Bringing Developmental Disabilities to Light

By Michael J. Lyons, D.O., Chief Medical Officer, Coastal Gateway Health Center

In the United States approximately 17% or 1 in 6 children ages 3 to 17 are developmentally disabled.  The percentage of developmentally disabled children has increased by 9.5% over the last decade.  Developmentally disabled include disabilities such as cerebral palsy, autism, muscular dystrophy, Down’s Syndrome, or fetal alcohol syndrome that affect a person’s growth and/or cognition.  There are additional diagnoses, but they all involve impairment in physical, learning, language, or behavioral areas.

Is the Developmentally Disabled Person Sick?

A person with developmental disabilities is often healthy and they can live a normal life with the proper support.  March was developmental awareness month, bringing awareness to the barriers that people with disabilities still face in their daily lives.  There are stereotypes and stigma that still affect how the disabled are seen.  Within society, people assume the disabled has a poor quality of life or they are unhealthy because of the impairment. 

What are the Barriers?

The barriers that the developmentally disabled face include communication barriers.  The disabled may require an alternate form of communication due to cognitive, visual, or auditory requirements.  Physical barriers that exist that are natural or manmade, which inhibits the mobility of a developmentally disabled person.  Policy barriers deny individuals with disabilities access to programs, services, or benefits.  Social barriers by denying reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities, inconvenient scheduling, lack of accessible equipment, and transportation barriers.

Developmental Disabilities Awareness, What Should I Know?

Despite the many barriers, people with developmental disabilities have seen improvement in the quality of their lives.  Since the “Americans with Disabilities Act” (ADA) was signed into law over thirty (30) years ago the lives of 1 in 4 Americans with disabilities have improved.  Roughly 75% of these individuals live in the community with their families, roommates, or on their own. More work is needed, but multiple models of community living, social awareness, and new legislature have improved the quality of these individuals’ lives and are shaping a better future for the developmentally disabled.

Coastal Gateway Health Center can be reached by phone at 409.296.4444 or by email at [email protected].  For more information regarding our services and programs, please visit our website at www.coastalgatewayhc.org or find and follow us on Facebook.  We are proud to be #yourcommunityhealthcenter.