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Today, most people are
living longer, including people with disabilities. While it used
to be thought a condition such as polio or cerebral palsy was static
after its initial onset, evidence has shown that many people experience
the onset of new medical, functional, social, and psychological
problems as they age. Problems such as increased muscle weakness,
fatigue, pain, heart disease, respiratory infection, premature job
loss, discouragement, and worry can have a devastating impact on
peoples’ lives. Other secondary health problems include diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, bone fractures and osteoporosis, hypertension,
pressure sores, high cholesterol, and obesity.
Psychosocial changes often accompany physical and functional changes.
They are important to address because they affect both individuals
who are aging and their families. Quality of life may be negatively
affected by age-related changes in function and health, resulting
in psychological distress or depression.
Successful aging refers to balancing changes effectively, adapting
to or modifying the way we do things and/or modifying the environment
so that maximal function and quality of life can be maintained.
As people with disabilities age, the goal is to meet the challenges
presented, maintain as much independence as possible, and maximize
human potential and quality of life.
Health,
Wellness, And Aging With A Disability
This website provides information on active healthcare consumer
activities, aging well with a disability, exercise, health, health
information on-line, managed care, aging with polio, spinal cord
injury, cerebral palsy, brain injury, developmental disabilities,
and more.
http://www.jik.com
http://www.jik.com/hwawd.html
This website
provides a resource list: wellness, self-care, exercise, and aging
with disability by June Isaacson Kailes, Disability Policy Consultant,
Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging With Disability.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/gero/RRTConAging/paper1.html
Rancho
Los Amigos Medical Center
7601 E. Imperial Highway
Downey, CA 90242
310-401-7402
Meeting
The Challenges Of Aging With A Disability
This website provides proceedings from a 1993 conference sponsored
by the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging in conjunction
with Southern California’s Post-Polio Network Stroke Association
of Southern California and International Polio Network. This research
update has practical applications of lessons learned from post-polio
and stroke survivors. Topics include meeting the challenges of aging
with a disability, educating ourselves about aging with a disability,
exercise - when, how, and why, aging with a disability: a life-course
perspective, aging while disabled - personal perspectives, caregiver
stress: causes and treatment, and the late effects of polio: from
taming a mysterious syndrome to managing the ravages of time, and
many more.
http://codi.buffalo.edu/graph_based/.aging/.conf/
Rehabilitation
Research And Training Center (RRTC) On Aging With A Disability
The RRTC investigates the impact of aging with a disability, examines
changes in health, psychological reactions, family needs, and job
accommodations. They conduct research on aging with a disability,
and train physicians as well as disabled individuals.
Rehabilitation
Research and Training Center on Aging with a Disability
Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center
7601 E. Imperial Hwy, Building 800-W
Downey, CA 90242
562-401-7402
http://www.usc.edu/dept/gero/RRTConAging
http://www.agingwithdisability.org
Rehabilitation
Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Aging
The University of Buffalo (UB), Center for Assistive Technology,
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on aging is engaged
in an integrated set of projects that aim to expand the knowledge
base in assistive technology for older persons with disabilities,
create new, useful, assistive devices for the older disabled population,
and provide dissemination and technical assistance for disabled
individuals, their caregivers, service providers, and others.
Center
for Assistive Technology
University of Buffalo
515 Stockton Kimball Tower
Buffalo, NY 14214-3079
800-628-2281(V/TTY)
http://phhp.buffalo.edu/cat/dissemination_old.php
The
National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC)
The National Women’s Health Information Center (NWHIC) is
a service in the Department of Health and Human Services. The NWHIC
provides a gateway to the vast array of Federal and other women’s
health information resources. NWHIC provides information to help
advance women’s health research, services, and public and
professional education. NWHIC believes that older women with disabilities
need to be educated and informed about their health to make better-informed
decisions, and seek early medical attention for their conditions.
Working more actively with their doctors and other health providers,
and better communicating their health needs also can improve their
quality of care and quality of life.
