AAMR F.Y.I.
August 2003, Vol.3, No.8

Visit www.aamr.org/FYI/ to access current and past issues of this monthly newsletter.

Dear AAMR Friends and Colleagues:

IN THIS ISSUE:

  1. AAMR holds breakthrough Wingspread summit on pollution, toxic chemicals, and mental retardation.
  2. George W. Bush renames the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation.
  3. Ontario pours $56 million more into services to improve lives of people with developmental disabilities and their families.
  4. New book by AAMR presents diverse and competing paradigms on what constitutes mental retardation.
  5. Housing for people with disabilities in the U.S. is in crisis, a national study claims.
  6. Incidence of birth defects higher in wheat-producing counties in America, says new federal study.
  7. Social Security Administration publishes preliminary evaluation of the Ticket to Work program.
  8. New report offers global snapshot of living conditions and legal protections
    9. for people with disabilities.
AAMR HOLDS BREAKTHROUGH SUMMIT ON POLLUTION, TOXIC CHEMICALS, AND MENTAL RETARDATION
Can we reduce the occurrence of mental retardation (MR) and related disabilities caused by environmental toxins and pollutants? Thirty environment and disability experts, and self-advocates met from July 22-24 to discuss what we currently know about toxins and their effect on developmental disabilities, and to chart a future course of action. Key issues discussed include the influence of toxins such as mercury, lead, pesticides, and solvents on brain development; the relationship of toxins to the occurrence of MR; impact of environmental toxins on the functional abilities of people who already have MR; and current innovative efforts in research, service, and public policy. The summit was held at the historic Wingspread conference center in Racine, Wisconsin, and was sponsored by the John Merck Fund and the Johnson Foundation. Proceedings from the conference, including a national action agenda will be published by AAMR later this year. The Wingspread summit was also supported by the Arc of the United States Research Fund and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.

To read more on Pollution, Toxic Chemicals and Mental Retardation: A National Summit, visit http://www.aamr.org/Reading_Room/pdf/Wingspread.pdf

BUSH RENAMES THE PRESIDENT’S COMMITTEE ON MENTAL RETARDATION
On July 25, President George W. Bush issued an executive order to change the name of the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation (PCMR) to the President’s Committee on Intellectual Disabilities. The name change coincides with the release of a study by the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (Commission) revealing that the nation's mental health care system is beyond simple repair. The PCMR, founded in 1966, acts in an advisory capacity to the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on matters relating to programs and services for persons with mental retardation.

To read the official executive order on the renaming of the PCMR, visit
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030725-12.html

To download the Commission’s report on Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America, visit http://www.mentalhealthcommission.gov/reports/FinalReport/downloads/downloads.html

ONTARIO POURS AN ADDITIONAL 56 MILLION DOLLARS INTO SERVICES TO IMPROVE LIVES OF PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES AND THEIR FAMILIES
Ontario’s Premier Ernie Eves announced $56 million more in funding to help people with developmental disabilities (DD) lead independent community lives. That makes Ontario’s total DD spending in 2003-4 more than one billion dollars. The new funding is part of the government’s multi-year plan to strengthen services for people with developmental disabilities and will provide respite, day programs, specialized community supports and places to live for more individuals and their families, according to a press release issued by the government.

Read more at http://www.cfcs.gov.on.ca/CFCS/en/newsRoom/newsReleases/030718.htm

WHAT IS MENTAL RETARDATION? NEW E-BOOK FROM AAMR PRESENTS DIVERSE AND COMPETING POINTS OF VIEW ON WHAT CONSTITUTES MENTAL RETARDATION
AAMR announces What Is Mental Retardation: Ideas for an Evolving Disability, a comprehensive book by noted scholars Stephen Greenspan and Harvey Switzky. What is Mental Retardation presents the ongoing debate on what constitutes mental retardation and editors Greenspan and Switzky line up 30 of the biggest names in developmental disabilities to present divergent views on mental retardation. The aim of the book is to help service providers, educators, researchers, advocates, and families reach some consensus on mental retardation for the 21st century.

