Disability Progress in the White House
It has been several months since President Barack Obama took office, and there have been a number of changes in disability policy since that time. Perhaps one of the most significant changes has been the repeal of Bush Administration restrictions on stem cell research. However, there are others including:
*The signing of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, which is aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis
*The signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provides funding for state Medicaid programs, vocational rehabilitation services, IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and the Social Security Administration (specifically to help reduce its disability application backlog)
*The appointment of Kareem Dale as the first Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy
Disability policy in the United States affects the more than 50 million people who are currently living with disabilities such as cerebral palsy (watch our what is cerebral palsy video), multiple sclerosis, autism, Down syndrome and paraplegia. If you are interested in learning more about Obama’s disability policy, check out the new White House website.
