Abstract:

Although incidence of disability increases with age, contact with and services offered to elderly persons by rehabilitation agencies appears to decrease. This lack of service is far reaching both in terms of lost human potential and in terms of financial ramifications. A major step toward providing adequate rehabilitation services to older persons with disability is the development of a viable long-term care policy which would focus on functional impairment of persons rather than focusing on age or employability. Results can have far reaching effects not only for older persons, but for society as a whole.