Education Department Introduces New Process to Help People with Disabilities Who Have Student Loan Debt

U.S. Department of Education Acts to Protect Social Security Benefits for Borrowers with Disabilities The U.S. Department of Education announced today a new process to proactively identify and assist federal student loan borrowers with disabilities who may be eligible for Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) loan discharge. This effort was called for by President Obama in his Student Aid Bill of Rights, which details measures to make paying for higher education an easier and fairer […]

The discriminatory reason doctors won’t give a baby the heart she needs

By Timothy P. Shriver April 8 The writer is chairman of the Special Olympics. Lily Parra is 4 months old and needs a heart. But she has been told she can’t have one. Not because she’s too sick but because of deep-seated discrimination against those who have — or might have — a developmental disability. An operation that could give Lily a shot at life, and hope to her family, is being denied apparently not […]

Prevalence and Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 1 in 68 school-aged children in the U.S. have been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The new report shows basically no change from the 2014 report in the proportion of school aged-children with ASD. The report also shows that black and Hispanic children continue to be less likely to be identified with ASD than white children. April is National Autism Awareness Month To read the full report click here

Report Shows Medicaid Expansion Can Improve Access to Behavioral Health Care

Nearly 2 million low-income uninsured people with a substance use disorder or a mental illness lived in states that had not yet expanded Medicaid in 2014 Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report showing that states can greatly improve access to behavioral health services for residents by expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Substance use disorders and mental illness are prevalent and serious public health problems in American communities. […]

Disability Statistics Annual Report

A Publication of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics The 2015 Disability Statistics Annual Report is a companion volume to the 2015 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium. The Compendium presents many tables of data, including state and national values and trends over time. The Annual Report presents statistics from the 2015 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium tables to address the following types of questions: • How many people with disabilities live in […]