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VOA慢速英语2013 THIS IS AMERICA - Disabilities in America

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THIS IS AMERICA - Disabilities in America

From VOA Learning English, welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in Special English. I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I'm Jim Tedder1. Today we look at what's happening with employment, education and entertainment for people with disabilities.

A government report says more people with disabilities work as janitors2 or building cleaners than any other job. People with physical or mental disabilities are less likely to be employed than people without a disability. And those who are employed are more likely to work in lower paying jobs, and to earn less than their co-workers with no disability.

Meg Grigal works with an organization called Think College. That group helps colleges and universities provide courses, social opportunities and job training for people with mental disabilities. Many of the students have Down’s syndrome3. Ms. Grigal says the students gain from higher education just like anyone else hoping to earn more in future employment by going to college.

“I think we are starting to be able to document the economic impact for people with intellectual disabilities that shows having them go to college, even if it isn’t for a degree, is going to improve their employment outcome.”

Ms. Grigal says the most common reason students with intellectual disabilities do not go to college is because their teachers and parents do not think they can do it.

“You can only believe in what you have seen is possible. And if your your entire career or the entire length of your entire child’s life, you’ve been told people with intellectual disabilities can’t go to college, then that is going to be your knee-jerk reaction when you are broached4 with an opportunity.”

There is a campaign to encourage young people with mental disabilities to consider college. These students are part of that campaign. 

“College is kind of like a challenge. You get to learn new things that you are not learning in high school.”

“The reason why I am going to college is because I can get an education. I want everybody to know who I am. I want my family to be proud I want my friends to be proud.”

One opportunity is at Virginia Commonwealth5 University. Students with mental disabilities receive a special certificate after they take classes for thirty months at VCU. Liz Getzel is the director of postsecondary initiatives at the university. She says VCU discovered one student who had no idea how artistic6 he was.

“I mean, he drew a self-portrait of himself that looked like it was a photograph. We are finding this more and more as students come in. It just opens up them in terms of the amazing amount of talent they have.”

Talent to get a good job and be an active member of the community.

Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, known as the ADA, more than 20 years ago. The law made it easier for people with disabilities to get jobs and use public transportation and public buildings. 

There are many success stories, but overall not very much has changed in the job market. Seventy percent of people with severe disabilities are still not working, about the same as 20 years ago.

The unemployment rate for people with a disability was 15 percent in 2011. This was well above the 8.7 percent unemployment rate for people without disabilities. 

The Census7 Bureau reports that between 2008 and 2010, people without disabilities were about three times more likely to be employed than those with disabilities. People with disabilities represented 6 percent of the civilian8 labor9 force.

More than half of all workers with a disability work in four general occupation groups. These are service workers, administrative10 support, sales workers, and management, business and finance.

Marian Vessels11 is director of the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center, which provides training and assistance to employers and employees. She says one big problem is that neither employers nor employees with disabilities feel comfortable talking about a disability.

Ms. Vessels says people with disabilities need to speak up. They need to believe in themselves to get a job and the accommodations they need to do the job well.

An accommodation is an action taken by an employer to help people with a disability do a job. For example, maybe you need a wider office space so your wheelchair fits next to your desk. Maybe you need to use your voice instead of the keyboard to type on a computer.

Mark Barlet has no feeling in one of his legs because of an accident. He asked that all the computer cords under his desk be placed away from his legs so his computer would not get pulled off the desk. Mr. Barlet says people with disabilities sometimes have to work harder and better to get and keep a job.

“If you are bringing a skill set to the table that the employer needs and very few other people can satisfy that, then you have a much better position to make sure you get what you need to be, you know, functional12.”

Mr. Barlet became a specialist in making computer software accessible to people with disabilities. He has even started the AbleGamers Foundation to make video games easier to use.

Jay Schiller lost an arm and a leg in a train accident when he was a boy. Now he has what is known as a myloelectric hand that he operates electronically. He works in a laboratory as a chemist for the Merck company.

“You know what is good about chemistry is that you really have to be deliberate in your actions in the lab and plan out what you want to do and how you want to do it because you are working with some, you know, some dangerous substances at times and you really need to be calculated. Well, that suited me perfectly13 in that I really needed to think about how I wanted to do things with my new situation.”

Mr. Schiller says employers must understand that people with a disability bring a special point of view and can be valuable employees.

“Global diversity inclusion is not something that is just kind of a nice to have anymore. I think companies are finally realizing it’s a competitive advantage.”

