"Living with Disability" Study Results are now Available from Easter Seals

November 11, 2010

  http://www.westglen.com/online/easter_seals.htm

How is life different for families and the millions of adults living with a developmental disability in this country? That's what Easter Seals wanted to find out. Thanks to the generous support of MassMutual Financial Group, we worked with Harris Interactive to conduct our Living with Disabilities Study.

In every measure of comparison, parents of adult children with disabilities had significantly higher levels of concern for their children than parents of adult children without disabilities -- yet services and support for these families and adults living with disability are few and far between.

The study results paint a startling picture of these families' life-long challenges surrounding everyday life and future concerns for parents of adult children with disabilities and adults with disabilities. Many parents worry their adult children's basic needs for employment, housing, transportation, social interactions, recreation, healthcare and financial security will not be met:

• Only 11% of parents of adult children with disabilities report their child is employed full time.
• Just 6 in 10 parents of adult children with a disability rate their child's quality of life as excellent or good (61%), compared to 8 in 10 parents of adults without a disability (82%).
• Huge gaps exist in parents of adults with disabilities' assessment of their child's ability to manage their own finances (34% vs. 82% parents of adults without disabilities) and have the life skills necessary to live independently (30% vs. 83% parents of adults without disabilities).
• Nearly 7 in 10 adults with disabilities (69%) live with their parent(s) or guardian; only 17% live independently -- compared to more than half of adult children without disabilities (51%).

Easter Seals will use these findings to raise awareness of and advocate for the life-long services families desperately need -- working to lessen these disparities and bridge the gap for the many people living with developmental disabilities.

A full version of the study is available here.