Air travel can be miserable for people with disabilities, particularly if an airline mishandles, damages or loses their wheelchair in transit.
Now, the Biden Administration has proposed tough new standards for how airlines treat and accommodate people in wheelchairs.
...Americans with Down syndrome have a critical lifeline in Medicaid insurance, new research confirms.
But the publicly funded insurance program will have to respond to rising numbers of older adults with Down syndrome, researchers say.
“As more people with Down syn...
Most older adults want to spend their final days in the peace of their own home, but new research finds that Black Americans are far more likely to fall short of that goal.
Why? Because Black adults are much more likely than white adults to develop the kind of disability...
With airplane bathrooms inaccessible to most people with disabilities, those who use wheelchairs have a necessary pre-flight routine: Dehydrate and hope for the best.
Now, relief is on the way.
Among a series of actions aimed at making air travel easier for people...
Patients with Parkinson's disease already face poorer mental and physical health, but now a new study shows they also suffer from decreased levels of hope and self-esteem due to the stigma associated with their disease.
“There are patients who don't even disclose the ...
Airlines will now be required to make bathrooms on their planes more accessible for the disabled, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.
More kids in the United States are getting a developmental disability diagnosis, with prevalence close to 9% in 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
Among 3- to 17-year-olds, 8.56% have ever been diagnosed with a developmental disability, co...
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday let stand a federal appeals court ruling that found people with gender dysphoria should be protected against discrimination under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
“By declining to hear this case, the Supreme Court implicitly ...
Children with disabilities are discriminated against in health care settings -- to the detriment of their health, according to their parents.
Thirty in-depth interviews with parents of children with disabilities revealed a disturbingly common thread.
“They mistr...
The percentage of cancer survivors who struggle with a disability has doubled in the past 20 years, new research shows.
“The fact that we are saving more lives from cancer is worth celebrating, but it also warrants a shift toward understanding and improving the quality...
While mild cases make up the majority of autism diagnoses, "profound" autism affects about 27% of American children with the developmental disability, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday.
This is the first time the CDC has broken down t...
A new study delivers some great news to older Americans, something many likely already realize in their daily lives.
The prevalence of disabilities among seniors is down sharply from what it was just a decade before, researchers say.
Fewer older adults have limit...
A severely paralyzed person no longer needs to go through brain surgery to try and steer a motorized wheelchair with their mind, researchers report.
Through an electrode-studded cap placed on their head, several people with quadriplegia -- no function in all four limbs -...
More than half of Americans aged 50 and up are helping an older adult manage tasks ranging from household chores to care for medical conditions, a new national poll shows.
Over 30 years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), some doctors harbor biases toward people with disabilities, and even actively avoid accepting them as patients, a new study finds.
In focus group discussions with about two dozen U.S. doctors, ...
Researchers working to better understand the diets of younger women with disabilities found this group was more likely to report a poor diet and food insecurity.
"Eating ...
When the early days of the pandemic prompted social distancing measures and gym closures, people with certain disabilities...
It's never too late to start exercising -- and the right activities might help you stay independent in your home.
While building healthy habits at an earlier age can have some long-term benefits, adding physical activity can help at all ages, new research suggests.
Parents of children with special needs face a number of challenges, so here's some advice from an expert.
"Raising children is an adventure for any parent, but the journey for parents of
Loneliness, isolation and fears about contracting COVID-19 have turned life upside down for people with disabilities, causing high levels of depression and anxiety, a new survey finds.
Even before the pandemic, individuals with disabilities were more likely to experience...
More than 30 years after passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), many doctors still don't know how to provide accessible care, a new study finds.
"Despite the fact people with disabilities comprise 25% of the population, they often confront barrier...
French Bulldogs are incredibly cute, sporting adorable snub snouts, big round heads, bright wide eyes and large bat ears.
Unfortunately, the physical traits that make them one of the most popular breeds in the United States and United Kingdom also saddle them with a host...
"Medicare For All" gets tossed around a lot by advocates of universal health coverage, but a new study finds that today's Medicare is far from free for seniors and people with disabilities.
Instead, a large number of beneficiaries are sliding into medical debt and delayi...
Autism may be more prevalent among American children than believed, a new U.S. government study shows.
One in 44 children at age 8 in the United States have been diagnosed with the developmental disorder, a jump from the previous estimate of 1 in 54 children, the U.S. Ce...
A growing number of American adults say they have a physical or mental disability, a new study finds.
Of more than 400,000 adults who responded to a 2019 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, 27% reported a disability. That's a 1% increase since 2016, ...
Pop singer Britney Spears was at the height of her fame in 2008 when, through a series of arcane legal maneuverings, her father gained conservatorship over her and took control of her personal and financial affairs.
