Regarding minority populations and disability, the National Council on Disability (1993) has stated that as a result of factors such as poverty, unemployment, and poor health status, persons of minority backgrounds are at high risk of disability, and that the number of persons from minority populations who have disabilities is not only disproportionate to their numbers in the overall population but is also increasing. Moreover, the Council reports that the proportion of minority populations with disabling conditions will probably increase at even faster rates than that of the general population.

Further, there is considerable research suggesting that the rehabilitation/counseling needs of minority disabled groups are not being met. The National Council on Disability (1993) states that the needs of these individuals have been ignored largely for two reasons: First, minority populations have been generally preoccupied with their own particular needs related to survival and elimination of discrimination and racism; disability issues affecting minorities have not been a priority. Second, the disability community has been preoccupied with general disability issues, such as access to health insurance, personal assi

7. Empowerment consists of various strategies and techniques designed to help people restore status, rights, and privileges which people have been denied as a function of discrimination. In order to empower the disabled, various techniques and strategies are required to help them deal with various issues associated with discrimination including the social attitudes toward individuals with disabilities and the effects of using a medical model of disability, with its implications for the objectification and control of people with disabilities. More-over, empowerment can consist of advocacy strategies such as:

Minority persons with disabilities are among the most untapped of our nation's resources. Most persons have not been given an opportunity to contribute productively to the well-being of our society. It is essential to the success of our country in the Twenty-first Century to utilize the resources of minority persons with disabilities (p. 1)

As to what counselors can do to overcome these attitudes, Hansen and Bryant (1991) report that steps must be taken to assure disabled groups in general and minority disabled groups in particular that the counselor is not just one more authority figure who is attempting to make their decisions for them and, generally, control their lives. It is recommended that counseling strategies be developed to move these groups into the mainstream of an effective and productive lifestyle.

Membership of Minority Groups in the Disabled Population

Fretz, B.R. (1982). Counseling psychology: Perspective and definitions. Counseling Psychologist, 10(2), 15-19.

The NIDRR (1993) study was also said to show that rehabilitation counselors tend to view degree of acculturation as a predictor of client success. If a client retains the language and continues to embra