Dealing with trying to collect disability benefits from the Social Security Administration and living with a handicap is hard enough, but according to a recent report from the National Council on Disability, there may be another big problem. The council said disabled parents are more likely to lose their children due to discrimination, with as many as 80 people with intellectual or psychological disabilities lose custody of their children, something which the NCD said may be due to a lack of understanding of these disabilities.
According to PolicyMic, a University of Iowa History professor named Douglas Baynton said American scholars and educators talk about and teaching gender, racial and ethnic issues about inequality but do not speak about the inequalities that relate to the disabled. The website said this means many Americans are ignorant of the way disabled people live.
“A public education program on disability issues could, however, improve the problems caused by a lack of awareness,” PolicyMic said. “Just like studies on gender, race, and ethnicity improved problems for these groups, so to can a mandatory public education on disability issues improve discrimination against disabled people.”
Based on personal experience, living in a society of able bodied people presents challenges for those who suffer with a mental or physical disability. The disabled can and do experience discrimination in many forums. It is therefore important that those suffering with a disability retain counsel who understands their plight and can properly present their claim for benefits to the Social Security Administration. Attorneys at the Law Offices of Harold W. Conick and Associates have been doing just that for years.
