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Abstract
Reich and his colleagues would convince the UN to declare 1981 the International Year of Disabled Persons, and Reich would become president of the US council that coordinated US efforts for the year. In that capacity, he was the first wheelchair user to address the UN General Assembly. The council eventually became the National Organization on Disability (NOD), of which Reich would serve as founding president. Reich shaped the NOD into an organisation that raised public awareness about the needs and potential of people with disabilities and lobbied national and international leaders to act in support of these needs. This organisation now supports the participation and contribution of America's 54 million men, women, and children with disabilities in all aspects of their lives. Michael R Deland, the NOD's current president said of Reich that "Through his leadership, he changed the way our nation and nations of the world view disability."