to keep in work, we do not think that his claim is well-grounded and it is as a consequence of that that it is dismissed.”
Source: Bradford Telegraph Argus
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