The following are some interesting facts about the prevalence of autism in the United States as reported in this weekend's edition of the Dallas Morning News.

• Roughly 1 percent of children in the United States – 1 in 110 – have an autism spectrum disorder, with developmental disabilities running from slight to severe.

• ASDs occur in children of all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but disorders are four to five times more likely in boys than girls.

• Studies of identical twins show that if one has an ASD, the other will be affected 60 percent to 96 percent of the time. In nonidentical twins, if one has an ASD, the other is affected 0 percent to 24 percent of the time.

• Parents who have a child with an ASD have a 2 percent to 8 percent chance of having another affected child.

• A 2009 report showed that 41 percent of children with an ASD also had an Intellectual Disability – an IQ of 70 or below.

• About 40 percent of children with an ASD don't talk at all, and an additional 25 percent to 30 percent have some words at 12 to 18 months of age and then lose them. Others may speak, but not until later in childhood.

• On average, medical expenses for someone with an ASD are about five times higher than for those without an ASD.

SOURCE: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Link: http://allafrica.com/stories/201008040279.html

The Disability movement in Zambia has submitted to the National Constitutional Conference (NOC) on the need to have various rights relating to the disabled be included in the republican constitution.

Eighteen organizations from most of the nation's provinces met last week at the Capitol Hotel in Lusaka where it was resolved that  article 53 of the draft constitution be amended to include provisions for people with disabilities.

Among the new provisions will be the addition of the term "visually impaired," to offer inclusion to people with visual disabilities; the retraction of the term term "unsound mind," to be replaced with "severe mental impairment," and the recognition of brail and sign languages as official forms of communication.

To learn more about this historic bill, follow the above link.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elisabeth-rhyne/a-new-financial-access-fr_b_661176.html

Can a person with a disability living in the developing world become a valued client of a financial institution?

That was the question entering a June 2010 round table discussion, entitled " A New Financial Access Frontier: People With Disabilities," attended by a world wide panel of disability activists and micro finance professionals. The talk was hosted by the Center for Financial Inclusion and the Development Team of the World Bank as a fulfillment of commitments made at the 2006 U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities and for the twenty year anniversary of the passing of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The group discussed strategies to create a profitable relationship between micro finance institutions and partners who have disabilities, particularly in the developing world,  seeking  finances for private business ventures.

Both sides had to overcome negative associations, as many financial advisers entered the talks with preconceived notions of people with disabilities and many of the disabled members were holding anti-institutional biases based on previous experiences with exclusion and prejudice.

Ultimately, "both sides agreed that persons with disabilities do not need special financial products to succeed even though they may need flexible accommodation to help them access mainstream products."

The meetings have been widely seen as a throwback to the earliest days of micro finance, nearly two decades ago when the question of offering loan and financing options to the poor was a contentious, if foreseeable option in international banking.

Perhaps talks such as these will pave the way for micro financing for business people with disabilities worldwide?

Link: http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/pdfs/factsheet.pdf

Here are ten selections from a fact sheet released by the UN at their 2006 International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. I hope these few facts serve to remind us that, despite our many victories, we still have a long way to go before our dream of independence and inclusion for all people with disabilities can become a reality. 

The entire list can be found by following the above link.

1) "Around 10 per cent of the world’s population, or 650 million people, live with a disability. They are the world’s largest minority."

2) "In countries with life expectancies over 70 years, individuals spend on average about 8 years, or 11.5per cent of their life span, living with disabilities."

3) "Women and girls with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to abuse. A small 2004 survey in Orissa, India,found that virtually all of the women and girls with disabilities were beaten at home, 25 per cent of women with intellectual disabilities had been raped and 6 per cent of disabled women had been forcibly sterilized."

4) "According to UNICEF, 30 per cent of street youths are disabled."

5) "In the United Kingdom, 75 per cent of the companies of the FTSE 100 Index on the London Stock Exchange do not meet basic levels of web accessibility, thus missing out on more than $147 million in revenue."

6) "The global literacy rate for adults with disabilities is as low as 3 per cent, and 1 per cent for women with disabilities, according to a 1998 UNDP study."

7) "An estimated 386 million of the world’s working-age people are disabled, says the International Labour Organization (ILO). Unemployment among the disabled is as high as 80 per cent in some countries. Often employers assume that persons with disabilities are unable to work."

8) "A 2003 study by Rutgers University found that people with physical and mental disabilities continue to bevastly underrepresented in the U.S. workplace. One-third of the employers surveyed said that people with disabilities cannot effectively perform the required job tasks. The second most common reason given for nothiring the disabled was the fear of costly special facilities."

9) "For every child killed in warfare, three are injured and permanently disabled."

10)"In some countries, up to a quarter of disabilities result from injuries and violence, says WHO."

Link: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/caregiving/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100261512

Celebrations are on the way across America today as the nation honours the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law, which prevents discrimination against people with disabilities in the United States.

Festivities are being held from coast to coast, from the Silicone Valley Independent Living Centre in San Jose, CA to the Association of Americans with Disabilities in Rochester, NY. The United States Congress spent this morning in recognition of the historic bill, while Barak Obama has planned a special ceremony at the White House this evening to honour the passing of the ADA.

But on the twentieth anniversary of the passing of the act we must ask ourselves, has the the US government lived up to its promise of equal opportunity for all its citizens? Has America really become a more inclusive society? 

There is reason to believe otherwise.

For instance:

-19% of Americans with disabilities did not get the medical care they needed last year.

-21% of disabled Americans of working age were employed last year, as opposed to 59% without disabilities.

-17% of Disabled high school students of graduating age were unable to graduate last year.

-Only 48% of Disabled Americans reported eating out at restaurants and partaking in social activities more than twice a month.

Most alarmingly, only 21% of disabled Americans felt that they had noticed a significant impact in their lives since the signing of the act whereas 61% said that the ADA has had little effect on their lives and 4% felt that the Act has actually been detrimental. 

Obviously, changes are greatly needed, but there is some reason for optimism.

Another independent survey has stated that Americans with disabilities are becoming much more politically active. 59% of Americans with disabilities participated in the last American election and the democrats ran with a strong disability platform, a factor in their overall success.

Today's celebrations have proven that disability is still a major political issue in America and though we have a long way to go and many more battles to fight, it is important to recognize those who paved the way and to acknowledge the steps that have been taken to create a more equal society for all. 

So on the twentieth anniversary of the ADA, let's remember the global struggle for equality faced by people with disabilities worldwide and celebrate the brave men and women who fought for our rights twenty years ago and those who are still fighting today.