Monday, June 30, 2008

Unseen disabilities have their own unique challenges

The Dubuque, Iowa, Telegraph Herald did a profile of a local woman who describes what it's like to have a hidden disability like a learning disability. (An estimated 3.5 million Americans have a learning disability.)

As we get closer to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) anniversary on July 26, it's good to see the news media writing about the ADA. And the Dubuque paper's focus of unseen disabilities is particularly welcomed because too many times the media seem to think the only disability is a mobility impairment that leads to wheelchair use. (This is actually a small category of disability, with about 1.6 million people in the USA using a wheelchair.)

So kudos to the Telegraph Herald for chronicling the experiences of someone whose disability isn't readily apparent.