New Jersey Special Needs Lawyer Honors International Day of Persons With Disabilities

Ocean County, New Jersey -- Today, Christine Matus, Esq., founding attorney of The Matus Law Group in Monmouth County, New Jersey, announced plans to launch a digital campaign to honor International Day of People With Disabilities which took place on December 3rd.

“We wanted to launch this campaign to create a sense of awareness about the importance of making a more inclusive world. A world in which every person, regardless of their conditions, has access to every right and opportunity in every sphere of their life,” said the Monmouth County special needs attorney.

International Day of Disabled Persons was officially proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1992 to promote the understanding of disabilities and to “mobilize support for the dignity, rights, and well-being of persons with disabilities.” This year’s theme is “Not all Disabilities are Visible” which is focused on spreading awareness of the many “invisible” disabilities, such as mental illness, sight or hearing impairment, cognitive dysfunction, and others.

The law firm’s campaign is called 12 Days of Special Needs and will highlight a special need or condition each day beginning December 13th and ending on December 24th. Each condition has been chosen to help focus on a unique group of persons with special needs.

“For each special need, we will share an image and the link to an organization that focuses on it via our social media pages. This gives everyone who follows us or who has a special needs family member access to important information and extra resources if they want to learn more,” continued the Ocean County special needs lawyer. “We have started with National Birth Defects Month which is celebrated in January and we will go through the other 11 months, culminating with International Day of People With Disabilities.”

The World Health Organization reports that approximately 15 percent of the world’s population -- more than 1 billion individuals -- are currently living with a disability. Of that figure, 450 million live with some form of mental or neurological disability. Nearly two-thirds of these will not seek professional help, in most cases because of discrimination and stigma.

Because of our current pandemic, International Day of People with Disabilities wanted to draw attention to the isolation and disconnect that has now impacted our mental health, in addition to the virus’ impact on our physical health. As such, the “invisibility” of mental health also has a critical role as we continue to work against COVID-19.

For over two decades, Ms. Matus and her law firm, the Matus Law Group, have dedicated much of their practice and personal time to special needs family members. Ms. Matus has a special needs child and has lectured on special needs topics and offered pro-bono work to organizations with a special needs emphasis.

Those interested can find more information on the Matus Law Group’s special needs campaign on their Facebook page.