What I’m reading now:

The National Council on Disability has come out with a report about employment for people with disabilities which documents some reasons for optimism. But the sad fact remains that the employment rate of working age people with disabilities remains less than half that of people without disabilities (38 percent compared with 78 percent in 2005). The NCD report outlines recommendations for improving the odds. It marks the start of National Disability Employment Awareness month.

It now looks as though mom was right. A study of elderly people suggests that those who consider themselves self-disciplined, organized and dependable have a lower risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease than others. The study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, suggests that a purposeful and conscientious personality may somehow protect the brain.

Here’s a study with some potentially broad implications for people with disabilities. A survey this spring by Johns Hopkins University found widespread concern among the public about loss of jobs and insurance based on genetic discrimination. Only 24 percent of those surveyed would trust an insurer to see their genetic tests results, and 16 percent would share their information with an employer. As a consequence, experts think, people may be skipping tests that could actually help them.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 at 5:53 pm and is filed under alzheimer's, discrimination, employment/jobs, genetics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.