Majority of Americans Think Life with a Severe Disability is Not Worth Living

[Guest guest]

Survey Commissioned by Disaboom Reveals That Majority of Americans

Think Life with a Severe Disability is Not Worth Living

http://partners.marketcenter.com/cboe/news/story.action?

id=MTO191u6757 & symbol= & count=50

DENVER-52 percent of Americans would rather die than live with a

severe disability, according to a recent national survey commissioned

by Disaboom , the premiere online community for people touched by

disability. Disaboom recently announced the shocking results in an

effort to educate people about why this viewpoint is so tragic.

The survey, launched in an effort to understand America's perception

of disability, asked, Which would you choose: Living with a severe

disability that forever alters your ability to live an independent

life, or death?The survey findings noted significant attitudinal

differences based on age, income, geographic location, and level of

education.

Highlights of the research include:

Middle-aged Americans were less willing to live with a severe

disability than older Americans; 63 percent of people age 35 to 44

chose death over disability versus 50 percent of people 55 to 64 and

56 percent of Americans 65 and older.

People with higher incomes were more likely to choose death over

disability. Among those with household income levels of $75,000 or

more, 59 percent chose death, versus those with household incomes of

$25,000 or less, of whom 45 percent chose death.

Geographic location affected a person's choice of death over

disability. While only 45 percent of people living in the South chose

death, 61 percent of people in the West would rather die than be

disabled.

Americans with higher levels of education would rather die than live

with a severe disability. Of those with a college education, 57

percent answered that they'd rather die than live with a severe

disability, versus 30 percent of respondents who have not completed a

high school education.

Dr. Glen House, founder of Disaboom, wants to quash these statistics

and is dedicated to changing America's perception of disability.

House, himself a quadriplegic since his 20s, founded Disaboom to

create the first interactive online community dedicated to improving

the way people with disabilities live their lives. As the first

student in a wheelchair to graduate from the University of Washington

School of Medicine, the first person to climb 14,110-foot Pikes Peak

in a wheelchair, and also a doctor, inventor, extreme sports

enthusiast, husband and father, House hopes that Disaboom will spark

a paradigm shift in the way America views disability.

I want to share ways for people to understand that disability isn't

the end of life. It can be a new beginning, said House. Disability

touches more than 54 million Americans. My goal with Disaboom has

been to provide the information, community, and connection that will

enable people to pave a path that supports new goals and dreams and

determine the way they will choose to live forward.

In its effort to engage, educate and encourage people with

disabilities, as well as their friends, family and caregivers,

Disaboom offers the following resources:

Information: A comprehensive information source for people touched by

disability, www.disaboom.com offers recommendations from medical

professionals; articles about disability-related legislation,

caregiving and education; listings of accessible products and

services; a job bank and hundreds of additional resources to improve

the daily lives of people with disabilities.

Community: The online community's social networking functions allow

its users to interact with thousands of others in the disability

community. Through discussion forums, blogs, groups and chat rooms,

www.disaboom.com allows its members to share experiences, information

and support with others, enabling them to overcome obstacles and live

forward.

Inspiration: Disaboom provides inspiration and encouragement to its

members by highlighting stories of people with disabilities who are

living forward from world-class hand cyclist Arbor, who

will represent the United States in the 2008 Paralympic Games, to

Josh Blue, a comedian with cerebral palsy whose stand-up routines

earned him NBCs Last Comic Standing title in 2006.

Profile for Disaboom, Inc.

Disaboom, Inc. engages in developing, operating, and marketing an

interactive online community for people with disabilities or

functional limitations. It offers Disaboom.com, an online community

that provides medical information, healthcare content about a

particular condition or diagnosis, and a range of topics and issues

related to disability or functional limitation. The company's Website

comprises content, community, and microsites. It also serves families

and friends, caregivers, recreation and rehabilitation providers, and

employers of people with disabilities or functional limitations. The

company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.