Genre of inclusion

When the healthcare reform legislation was first published online, I did a word search and I couldnt find the phrase “developmental disabilities” in it, anywhere.

Maybe my search was bad, but the point is this:  we cant afford to ignore the support and habilitation needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our quest to control healthcare costs.

It’d be easy to do.  The most vulnerable are always the easiest to overlook.

But it would be foolish to do so from a taxpayer perspective.  That’s because medical problems are more common in people with developmental disabilities, plus they are less likely to get treated, and so they end up costing us all more when they finally do get treated.

A study by Special Olympics shows that among its athletes in the United States, 29% have untreated tooth decay; 28% fail hearing tests; 22% have low bone density, and 16% have eye disease.

The study also described the importance of teaching doctors and dentists how to care for people with special needs.  Let’s make sure their needs dont fall off our collective radar.