91% of People With Disabilities Believe They Don't Have a Political Voice, Urge Candidates to Address Top Disability Issues

Disaboom Poll Reveals Top Political Issues People With Disabilities Want to See Addressed by Presidential Candidates as Healthcare, Unemployment and Community Support


DENVER, CO--(Marketwire - August 31, 2008) - 91 percent of people with disabilities believe they receive less attention than other minority groups from the presidential candidates, according to a recent poll conducted by Disaboom (OTCBB: DSBO) (www.disaboom.com), the premier online community for people with disabilities. In a follow-up poll, conducted by Disaboom to gain an understanding of the key political issues of importance to people with disabilities, respondents identified healthcare, unemployment and community support as the key issues they'd like to see addressed by the candidates in the 2008 election.

"People with disabilities represent the largest minority group in the U.S. Yet most members of this community feel that the issues of importance to them receive little attention from the presidential candidates and from the political system as a whole," said Dr. Glen House, founder of Disaboom and a quadriplegic himself. "Disaboom's polls show that this community is eager to be included in the political dialogue in the 2008 election."

Disaboom's most recent poll asked respondents to identify, from a list of nine political issues, their choice of the top issue facing people with disabilities in this election.

1. 44 percent of respondents identified healthcare as the top issue facing people with disabilities in this election. A 2003 national survey by National Center for Health Statistics found that 46 percent of non-elderly adults with disabilities go without equipment and other medical needs due to associated costs. Additionally, 37 percent of people with disabilities postpone healthcare, and 36 percent skip doses or split pills due to medication costs.

2. 18 percent identified unemployment rate as the top issue. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 44 percent of people with a disability are unemployed, while the unemployment rate for those without a disability is 12 percent.

3. 10 percent identified community support as the top issue. Today, more than 53,000 individuals with developmental disabilities are on waiting lists to qualify for in-home community-based attendant care, rather than being placed in a nursing home.

Other issues of importance to people with disabilities identified by poll respondents include housing, accessible transportation, gas prices, the wars in Iraq and Afganistan, education and veterans' issues.

This announcement follows Disaboom's recent findings that 57 percent of people with disabilities support Barack Obama and 37 percent of people with disabilities support John McCain in the 2008 presidential election.

For more information about the political issues of interest to people with disabilities, visit Disaboom's 2008 Election coverage at http://www.disaboom.com/Living/Election08/Default.aspx. To view coverage of the Democratic National Convention and follow live coverage of the Republican National Convention from the perspective of the disability community, visit Disaboom's political blog, "Disabled Politico" at www.disaboom.com/disabledpolitico.

About Disaboom

Disaboom.com is an interactive online community that combines lifestyle and medical information, discussion boards, a career center and social networking opportunities for those with disabilities as well as their family, friends, caregivers and health providers. It was founded by Dr. J. Glen House, a physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation who is also quadriplegic. His firsthand knowledge of the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and those whose lives they touch has driven the Disaboom mission: to create a comprehensive, evolving source of information, inspiration, insight, and personal engagement for the disability community.

About the Disaboom Polls

The Disaboom polls were conducted by disaboom.com using Vizu.com polling technology between July 31, 2008 and August 28, 2008 using surveys posted at http://www.disaboom.com/Community/Organizations/Polls. Poll results are based on the responses of 700 respondents. Poll technology ensured that each respondent was limited to voting once.

Contact Information: Contact: Sandy Muller Office: 720-407-6530 smuller@disaboom.com