An organization called Mobility14 International USA is working to make it easier for people with disabilities to study, travel and work in other countries. Cerise Ross-Vinson is the chief operating officer of MIUSA, which helps answer questions for those who want to travel.

“OK, what kind of medications might you need when you go there and how many months' supply can you take with you? So we talk about the pre-planning, but I think to some degree it comes down to the individual’s own sense of adventure and what I call 'challenge by choice,' which is how challenging or how up for adventure are you?”

MIUSA has several programs to help students with disabilities in other countries come to study in the United States. But Ms. Ross-Vinson says their biggest problem is at home.

“There isn’t as much opportunity to learn English if you are a disabled person in many, many countries around the world. If they are not learning English or they’re not progressing onto university, the opportunity to study abroad in the U.S., to even qualify for the programs and the scholarships, is limited.”

There is much work to be done, she says, and some of it is being done by women who attend the MIUSA WILD program. WILD is Women's Institute on Leadership and Disability.

This summer, for the seventh year, 30 women with disabilities will come to the state of Oregon from developing countries. They will attend four weeks of leadership training. Some of the women who attended in the past have become government ministers, members of parliament, lawyers, doctors and activists15 for people with disabilities.

We have talked about work and school. What about play?

Imagination Stage is a children’s theater in the state of Maryland. A special performance of each play is produced for children with autism. People with autism have difficulty communicating and socializing with other people. Children in the theater are allowed to move around during the performance. It’s OK if they shout out or hold their ears when the music is too loud. These special performances are sometimes the only way a family can go to the theater together if a child has autism. 

That is the same idea with Autism on the Seas. This company organizes vacations for families of children with autism – especially vacations on cruise ships. Jamie Grover is director of group development for Autism on the Seas.

“The advantage that most of these families experience is having our staff on board that have the knowledge to work with their children and having the comfort factor knowing that they are going to be able to relax, enjoy their vacation, participate in ship activities knowing their children are well taken care of.”

Waiting in long lines or being in the middle of big crowds can cause problem behavior in children with autism. Autism on the Seas helps families avoid situations like that.

Autism on the Seas works with the help of cruise companies like Royal Caribbean. Special times or places are arranged for families to play video games, go skating or rock climbing, or eat dinner. Autism on the Seas also directs families to organizations that can help them pay for these vacations.

Bambi Van Woert from the state of Michigan went on a cruise with her 7-year-old, Ben, who has autism.

“I would never do something like this myself. I cannot, I cannot take Ben grocery shopping by myself at this point, so for me to try to do a cruise for this long without experienced help is absurd.”

She says after the first few days, Ben became comfortable with the cruise and the experience was good for him.


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1 tedder 2833afc4f8252d8dc9f8cd73b24db55d     
n.(干草)翻晒者,翻晒机
参考例句:
  • Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆?特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
  • Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆?泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网
2 janitors 57ca206edb2855b724941b4089bf8ca7     
n.看门人( janitor的名词复数 );看管房屋的人;锅炉工
参考例句:
  • The janitors were always kicking us out. 守卫总是将~踢出去。 来自互联网
  • My aim is to be one of the best janitors in the world. 我的目标是要成为全世界最好的守门人。 来自互联网
3 syndrome uqBwu     
n.综合病症;并存特性
参考例句:
  • The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
  • Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。
4 broached 6e5998583239ddcf6fbeee2824e41081     
v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 );打开并开始用;用凿子扩大(或修光);(在桶上)钻孔取液体
参考例句:
  • She broached the subject of a picnic to her mother. 她向母亲提起野餐的问题。 来自辞典例句
  • He broached the subject to the stranger. 他对陌生人提起那话题。 来自辞典例句
5 commonwealth XXzyp     
n.共和国,联邦,共同体
参考例句:
  • He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
  • Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。
6 artistic IeWyG     
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的
参考例句:
  • The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
  • These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。
7 census arnz5     
n.(官方的)人口调查,人口普查
参考例句:
  • A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
  • The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。
8 civilian uqbzl     
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
参考例句:
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
9 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
10 administrative fzDzkc     
adj.行政的,管理的
参考例句:
  • The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
  • He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。
11 vessels fc9307c2593b522954eadb3ee6c57480     
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人
参考例句:
  • The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
12 functional 5hMxa     
adj.为实用而设计的,具备功能的,起作用的
参考例句:
  • The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了,但现在可以用了。
  • The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的,只是为了实用。
13 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
14 mobility H6rzu     
n.可动性,变动性,情感不定
参考例句:
  • The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
  • Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。
15 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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