Non-Profit Helps Families Affected By Disabilities

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — One in every five children in Tennessee has a disability.

That means many of their family members and friends are impacted, as well.

But where do they turn to for help?

News 12 talked to one local non-profit that’s helping those who are affected.

Loretta Lynn Leda with Vista Points Special Needs Trusts & Resource Center says physical and mental disabilities can happen in any family.

“If you think of yourself and four of your neighbors, one of them is going to have a child with a disability,” Leda said. “Some children are born with it. Other children acquire it through maybe an accident or genetic down the line.”

But children are not the only ones impacted.

Leda says you can develop a disability later in life.

She says Tennessee has one of the highest rates for adults 18 to 64 with cognitive and vision disabilities.

“I think it’s all over,” Leda said. “We are transplants, but I think it’s environmental too, between cell phones, listening to the TV, or even lawn mowers. People don’t realize that that causes hearing loss. Of course aging, you do get some natural hearing loss with that, but there’s a lot of factors that go into, you know, where a person’s from and how they are raised.”

Environmental factors may play a role, but Leda says people with special needs can still lead a normal life.

“A lot of them want to have jobs, and that’s the problem we’re seeing now, is a lot of them can do repetitive tasks, so we are looking for employers who want to employ a person with a disability, and I believe some states offer some compensation to the employer for bringing on a person with disabilities, and a lot of them function normally,” she said.

Experts say parents should start planning as soon as they learn their child has a disability. Don’t put it off.

“It’s a very hard subject, and sometimes it’s, you know, material that’s hard to talk about, but you have to do it,” said Nicole Daniel, Rick Crawford & Associates.

Leda says anyone with a loved one with disabilities can contact Vista Points at 888-422-4076, or vistapoints.org for any special needs resources.