The following news release is forwarded to you for your information:

Campaign for Disability Healthcare Justice

NewHEALTHCARESTORIESFeaturing People with Developmental Disabilities and Their Families

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) is pleased to announce the release of new HEALTHCARESTORIESthat illustrate, as no policy paper can, the obstacles and barriers that stand in the way of getting appropriate, effective health care for many people with developmental disabilities.

These short video stories feature people with developmental disabilities and their families, and an intrepid primary healthcare provider who has defined the field of developmental medicine.

Watch a Preview!

Story tellers speak candidly about their experiences accessing health care. The obstacles they face range from lack of accessible equipment such as CAT scan tables, to encounters with medical professionals who have little or no disability literacy or training, to outright substandard care. Such persistent barriers to health care affect not only our health and wellbeing, but also the quality and length of our lives.

Their stories add an essential human dimension to the large body of research showing that people with disabilities experience health disparities and healthcare inequality. The stories also shine a bright light on the need for longoverdue reforms that are needed if we are to achieve disability healthcare justice.

Use the Videos to Make Change!

We encourage advocates and others to use these free, downloadable video stories to focus attention on these common barriers to care and on how we can eliminate them.

The videos, along with other resources and links, can be found at our HEALTHCARESTORIESwebsiteathttp://www.dredf.org/healthcare-stories/