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This needs assessment study aimed to characterize domains of service needs of persons with developmental disabilities (PDD) and their families. Participants were 96 adults with DD (n= 5), their family members (n= 40), and service providers (n= 31). Seventy-six participants completed a survey on needs (education and early intervention, healthcare, and self-advocacy). Another 20 participants completed focus group interviews (family members,n= 14, service providers,n= 6). Following a descriptive analysis of quantitative data and content analysis of qualitative data, results show very high needs for services in the following domains: (a) training for skills in self-advocacy for persons with DD and their families, (b) healthcare access—health insurance and specialty care access, and (c) access to post-secondary education for persons with DD, and disability-specific education/training for service providers. Implications for rehabilitation services include addressing these needs through transition services with self-advocacy training, post-secondary education preparation, and informational service on healthcare access.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 13.7 million children experience obesity nationally and Hispanic children display the highest occurrences of obesity for all racial/ethnic groups (Hales et al., 2020). Because parents have a significant influence on their children’s overall health, we were interested in examining whether parents’ attitudes and knowledge about obesity impacted their child’s body mass index (BMI) for their age. We surveyed 210 adult Hispanic parents whose children were receiving general healthcare services at a pediatric medical clinic located near the U.S.-Mexico border. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the estimation between the independent variables (knowledge about obesity, socioeconomic status, education, physical activity, dietary habits, medical history, age, and gender) and the dependent variable (attitudes toward obesity). Specifically, the study examined the relationship between Hispanic children’s BMI-for-age and their parents’ attitudes toward obesity, and the relationship between Hispanic children’s BMI-for-age and their parents’ knowledge regarding obesity-related risks. The results indicated the level of physical activity, dietary habits, and level of knowledge were predictive of Hispanic parents’ attitudes toward obesity. Implications of the study and recommendations for researchers, educators, and counselors to minimize the obesity epidemic are provided.

In this article we present the results of a needs assessment evaluating the employment-based needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), from the perspectives of self-advocates, their families and care givers, and IDD service providers in a primarily rural state. Participants were recruited through statewide distribution of a questionnaire about key issues and barriers to employment. A total of 467 adults participated. Employment was identified as a top concern across the groups. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the qualitative comments provided by respondents about their employment needs. The results were generally consistent with prior research among Americans with IDD, in that employer expectations, transportation barriers, disability benefits, limited opportunities to develop employment skills, and broader economic factors influencing the community were identified as key issues. However, the results demonstrate the magnified impact of these barriers in rural areas, particularly rural areas facing economic challenges. The results of this needs assessment are discussed in terms of the broad national implications, and in terms of the local process of engaging multiple stakeholder groups to identify potential solutions.

Resilience is a topic of growing interest with significant momentum generated by the Positive Psychology Movement. While resilience has been discussed at the graduate level and beyond, few articles seem to openly discuss how it is addressed as a part of undergraduate rehabilitation service programs. Discussion and careful consideration is needed as many undergraduates work in direct services. This article is designed to help rehabilitation educators and professionals understand the application and value of resilience and resilience-based skills as a part of the undergraduate rehabilitation curriculum. Article content addresses resilience, benefits of resilience, resilience-based factors, and the applicability of resilience to professionals and to the people they serve. Suggestions are provided to illustrate ways undergraduate programs can integrate resilience into their curriculum.

The global instability caused by natural and human-made disasters has resulted in increased numbers of refugees who seek shelter in other countries. The United States admits refugees and provides services that enable these refugees to resettle in a new environment. Among these refugees are individuals with various disabilities who require specialized rehabilitation services. This paper reviews the challenges faced by refugees with disabilities before, during and after their resettlement in the US and explores how counselors can better serve this population in order to facilitate more effective and timely integration into American society. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

By drawing lessons from several southern African countries, this chapter argues for CBR to be a preferred development strategy in promoting disability-inclusive social development. They believe that a socially inclusive community-based rehabilitation implements development strategies that promote full participation of people with disabilities. Such disability-inclusive community development strategies seek to create and sustain structures that optimise the participation of people with disabilities in their diversity, rather than expecting them to fit in within existing sub-optimal arrangements. Also, the authors argue that full collaboration of governmental and civic community in the design and delivery of community development initiatives in which persons with disabilities actively contribute, are key elements of a successful community-based rehabilitation programme.

OBJECTIVE: This review of the literature examined the association between demographic variables of individuals with multiple sclerosis and specialized housing needs. Since MS symptoms present a unique challenge to housing caregivers and rehabilitation management, understanding the association between the demographic variables and specialized housing will facilitate effective planning, referral and recommendation for specialized housing. RESULTS: The common themes that emerged from the literature review as factors that affect specializing housing needs of individuals with MS include age, gender, income/employment, race/ethnicity and social life CONCLUSIONS: Implications for rehabilitation practice are discussed.

Purpose:To examine demographic, functional, and clinical multiple sclerosis (MS) variables affecting employment status in a national sample of adults with MS in the United States.Method:The sample included 4,142 working-age (20–65 years) Americans with MS (79.1% female) who participated in a national survey. The mean age of participants was 51.93 years (SD= 8.7). The dependent variable was employment status. The predictor variables included a set of demographic, functional, and MS variables.Results:The chi-squared automatic interaction detector (CHAID) analysis indicated that participants who were receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) had significantly lower rates of employment (8.6%) than those who were not receiving SSDI (53.9%). For those not receiving SSDI, the most important factor predicting employment status was MS impact on physical functioning, as measured with the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale Physical Impact scale.Conclusion:The data-mining approach (i.e., CHAID analysis) provided detailed information and insight about interactions among demographic, functional, and clinical variables and employment status through the segmentation of the sample into mutually exclusive homogeneous subgroups. Implications for rehabilitation intervention, based on these subgroupings, are discussed.