The
National Women’s Health Information Center
8550 Arlington Blvd Suite 300
Fairfax, VA 22031
800-994-9662; 800-220-5446 (TTY)
http://www.4women.gov
RRTC
On Aging With Developmental Disabilities
The RRTC on Aging with Developmental Disabilities’ mission
is to promote the independence, productivity, community inclusion,
full citizenship, and self-determination of older adults with mental
retardation through a coordinated program of research, training,
technical assistance, and dissemination activities. The main goal
of the RRTC is to translate knowledge gained from research into
practice through broad-based training, technical assistance, and
dissemination to persons with metal retardation, their families,
service providers, administrators, policy makers, advocacy groups,
and the general community.
RRTC
on Aging with Mental Retardation
Department of Disability and Human Development
University of Illinois at Chicago
1640 West Roosevelt Road
Chicago, Illinois 60608-6904
800-996-8845
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/rrtcamr
Aging
with Developmental Disabilities: Women’s Health Issues
It is important for older women with developmental disabilities
to receive health related information in order to promote well-being
and prevent health problems. Information is provided on menopause
and its effects on women with disabilities, osteoporosis and prevention
factors, hormone replacement therapy, heart disease, cancer, diabetes,
thyroid disease, and other issues.
ADA
Health Care Facility Access Project
The National Rehabilitation Hospital
Washington, D.C. 20010
http://www.thearc.org/faqs/whealth.html
Disability
Resources
The DRM WebWatcher: Aging With A Disability
This website focuses on issues that individuals with disabilities
face when they become older. It includes resources specific to disability
as well as general sources.
Disability Resources, Inc. is a nonprofit organization established to promote and improve awareness, availability, and accessibility of information that can help people with disabilities live, learn, and work independently.
The organization serves thousands of individuals with disabilities through a multidisciplinary network of service providers and consumers. In order to reach as many people with disabilities, the organization targets its services and publications to libraries, disability organizations, independent living centers, rehabilitation facilities, educational institutions, and health and social service providers.
Disability Resources, Inc. disseminates information about books, pamphlets, magazines, newsletters, videos, databases, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, telephone hotlines, and on-line services that provide free, inexpensive or hard-to-find information to help people with disabilities live independently and focuses on issues individuals with disabilities may face as they become older.
Disability
Resources, Inc., Dept. IN
Four Glatter Lane
Centereach, NY 11720-1032
631-585-0290
Home Page: http://www.disabilityresources.org/index.html
http://www.disabilityresources.org/AGING.html
(DRM WebWatcher)
A Research
Perspective
This is an article titled, "A Research Perspective: Next Steps
in Bridging the Gap Between Aging and Disability " by Margaret
Campbell. This article places an emphasis on maximizing human potential.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/gero/RRTConAging/NS.html
U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
Administration on Aging (AoA)
In response to the growing number of older people and their diverse
needs, the Older Americans Act of 1965 as Amended calls for a range
of programs that offer services and opportunities for older Americans,
especially those at risk of losing their independence. The Act established
the Administration on Aging (AoA), an agency of the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services that is headed by the Assistant Secretary
for Aging in the Department.
AoA is the Federal focal point and advocate agency for older persons and their concerns. Through information, referral, and outreach efforts at the community level, AoA seeks to educate older people and their caregivers about the benefits and services available to help them.
AoA works with its nationwide network of Regional offices and State and Area Agencies on Aging to plan, coordinate, and develop community-level systems of services that meet the unique needs of older persons and their caregivers. The Administration on Aging collaborates with Federal agencies, national organizations, and representatives of business to ensure that, whenever possible, their programs and resources are targeted to the elderly and coordinated with those of the network on aging.
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Administration on Aging, AoA, developed a resource directory for older people. This resource directory is intended to serve a wide audience including older people and their families, health and legal professionals, social service providers and others who are interested in the field of aging. The directory contains resources and contact information on matters relating to the needs of older persons.
Administration
on Aging
330 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
202-619-7501: AoA's National Aging Information Center
800-877-8339 (Voice and TTY): Federal Relay Services
800-677-1116: Eldercare Locator
http://www.aoa.gov
