PWDF Update

Education Program Update

We are seeking a Program Manager or Program Director for our Public Awareness and Education Program.  We are looking for a proactive individual to continue and develop new activities to increase public awareness and education about mental, intellectual, and developmental disabilities, with particular emphases on civil rights and destigmatization. See the Careers page on our website for more information.

We are looking for a topic for our next event and would like your feedback on the list we have developed below.  We want topics that will have an impact on public awareness (i.e., not just academic).  Please see the list of our prior seminars for reference at https://www.pwdf.org/pwdf-seminars-archive/ We also welcome new ideas.  Please email us at education@pwdf.org with your comments and suggestions.

1. Mental health parity: It took 13 years of lobbying to get it passed and is now 10 years after passage. Providers are not in compliance. Only will do as a topic if specific actions discussed will lead to parity.

2. Aging and mental and/or developmental disabilities, e.g.,

a. Psychiatric issues related to aging: onset late in life, dementia (whether Alzheimer’s and/or Vascular or other types), cognitive dysfunction, anxiety, depression, personality disorder and short term memory loss: “The proportion of older adults who experienced any past-year anxiety disorder was 11.4%, while the prevalence of any past-year mood disorder was 6.8%. A total of 3.8% of older adults met criteria for any past-year substance use disorder, and 14.5% of older adults had one or more personality disorder. We observed a general pattern of decreasing rates of psychiatric disorders with increasing age. Women experienced higher rates of mood and anxiety disorders, while men had higher rates of substance use disorders and any personality disorder. Gender differences in rates of most psychiatric disorders decreased with increasing age. These data indicate that psychiatric disorders are prevalent among U.S. older adults, and support the importance of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of psychiatric disorders in this population.” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4329900/). 3 to 4.5% of older adults age 65 or older have Depression; 20% of these also have Alzheimer’s and 40% have vascular dementia (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29023080/); or

b. People with Down Syndrome having longer life spans than prior generations (i.e., life span was age 25 in 1983 & increased to age 49 by 1997) and higher risk of premature aging (some studies have said 60-75% of people with Down Syndrome over age 60 will have Alzheimer’s[¹]). Restrictions on health care, e.g., restrictions on organ transplants & other expensive procedures.

3. Mis/maltreatment of people with I/DD with anti-psychotics.

4. Financial Issues:

a. Financial abuse of people with mental and/or IDD, including conservatorships vs. independence. (PWDF covered representative payee rules in 2014 seminar, “Abuse Against People with Mental and/or Developmental Disabilities and/or Intellectual Disabilities.”); and

b. Estate planning for people with mental and/or IDD, i.e., differing definitions of capacity, special needs trusts (SNT), ABLE Accounts, and other issues. Applies to disabled person as settlor or beneficiary? For now, look at both. Problem: excludes people based on income/assets.

5. Possible topic, but needs more research to decide: Preliminary research shows disproportionately higher rates of mental illness in LGBT community; have seen studies attributing higher rates of depression due to discrimination and possibly higher substance abuse. May not have enough information to make a full seminar; need to do more research. “Data from SAMHSA’s 2015-2016 National Survey of Drug Use and Health provides insight on the prevalence of substance use and mental disorders among lesbian, gay and bisexual adults. The data indicate that LGB adults have higher rates of mental illness when compared to all adults. Nearly 40 percent of LGB adults had a mental illness in the past year. Comparatively, just over 18 percent of all adults had a mental illness in the past year. Fourteen percent of LGB adults had SMI compared to four percent of all adults who had SMI.” https://blog.samhsa.gov/2018/03/28/the-need-to-focus-on-individuals-with-serious-mental-illness-includes-the-lgbt-community.

PWDF’s Managing Attorney, Zoya Yarnykh, will be presenting a workshop on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Overpayments and Appeals at Support for Families of Children with Disabilities on February 21, 2018 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.  See our website for information about attending the workshop.

PWDF staff met attendees and provided information at a resource table at the 22nd Annual Golden Gate Self-Advocacy Conference at the Milton Marks Conference Center on September 27, 2018.

PWDF is available for speaking arrangements and training sessions regarding reasonable accommodations, employment, housing and other issues regarding the mentally, intellectually, and/or developmentally disabled population. We have particular expertise in social security/SSDI and SSI disability post-entitlement/eligibility issues for beneficiaries with mental, intellectual, and/or developmental disabilities. See our website for event updates and subscribe to our contact list for future event notifications.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest information and media updates from PWDF. For inquiries about PWDF’s Public Awareness and Education Program, please contact us at education@pwdf.org.

PWDF Profile

Who We Are

People With Disabilities Foundation is an operating 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, which focuses on the rights of the mentally and developmentally disabled.

Services

Advocacy: PWDF advocates for Social Security claimant’s disability benefits in eight Bay Area counties. We also provide services in disability rights, on issues regarding returning to work, and in ADA consultations, including areas of employment, health care, and education, among others. There is representation before all levels of federal court and Administrative Law Judges. No one is declined due to their inability to pay, and we offer a sliding scale for attorney’s fees.

Education/Public Awareness: To help eliminate the stigma against people with mental disabilities in society, PWDF’s educational program organizes workshops and public seminars, provides guest speakers with backgrounds in mental health, and produces educational materials such as videos.

Continuing Education Provider: State Bar of California MCLE and Commission of Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.