What is Mental Retardation—the e-book and individual chapters—can be accessed in HTML format on www.disabilitybooksonline.com a new e-books portal launched by AAMR. Disability BooksOnline presents major AAMR books in non-print formats such as PDF, HTML, and more.

To access What is Mental Retardation? browse the "Featured Books" section at www.disabilitybooksonline.com
Questions? Email books@aamr.org

HOUSING FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE U.S. IS IN CRISIS, CLAIMS A STUDY RELEASED BY THE CONSORTIUM OF CITIZENS WITH DISABILITIES
There is a huge gap between housing costs and the incomes of the poorest Americans with disabilities, with 2002 being the first year when the average national rent was greater than the amount of income received by Americans with disabilities from the deferral Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, reveals a study conducted by the Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) and the Technical Assistance Initiative. The report also finds that of the nation’s 2,702 market areas, there was not a single area where modestly priced rents for efficiency or one-bedroom units were affordable for people with disabilities on SSI.

Read Priced Out in 2002 at http://www.c-c-d.org/od-May03.htm

To read the CCD testimony before the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity Committee on Financial Services, visit http://www.c-c-d.org/ccdhanftestfinal.doc

INCIDENCE OF BIRTH DEFECTS HIGHER IN FOUR WHEAT-PRODUCING COUNTIES IN AMERICA, ACCORDING TO NEW FEDERAL STUDY
Babies born in high wheat-producing counties are twice as likely to have birth defects as those born in rural counties with low wheat production, says a new study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Dr. Dina Schreinemachers, the lead researcher of this study, examined more than 43,000 births from 1995 to 1997 in 147 rural counties in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. She concluded that in agricultural areas with high wheat production with a high use of chlorophenoxy herbicides, rates of certain defects "significantly increased" — circulatory-respiratory and musculoskeletal defects were twice as frequent in the counties that produced a lot of wheat. The study is published in the July 2003 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives.

To read an abstract on this study, visit http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2003/5830/abstract.html

To read a press article on the study, visit
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/07/10/build/local/50-birthdefectsherbicide.inc

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION PUBLISHES PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF THE FEDERAL TICKET TO WORK PROGRAM (TTW)
A year and a half since its initial launch in February 2002, the Social Security Administration conducted an evaluation of the Ticket to Work program (TTW). The aim of this evaluation is to provide early information about the status and early experiences of the program and to assist in refining the overall TTW evaluation design of this program. The TTW is an initiative that enables eligible Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability beneficiaries to obtain employment through a pre-established network.

Read Evaluation Design for the Ticket to Work Program at http://www.lewin.com/NR/rdonlyres/evo3oasfn5uns6gdmmfm344rqndfdhwt24b5wpldls3how2c6xt2c7l-
x4ajqcgxzzyjwlgacvfbxog/2526.pdf

NEW REPORT OFFERS GLOBAL SNAPSHOT OF HOW PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ARE TREATED AROUND THE WORLD
The Center for International Rehabilitation (CIR) released a report providing a comparative analysis of living conditions and legal protections for people with disabilities in 52 countries around the world. Titled The Disability Rights Compendium, the report is published by the International Disability Rights Monitor project (IDRM), a newly formed coalition committed to observing and reporting on the human rights of people with disabilities worldwide. Preliminary findings from this study will be used to develop annual reports on disability attitudes in various parts of the world beginning with countries of North and South America in 2004.

To read a press release on the report launch, visit http://www.cirnetwork.org/info/press10.jsp

To obtain a copy of the report free of charge, call 312-926-0014 or email mailto:info@cirnetwork.org

AAMR F.Y.I. is compiled by Anna Prabhala, Editor. Please submit comments, suggestions, tips, and news to annap@aamr.org


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