In December the agency began teaching its 450 mentally retarded and otherwise disabled clients how to protect themselves from the deadly virus.

The institute last year served 5,000 developmentally disabled clients, provided interdisciplinary training for 50 students and conducted educational programs for 4,000 professionals in the field.

Except for a few hundred aged and disabled clients, she said, "all have an obligation to secure and maintain employment."

Many of them charge a fee to the disabled client, adding insult to injury.

The only payment asked of disabled clients is that they, in turn, volunteer their time and expertise to assist other disabled persons.

One was a rural authority and funded 10 disabled clients' personal care needs.

One employs 12 care assistants, whose services are provided free to physically disabled clients.

(It serves about 1,000 disabled clients a week in institutional settings.)

The food will then be heated up by the elderly and disabled clients themselves.