Letters to the Editor – Eastern Graphic
Of 12,000 Islanders with disabilities, 4,300 or 33 per cent have unmet needs for specialized equipment according to Statistics Canada June 3 report PALS 2006.
PALS 2006 is a survey conducted after the 5-year census to develop a profile of the disability population in Canada.
Those 15 to 64 years of age had 45 per cent of their needs for assistive devices unmet. Seniors had slightly lower needs.
230 children on PEI have unmet needs for special devices. The need among children is unconscionable and the direct result of a penny-pinching government that spends its money on cocktail parties.
A total of 55 per cent of persons with very severe disabilities had unmet needs for specialized equipment, which was the highest for all levels of disability. Mild or moderate levels of disability have lower needs for equipment which are easily met. A mild mobility disability may only require a cane while a severe mobility disability would require an electric wheelchair and home modifications.
Types of disabilities surveyed were hearing, seeing, communication, pain, learning, agility and mobility. Agility means difficulty with bending, dressing, grasping objects and reaching. Mobility includes difficulty walking a half a kilometer, up and down a flight of stairs or 12 steps, or walking carrying an object of 10 lbs or more.
Disabilities limit the participation in everyday life by more than 50 per cent for those with mobility, agility and pain disabilities.
Nearly three quarters of people with a hearing disability still reported the need for hearing aids. One third of those with seeing disabilities reported needing large print reading materials. One third of those with mobility disabilities need lift devices and the same number with agility disabilities need hand or arm braces.
Only 11 per cent of needs are paid from the public purse on PEI. We know this from the fact that only 1,100 of PEI’s 22,000 persons with disabilities are covered under the DSP. Most needs on PEI are met from the disabled person’s own resources or family.
High cost of assistive devices was cited by more than 63 per cent of Islanders for not getting the device they need which is higher than the national average. When will the government wake up and start funding this program properly.
The PALS survey is our only way of knowing the true problems of Islanders with disabilities since the government is in denial. Last year the Deputy Minister of Social Services and Seniors told me Statistics Canada wasn’t accurate, it couldn’t be trusted. The government wants to minimize the problem that Islanders with disabilities need help.
Stephen Pate
PEI Disability Alert,
Charlottetown
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