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The ICD Bulletin |
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Greetings! Welcome to the Summer 2006 issue of The ICD Bulletin. This quarterly newsletter keeps ICD clients, referral sources, partners and other interested parties informed about what's happening at America's first comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation center.
July 26 marked the 16th anniversary of the American with Disabilities
Act (ADA), the most comprehensive law ever established to protect the
rights of people with disabilities. ICD is proud of its contributions
to its passage.
When Congress was considering the legislation, it relied, in part, on the results of two surveys commissioned by Jeremiah Milbank, Jr., the president of ICD and the son of Jeremiah Milbank, Sr., who founded this outpatient rehabilitation center in 1917. The initial survey in 1985 was the first nation-wide telephone poll to study the attitudes and experiences of disabled persons and what they think must be done to increase their participation in American society. The result was The ICD Survey of Disabled Americans: Bringing Disabled Americans into the Mainstream (1986). The second, follow-up survey examined employer attitudes, policies and experiences related to the hiring, training, retention and job performance of people with disabilities. The ICD Survey II: Employing Disabled Americans (1987) reported that “employers give their disabled employees high marks as hard working, reliable and productive employees.” The survey also found that “the cost of employing disabled people [i.e., providing accommodations for them] is not a significant barrier.” ICD salutes the ADA on its anniversary. ICD is committed to helping people with disabilities become more independent at home, in school, on the job and in the community.
To learn the basics of carpentry, plumbing, installing light fixtures,
laying sheetrock, tiling and other building skills, students enrolled
in ICD’s Building Maintenance Training Program recently built a house.
The “house” may be the smallest efficiency in Manhattan with a front porch. It is located within the ICD building on 24th Street. Burton Quinn, the instructor, calls it a “safe house” because “students can make common household repairs and do building maintenance activities such as floor buffing without fear of making errors.” Quinn enjoys his job as an instructor. “I’ve seen my students grow in confidence and take an active part in class,” he says. Students attend training at ICD Monday through Friday from 9 to 3. Both men and women are enrolled in this class. In addition to their technical building training, program participants are taught basic computer skills and life skills, including how to communicate on the job. The job placement rate for graduates of ICD’s 2005 Building Maintenance Training Program was 75 percent. These graduates found positions with commercial cleaning companies, hotels, facilities management companies and other businesses. ICD classes begin on a quarterly basis. The next start date is October 2, 2006. For more information, please contact Daria Benson at 212-585-6033.
According to the Brain Injury Association, acquired brain injury is
the leading cause of disability in Americans under 45. Yet the
incidence of brain injury among people trying to recover from drug
addictions is not well known.
“Research and clinical experience indicate that many people who are treated for substance abuse also have traumatic brain injuries (TBIs),” says Ed Ross, Director of ICD’s Behavioral Health Services. ICD is the only agency licensed by the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) for addiction treatment that provides a specialized program for people with TBI. This program addresses the specific cognitive rehabilitation needs of these individuals, so they can develop the coping skills to remain abstinent. To help other substance abuse treatment providers identify brain injury in their clients and create effective treatments for them, ICD developed an education and training program called The Unknown Dual Diagnosis: Chemical Dependence and Traumatic Brain Injury. With a couple of foundation grants, ICD has been able to offer this program on-site at more than 20 agencies in the five boroughs of New York City. “The feedback from the training attendees was overwhelmingly positive,” Ross reports. “Ninety-six percent of attendees felt TBI should be more widely known in the field of substance abuse treatment.” If you would like to have ICD present this training at your facility, please contact Ed Ross at 212-585- 6275.
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