The Arc logo

Impact of Poor Vision

/in /by The Arc

Vision is very important to maintaining the quality of an individual’s life. Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) are more at risk for having issues associated with vision than the general population. Research has shown that individuals with ID are less inclined to to go to routine physician visits for check-ups. The same applies for receiving their biennial eye check-up. Individuals who are at risk or have a history of poor vision in their family should go more frequently for check-ups. Some factors that can affect vision—putting an individual at risk—are: diabetes, high blood pressure, specific medications with side effects to vision, or previous injuries to the eye. Obesity, which often leads to diabetes and high blood pressure, is already a very prominent issue among individuals with ID, putting them in a potential at-risk category.

Individuals who are non-verbal might not to be able to express to their family or caregiver that their vision has changed and that they may now require corrective lenses, which is why it’s so important to continually get check-ups. Individuals may also be used to having poor eyesight and not know that their vision can be corrected to see clearer. So, it’s important to continually go back to the doctor for check-ups to ensure their vision is still accurate. Physicians should have adaptive eye charts that include pictures, shapes, or a rotating “E” (individuals can point to which side the opening is on the E) instead of letters if the individual is not literate or non-verbal.

Correcting poor vision will help individuals to be more independent. They might feel more comfortable going places or doing things on their own where they can now clearly see signs, directions, and other markers around them. It will also help with balance to have a clear view of the floor and things around them, and with depth perception to reduce falls. Being able to see others clearly could even improve their social skills by allowing them to identify people better and feel more comfortable being in social settings around others.

Ensure that individuals you care for receive an eye exam every two years. If glasses are required, there are organizations, such as the Lion Club, which help to recycle old prescription eyeglasses and give them out to those that can’t afford them. To learn more about the health of individuals with ID, check out The Arc’s HealthMeet project website.

The Arc logo

Happy 80th Birthday, Social Security!

/in /by The Arc

This week, The Arc celebrates the 80th anniversary of our nation’s Social Security system.

Signed into law by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on August 14, 1935, Social Security improves our lives in so many ways. It provides basic economic security for workers and their families – including children and spouses with disabilities – when a worker retires, dies, or acquires a significant, qualifying disability. It helps people with disabilities who work to enjoy a secure retirement. And it provides access to health insurance through Medicare, enabling many people with disabilities to get the health care they need.

Social Security insures nearly all Americans, or an estimated 165 million workers. Its protections are hard to come by anywhere else: roughly 7 in 10 civilian workers have no long-term disability insurance, half have no private pension, and one in three has no savings set aside for retirement.

It’s hard to imagine what life would be like without Social Security. Benefits average just over $40 per day, but lift about 22 million Americans out of poverty. For most beneficiaries, that $40 per day is most or all of what they have to get by. Many people with disabilities tell us that even a small cut in their Social Security benefits would mean facing terrible choices, like whether to take a prescribed medication or buy groceries.

Social Security has never missed a payment since 1935. Workers pay for Social Security, and count on it being there when they and their families need it. The Arc knows how important it is to sustain Social Security’s record of success, and keep our nation’s promise to today’s workers and beneficiaries, and for generations to come.

Over the last year, The Arc has been on the front lines, defending our Social Security lifeline against shocking attacks and speaking out against harmful benefit cuts. We’re fighting to prevent a devastating 20% across-the-board cut in Social Security disability benefits at the end of 2016. And we offer many recommendations for strengthening Social Security so that the system works better for people with disabilities and stays financially strong for decades to come.

Please join us in making sure this vital system is there for people with IDD and their families!

The Arc logo

SSDI: Sustaining Our Lifeline for Decades to Come!

/in /by The Arc

As The Arc celebrates Social Security’s 80th anniversary this August, we kick off the month by marking the 59th anniversary of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Signed into law on August 1, 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, SSDI insures nearly all American workers and their families in the event of life-changing disabilities. Without SSDI, many families with members with significant disabilities – including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) – would face financial dire straits and often unthinkable choices.

Our Social Security system has withstood the test of time. But this bedrock of our nation’s economy requires periodic maintenance to remain strong.

Today, our SSDI lifeline stands at great risk. Here are three facts that people with IDD, their families, and friends need to know about SSDI and the action that Congress must take:

1. Congress must act by the end of 2016 to prevent a 20% across-the-board cut in SSDI benefits.

Congress from time to time needs to adjust Social Security’s finances to account for population and economic shifts. The need to replenish the Social Security’s Disability Insurance (DI) fund in 2016 to account for long-term trends, such as an older workforce now in its disability-prone years, has been expected for several decades. Without Congressional action, at the end of 2016 the DI fund’s reserves will be depleted, leaving only incoming payroll contributions to pay for benefits. As a result, unless Congress acts, SSDI beneficiaries will face benefit cuts of 20% at the end of 2016.

2. Two ready, sensible solutions can prevent SSDI benefit cuts: merging Social Security’s trust funds, or ‘reallocation”.

Over the last 5 decades, Congress has repeatedly, on a bipartisan basis, used a simple, commonsense solution to address shortfalls in either of Social Security’s two funds (the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance or OASI fund, and the DI fund). A temporary shift to direct more Social Security revenues to the DI fund – called “reallocation” — will extend the solvency of the DI fund for almost two decades, through 2034. Congress has made similar shifts 11 times in the past, about equally increasing the percentage going into one fund or the other. Reallocation does not require any new taxes. Additionally, the solvency of the overall Social Security system stays the same, with the combined funds remaining fully solvent through 2034.

Another approach – proposed in the One Social Security Act (H.R. 3150) – would merge Social Security’s OASI and DI funds into a single Social Security Trust Fund. This would align Social Security’s finances with the program’s reality: an integrated system of retirement, life, and disability insurance paid for by a single payroll tax. It will eliminate needless crisis points, such as the pending 2016 depletion of the DI fund. And it will better enable Congress to consider the system as a whole to develop responsible ways to strengthen benefits and finances over the long-term, to ensure that Social Security will be there for generations to come.

3. Congress can secure SSDI’s finances while rejecting harmful approaches.

Unsurprisingly, Americans overwhelmingly support preserving and strengthening Social Security, and oppose benefit cuts. Fortunately, Congress can secure SSDI’s finances while rejecting approaches that would harm people with disabilities and their families.

  • Congress needs to reaffirm the Security in Social Security, and reject short term solutions to the shortfall. Artificial crisis points, such as the one currently faced by the DI fund, cause great alarm for beneficiaries and their families who are forced to live for years with the fear of major cuts to benefits that often mean the difference between financial security and extreme hardship. Short-term patches to the DI fund would force SSDI beneficiaries and their families to live in a perpetual state of fear and uncertainty.
  • Congress should reject any proposals that cut eligibility, benefits, or coverage. SSDI benefits average only about $40 per day, making up the majority of income for most beneficiaries and the only source of income for one in three beneficiaries. It’s hard to imagine how anyone could get by if these extremely modest benefits were cut.

As the end of 2016 grows near, Congress must hear from people with IDD, their families, and friends that we want Congress to sustain our SSDI lifeline for decades to come.

Sign up for The Arc’s Action Alerts and Capitol Insider newsletter to stay up to date and take action. Your voice can make a difference!