Affiliations: University of Washington Departments of Neurology,
Rehabilitation Medicine (MS Rehabilitation Research and Training Center), and
Neurological Surgery, Seattle, WA, USA | Departments of Rehabilitation Counseling and
Rehabilitation Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA,
USA | Department of Rehabilitation Counseling, Virginia
Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Robert T. Fraser, Ph.D., CRC,
Vocational Services, Box 359744, Harborview Medical Center, 325 Ninth Ave.,
Seattle, WA 98104, USA. E-mail: rfraser@u.washington.edu
Abstract: This article documents the Progression of Disability Benefits (PODB)
for a sample of 201 employees with multiple sclerosis (MS) vs. a large sample
of employees with diverse disabilities (n = 77,096) and another neurology group
employee sample with epilepsy (n = 59). Among the most interesting findings is
the dramatic movement for the MS sample to Social Security Disability Income
(SSDI) – 35.3% for the MS sample vs. 3.8% for the general disability sample
and 8.5% forthe epilepsy sample. Implications of these findings are discussed
for better serving the needs of employees with MS onset.
