Senator MURRAY. That concludes the hearing this morning. Tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock we will meet in this same room to hear another list of witnesses on S. 1538, Senator Neely's bill, relating to cerebral palsy. (Whereupon, at 11 a. m., the subcommittee adjourned, to reconvene at 10 a. m., Thursday, May 5, 1949.) (Subsequently Mr. Strachan submitted the following document for inclusion in the record:) Mr. PAUL A. STRACHAN, FEDERAL SECURITY AGENCY, OFFICE OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION, President, American Federation of the Physically Handicapped, Inc., Washington 4, D. C. DEAR MR. STRACHAN: Thank you for your letter of May 4, 1949. Attached are copies of tables which we submitted for the record at the request of the Senate committee conducting hearings on S. 659. I know we are both pleased that the rehabilitation programs have been able to rehabilitate 2,097 epileptics during the period 1945-48, and that these persons were earning at the time of closure about $33 a week. Since the data in the attached tables is more current than that supplied you in response to your August 18, 1947, letter, we did not include the previous information in the material presently submitted to the committee. Epileptics are employable. The fact that over 2,000 of them were rehabilitated into employment certainly is an indication that much can be done for this group of disabled persons. I trust that your organization may find the attached tables useful in your task of promoting more and better services for the disabled. Sincerely yours, MICHAEL J. SHORTLEY, Director. REHABILITATION OF EPILEPTICS 1. Epileptics are eligible for services available to all handicapped through the Vocational Rehabilitation Act (29 U. S. C., ch. 4). 2. Epileptics are being rehabilitated (tables 2 and 3). The State rehabilitation programs rehabilitated 2,097 epileptics for the period 1945-48. The average (median) weekly wage after rehabilitation services was: Epileptics, $33; all rehabilitants, $34. 3. Six States each rehabilitated 100 or more epileptics (table 4). Michigan leads with 231; Illinois and California follow with 178 and 176, respectively; New York, 101; and Connecticut and Pennsylvania each rehabilitated 100. 4. Only 15 percent of the epileptics rehabilitated were employed in unskilled occupations (table 1). Thirty-seven epileptics were rehabilitated in the professional occupations, 52 in the semiprofessional, and 25 into managerial. However 424, or 20 percent were employed in clerical jobs; 282, or 13.5 percent, in service occupations, such as hospital attendants, waitresses, guards, janitors, and porters. Skilled occupations accounted for 309 jobs, or 14.8 percent, and the semiskilled 289 or 13.8 percent. 5. Epileptics rehabilitated in the last 4 years are now earning at least $3,350,000 annually. 6. The above data, prepared by Fiscal and Statistical Branch, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, are extracted from materials which will form the basis for another disability study published by that office for the guidance of State rehabilitation agencies and others such as the National Association to Control Epileptics, Inc., Neurological Institute and Baird Institute, the International League Against Epilepsy, and the American Epilepsy League who are actively engaged in assisting epileptics by returning them to the normal environment of a self-sustaining job. 7. The Green Light quotes extensively from a memorandum by the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation to its regional staff reporting substantial progress and urging continued efforts by the States to promote the rehabilitation of epileptics. 8. Please note the Galveston project in the rehabilitation of epileptics as summarized on page 36, The Institute of Living, Digest of Neurology and Psychology. TABLE 1.-Distribution of epileptics rehabilitated by type of job or occupation at closure, fiscal years 1945-48 TABLE 1.-Distribution of epileptics rehabilitated by type of job or occupation at TABLE 2.-Distribution of epileptics rehabilitated by weekly wage at closure, fiscal years 1945-48 TABLE 3.-Distribution of the number of epileptics rehabilitated during the 4-year period 1945-48 compared with distribution of all the rehabilitants during the corresponding period, by weekly wage at closure TABLE 4.-Distribution of total number of persons rehabilitated compared with distribution of epileptics rehabilitated, by State, fiscal years 1945-48 |