Americans Lack a Basic Understanding of Learning Disabilities (LDs)

This survey completely astonished me - In 2017 and this is still going on?

The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) recently released a revealing new survey showing that Americans lack a basic understanding of learning disabilities (LDs).

The survey of nearly 2,000 American adults finds that Americans are confused about the causes, treatments, and rights of those with LDs. Myths persist regarding the correlation between IQ, poor vision and childhood vaccines to LDs.

A few highlights from the survey include:

·       Over 66% of parents want more information about learning disabilities than schools currently provide.

·       33% of respondents said it is appropriate to ask a job candidate if they have a learning disability, when it is in fact against the law.

·       43% of those polled said that there is a negative relationship with IQ and the presence of learning disabilities, where no such correlation exists.

·       22% incorrectly believe learning disabilities can be caused by too much screen time; 31% believe a cause is poor diet; 24% believe a cause is childhood vaccinations.

View the infographic below:

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Violence Committed Against Persons with Disabilities

PLEASE READ ALL 10 OF THESE FACTS – THEY CHANGED MY LIFE

Violence committed against persons with disabilities is a frequently unrecognized and under-reported problem that has reached epidemic proportions in the United States as reflected in the following statistics:

1. There are 54 million Americans with disabilities (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Crime Victim Bulletin, 1998)
2. According to one study in 2000, approximately five (5) million crimes were committed against persons with developmental disabilities in comparison to 1.4 million child abuse cases and one (1) million elder abuse cases. (From Joan Petersilia, Ph.D., When Justice Sleeps: Violence and Abuse Against the Developmentally Disabled.)
3. More than ninety percent (90%) of people (both male and female) with developmental disabilities will experience sexual abuse at some point in their lives. Forty-nine percent (49%) will experience ten or more abuse incidents. (Valenti-Hein, D. & Schwartz, L. (1995). The Sexual Abuse Interview for Those with Developmental Disabilities. James Stanfield Company. Santa Barbara: California)
4. A study of psychiatric inpatients found that eighty-one percent (81%) had been physically or sexually assaulted. (From Jacobson & Richardson, American Journal of Psychiatry, 1987)
5. Sixty-two percent (62%) of women with physical disabilities reported experiencing emotional, physical or sexual abuse. (From Nosek & Howland, 1998)
6. Only three percent (3%) of sexual abuse cases involving people with developmental disabilities will ever be reported. (From Valenti-Hein, D. & Schwartz, L. (1995), The Sexual Abuse Interview for Those with Developmental Disabilities. California: James Stanfield Company.)
7. Adults with developmental disabilities are at risk of being physically or sexually assaulted at rates four to ten times greater than other adults. (From Sobsey, Dick (1994). Violence and Abuse in the Lives of People with Disabilities The End of Silent Acceptance? Maryland: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company.)
8. Sixty-eight (68) to eighty-three (83) percent of women with developmental disabilities will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, which represents a 50 percent higher rate than the rest of the population (Pease & Franz 1994, Warick, Jason (1997).
9. The violence that women with disabilities experience includes verbal abuse, forced segregation, intimidation, abandonment and neglect, withholding of medications, transportation, equipment and personal assistance services and physical and sexual violence (Matsuda, 1996).
10. Women with disabilities are raped, assaulted and abused at rates more than two times greater than women without disabilities.

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I was looking for inspirational videos and this one made me do the happy cry!