This study investigated the rehabilitation and services needs, rehabilitation goals and barriers of individuals with brain injury (n = 81, males = 59%, females = 41%, age range 18 to 87), and their family members (n = 19; females = 75%, age range 18 to 65), (ethnicity = white = 89%). Data were collected using a survey instrument and focus group interviews. A descriptive analysis of the quantitative data was conducted, while content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. Results suggest that individuals with brain injury and their families experience many unmet needs across the domains of employment, independent living, financial resources and housing. Family involvement was found to be important to community participation after brain injury.

This paper presents a review of the literature examining determinants of access to health care among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The literature shows that health insurance, race-ethnicity, income, age, gender, and residential location (rural/urban) are common themes discussed in the literature as factors that influence access to health care of persons with SCI. This review ends with discussion of implications for rehabilitation counseling research and practice.Keywords: spinal cord injury, health care, access, rehabilitation counseling.Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs unexpectedly. Often SCI is accompanied with permanent motor and sensory losses that completely transform the life of the individual (Krause & Broderick, 2004). In 2011, the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC, 2011) estimated that approximately 265,000 persons live with SCI in the United States. The estimated incidence of SCI in the United States is approximately 40 cases per million persons (DeVivo, 2010; NSCISC, 2011). SCI results in substantial functional limitations that challenge quality of life of individuals, and they require the use of multiple resources to sustain and maintain functioning. As Matter et al. (2009) stated, "People with SCIs need timely, high-quality information about health and medical issues after discharge and throughout their lifetime to improve self-care and maximize quality of life" (p. 545).Emergency hospitalization after SCI is followed by expensive acute and long-term rehabilitation. Evans and Stoddart (1994) stated that developed nations "devote a very large proportion of their economic resources to the production of health care.... Such massive efforts reflect a widespread belief that the availability and use of health care is central to the health of both individuals and population" (p. 27). Despite extensive funding for health in developed countries, disparities in access to health care persist within subgroups (e.g., older persons, ethnic minorities, and persons with low socioeconomic status). For instance, in the United States health disparities are less prevalent among older adults due to access to Medicare, whereas a higher prevalence of health disparities exists among individuals with low income and who are members of racial-ethnic minority groups (Lee, 201 0). Healthcare services for individuals with SCI have improved over several decades, leading to improved health outcomes and increased life expectancy. Despite improved health care, challenges of access and disparities in health outcomes persist based on certain characteristics of individuals with SCI. Characteristics of individuals with SCI that are associated with disparities in health outcomes include race-ethnicity, age, gender, and residential location. Several studies have documented persistent disparities in access to health care for people with and without disabilities in the United States, despite efforts to improve health and quality of life of the American population. For instance, millions of people do not have health insurance coverage that will enable them more access to health care (Barr, 2008; Richardson, & Norris, 2010; Williams, 2005). The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS, 2004) defined health disparities as "the differences in incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population in the United States" (para. 8). Multiple factors determine access or lack of access to health care. For instance, to have access to health care, individuals must have access to multiple resources. Such resources include health information, health promotion/prevention activities, safe housing, nutritious food, a convenient and safe space for physical exercise, social support, and financial resources (Richardson & Norris, 2010).Although there are disparities in access to health care in the general population, these disparities are more pronounced among people with disabilities when compared to the general population. …

BACKGROUND: This article presents the results of a comprehensive national analysis of the specialized and accessible housing situation among Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS). This study represents the first national assessment of specialized housing among Americans with MS. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the specialized housing situation for US adults with MS, and specifically, to identify the most pressing needs and most frequently identified barriers to achieving safe and accessible

This article presents an analysis of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in relation to prior United Nations conventions on disability and U.S. disability policy law with a view to identifying the conventional and also the incremental advances of the CRPD. Previous United Nations conventions related to disability have had, at best, partial success in effectively protecting the human rights of individuals with disabilities. The CRPD, as a policy instrument, has considerable potential for advancing the legal rights of persons with disabilities in the United States and globally. This article reviews this potential from national and international perspectives and explores the implications of the CRPD for rehabilitation counseling advocacy and education.

In this article, the editor introduces the first issue of Contemporary Research in Disabiity and Rehabilitation

This study evaluated the specialized housing, transportation, and resource needs and barriers of adults with MS. Information pertaining to barriers and barrier removal strategies related to housing and transportation issues for adults with MS was gathered as part of a national survey of a randomly selected and representative sample of 5082 adults with MS, in cooperation with affiliate chapters of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) and the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS). This article presents a qualitative analysis of participants' responses to questions addressing: (a) barriers to obtaining specialized housing and adapted transportation for individuals with MS, (b) factors contributing to maintenance of an independent lifestyle, and (c) information and referral resources pertinent to obtaining specialized housing and adapted transportation. The results provide the first assessment of these issues on a national scale and underscore the need for increased access to professional consultation, financial resources, and housing modification information and resources to enable persons with MS to obtain the specialized housing needed to maintain maximal independent lifestyles.