"WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY"

	Survey Finds No Job Gains for Disabled July 23, 1998 by Barbara Vobejda Washington Post Staff Writer Less than one third of adults with disabilities are employed, a figure that has not improved over the past decade, according to a survey released today by the National Organization on Disability. The survey, conducted by Louis Harris & Associates, found that 29 percent of disabled persons are employed full or part time, compared with 79 percent of nondisabled Americans aged 18 through 64. In 1986, 33 percent of the disabled population was employed. The survey also found that disabled Americans are less likely to socialize with friends, go to restaurants and attend movies than those without disabilities. “In general, people with disabilities are not participating as fully in American life as we should be” said Alan A. Reich, president of the National Organization on Disability, “There’s a long way to go.” At the same time, the survey found that persons with disabilities feel society is making progress in improving access to public facilities and transportation, quality of life and public attitudes toward disabled Americans. The report comes eight years after the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the workplace, housing, retail stores and other places that serve the public. The survey found that just over half of disabled adults had heard of the landmark civil rights legislation, an increase since 1994, when just 40 percent knew of the law. About one third felt the law had improved their lives, while nearly 60 percent said it made no difference. The survey of 1,000 adults followed up on two others conducted by Harris for the National Organization on Disability, in 1994 and 1986. Reich said it was not clear why the proportion of disabled Americans who are employed had declined. The survey found that 72 percent of the unemployed said they would prefer to be working, but that 44 percent said they were completely unable to work because of their disabilities. The low employment rate contributes to a high incidence of poverty. Thirty-four percent of adults with disabilities live in a household with an annual income of less than $15,000, compared with 13 percent of nondisabled adults.