The average age of a disabled worker beneficiary today is 50.6 years. In 1980 that figure was 53.2 years and as far back as 1960, the average age was 57.2 years. 1,412,000 children of disabled persons receive Social Security payments. Each year approximately 75,000 Americans become blind. In 2000 the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, launched Web-Braille on the Internet, along with its fourth Manual of Braille Transcribing to better able the blind to use all possible resources.
Many famous people have disabilities.
Among celebrities with various disabilities are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Rita Hayworth, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, Walter Cronkite, Janet Reno, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Michael J. Fox, Muhammad Ali, Mikhael Gorbachev, and Ray Charles. Over the past fourteen years, education has shown signs of improvement for all people with disabilities, and employment has shown signs of improvement for people who say they are able to work. A 30-year Dupont study has indicated that employees with disabilities have above average records in job performance, dependability, attendance, and safety. Businesses can easily initiate and implement the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for accommodations in the workplace at relatively low cost. Employees with disabilities have lower turnover rates and are no more likely to use sick leave than other employees.