Spears' plight and the #FreeBritney movement has shone ...
The "white cane" that many blind people rely on for navigating the world hasn't been upgraded in a century, but researchers are reporting progress on a "robo-cane" they hope will modernize the assistive device.
The prototype cane is equipped with a color 3D camera, senso...
Adults with autism, intellectual disabilities or mental health disorders are at increased risk for COVID-19 and severe illness, researchers report.
Being aware of the heightened risk is important in prioritizing COVID-19 prevention measures, such as vaccination, testing,...
Having a special needs child can mean medical emergencies and doctors' visits where parents have to take time off from work, and now a new study shows that can bring a bit financial hit to a family.
Researchers analyzed U.S. government data from more than 14,000 families...
Serious "long COVID" symptoms could qualify as a disability and make patients eligible for federal assistance, President Joe Biden said Monday.
Some recovered COVID-19 patients have lasting problems such as fatigue, brain fog, joint pain, fever and double vision, which "...
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cripple patients for the rest of their lives, but new research suggests that many people with moderate-to-severe TBI have better-than-expected long-term outcomes.
The findings show that decisions about halting life-sustaining treatment ...
California plans to approve reparations of up to $25,000 to some of the thousands of people who were sterilized decades ago by the state's government.
California will be the third state -- after Virginia and North Carolina -- to compensate victims of the so-called eugeni...
People with spinal cord injuries can overwork their shoulders as they move about in a wheelchair, and that often leads to chronic shoulder pain.
However, a small study suggests that an injection of the patient's own fat cells can help ease the pain.
The injected ce...
Adults with autism report a broad range of sexuality -- being much more likely to identify as asexual, bisexual or homosexual than people without autism, a new study finds.
In a survey of nearly 2,400 adults, researchers found that those with autism were three to nine ti...
Could the paws of assistance dogs be cleaner than the soles of your shoes?
Yes, claims a new study that calls for allowing assistance dogs to accompany their owners in all public places.
To prove their point, Dutch researchers tested the paws of 25 assistance dogs ...
Having an intellectual disability is second only to being elderly as a risk factor for dying from COVID-19, a new study suggests.
"The chances of dying from COVID-19 are higher for those with intellectual disability than they are for people with congestive heart failure,...
"Early to bed, early to rise" may be good advice for your career. New research finds that, compared to night owls, folks with earlier bedtimes perform better at work and are less plagued by disabilities that lead to early retirement.
Overall, "night owls" were twice as l...
Dr. Lisa Iezzoni is all too familiar with the discrimination that patients who have a disability can face: Having lived with multiple sclerosis for more than four decades and now in a wheelchair, she has also studied health care experiences and outcomes for people with disabil...
As many as one in five U.S. children has special health care needs, and some of their caregivers are struggling to get them the support, care and services they need, new research shows.
Kids with special health care needs may have physical conditions (such as asthma or d...
A prominent U.S. doctors' group reaffirmed its recommendation this week that having kids physically in school should be the goal, while also outlining safety protocols needed to allow schools to be open.
In its COVID-19 guidance for safe schools, the American Academy of ...
Children with developmental disabilities or delays have an increased risk of asthma, a new study finds.
"This research has shown that it's not just clinicians or pediatricians that should be aware that children with disabilities and delays may also have other health ...
New research is shining a light on a group particularly vulnerable to the new coronavirus: People with an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD), cared for either by family at home or in group homes.
People with these types of disabilities include those with ...
Could a higher power help stroke recovery? People who are spiritual may be better able to deal with stroke-related disability, new research suggests.
The Italian study linked spirituality -- be it through religion or simply a strong sense of purpose and connection t...
Toddlers with congenital Zika syndrome have severe developmental delays, researchers report.
In a study that covered a five-year period, researchers found that children in Brazil with congenital Zika syndrome who had microcephaly at birth suffered severe mental dela...
Older Americans often return home from the hospital with disabilities they didn't have before, a new study finds.
These new problems can lead to difficulties with daily activities, such as bathing and dressing, shopping and preparing meals, and getting around inside ...
Most people take the ability to move for granted, but not Kathy Miska.
Miska has had multiple sclerosis for two decades now, and her ability to get around has deteriorated steadily.
Now, a new robotic exoskeleton is giving her an opportunity to regain some of t...
Laws in half of U.S. states override a pregnant woman's advance directive if she becomes incapacitated, a new study finds.
And most of those states don't reveal this in advance directive forms.
An advance directive is a legal document completed by a patient...
Teen boys who are unfit and/or obese have higher odds for chronic disease and disability as adults, according to a large Swedish study.
Researchers followed more than 1 million boys for an average of 28 years, starting when they were 16 to 19 years of age.
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