HEALTH

Alan Schupack tapes a
box in the JVS workshop.

RONELLE GRIER

T

Special to The Jewish News

he idea of having
an aliyah at the
bar mitzvah of a
son is something
many people take
for granted. But what if you
are confined to a wheelchair,
and the only way to reach the
bimah is by climbing an im-
possible flight of steps?
Norman Wachler, chairman
of the Jewish Welfare Federa-
tion's Task Force on Services
for Persons with Disabilities,
would like every member of
the Jewish community to
think more about the people
facing situations like this.
And, beyond thinking, he and
his group would like to see
some action.
"People have handicaps
because of the deficiencies in
the environment. If you alter
their environment, then
these same people are no
longer handicapped," said Mr.
Wachler.
Nora Barron, co-chair of the
task force, agrees. "Some of

56

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1990

our assumptions may be mak-
ing these people more han-
dicapped than they are," she
said.
The task force recently sub-
mitted its final report and
recommendations to Federa-
tion executives. It was the
culmination of a three-year
study of the problems and
needs of Jewish people af-
fected by disabilities.
Perhaps the most signifi-
cant finding was the degree of
isolation and exclusion felt by
members of the Jewish com-
munity who have handicaps,
and their families.
"We found that the (Jewish)
community was negligent
both in terms of the services
it provided and in its
understanding of people's
needs," said Mr. Wachler.
A surprise to the group was
the scope of people affected by
some type of disability, either
personally or through a fami-
ly member or close friend.
Based on national studies
that estimate that nearly 12
percent of the total popula-
tion has some form of disabili-
ty, the task force believes

10,000 members of the
Detroit Jewish community
experience some kind of han-
dicap. Add to this the family

The Jewish
community's
task force on
disabilities
sees attitudes
as the key
problem.

Dino Baron

members and friends who are
also affected and the numbers
are staggering.
The task force members
were carefully chosen to in-
clude leaders in the Jewish
community, agency represen-
tatives, persons with
disabilities and parents and
family members of in-
dividuals with disabilities.
Elise Levinson, although a
social worker by profession,
joined the group in the role of
a parent. Ms. Levinson has
three sons. The oldest has
developmental disabilities.
"I have a personal commit-
ment," she said, "to show my
son that his life is of value, as
much as my other children's."
The task force divided into
groups to study mental il-
lness, developmental disabili-
ty and physical impairment.
A determined effort was made
to eliminate "handicappism,"
an unconscious prejudice
toward people with handi-
caps. Many of the group
members recognized this at-
titude in themselves, despite
their good intentions.
"We all thought we were

prejudice-free, but we found
we weren't," said Mr. Wachler.
"When a person in a
wheelchair comes toward you,
what do you see first, the
wheelchair or the person?"
This issue was brought
home to Mr. Wachler when a
ruptured disk confined him to
a wheelchair for five weeks.
In the midst of the task force
activities, he once found
himself trapped inside a
public men's room, unable to
open the door from his
wheelchair, waiting for
anyone to come and help. He
described his feelings of
helplessness and frustration
as "incredible."
Mr. Wachler's experience
reinforced what all task force
members came to realize as
the study progressed: a
disability can strike anyone
at any time, often without
warning. Mental illness fre-
quently shows up for the first
time in young adults who ap-
peared normal and healthy as
children. Many families told
the task force of the financial
and emotional devastation
that occurred when a young

