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New Horizons Un-Limited
811 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 937
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Phone: (414) 299-0124
Email: horizons@new-horizons.org

New Horizons Un-Limited - 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) - Celebrate, Learn, Share

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26th, 1990, is one of America's most comprehensive pieces of U.S. federal civil rights legislation that

prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities of all ages in employment, State and local government services, schools, public, commercial and private places open to the public, and transportation.

This legislation was years in the making brought to the fore by people with disabilities, their parents and families and advocates who had advocated and collaborated with legislators to pass many laws and community action groups seeking assistance for programs as far back as the Civil War to gain reasonable accommodations in each of several areas including: education, employment, and independent living. The 1990 ADA, this legislation, was to guarantee that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life, to guarantee access. It did not come about easily, it was a long, hard fought, civil rights campaign.

U.S. citizens with disabilities who grew up before the ADA have witnessed the changes in opportunity to get a job, access buildings, access for children and adults to education, a chance for independent living and the quest for economic self-sufficiency. They recognize the impact of the ADA as legislative in scope, but it also gave them the right to ask for accommodation, it allowed people to go beyond the dream, to actually have a life.

This right has allowed individuals to realize they could participate in life activities, education and employment. For all Americans these activities help develop social and emotional wellness, self-esteem and instead of being discriminated against for who you are, or cast aside, one can have pride in oneself and be part of community. For the community, for businesses, it offers new ways to include more than 51 million citizens: people and patrons in economic and social participation.

Even so there are still many barriers that prevent the full inclusion of person with disabilities. We will not discuss the recent legislation that changes the burden of compliance from a public place to the person with a disability, the very person it was meant to protect. We will focus on the everyday life of a person with a disability.

Learn about the ADA and People with Disabilities

There are still barriers to inclusion in education, employment, health care, transportation, services, technology and civil rights. COVID-19 has certainly made life more difficult for all, but it brings to light the disparaging of safety nets for those who are marginalized thru disability, poverty, and minority. To name a few:

• Education opportunities to access leisure, social and recreational activities are still a challenge for school age children, as well as adults. Education accommodations have been set aside due to the pandemic and children with disabilities and parents cannot access the specialized assistance they need for education or access on-line learning.
• Employment remains a challenge for people with disabilities in the U.S. We recognize that employment may not be possible for everyone, but what are some of the obstacles.
• People would like to work near where they live. Transportation is a huge barrier for everyday life and employment, evenmore so this year with the pandemic.
• Although statistics show that people with disabilities are among the best employees, accommodations can be liberating and motivate businesses to be more inclusive, a person with a disability may experience discrimination at hiring table up to 25%. One cannot legislate attitude.
• It has become more evident with COVID-19 people with disabilities face inequities in health care.
  • The Affordable Care Act helped people with disabilities, expanding coverage to people and allowing insurance for pre-existing conditions. In the midst of the pandemic legislators moved to dismiss this safety net in health care.
  • The ADA does not cover health care rationing. Who deserves to live? Who deserves to die?
  • People with underlying health conditions or their care workers have not been considered essential, so ineligible for (PPE) Personal Protection Equipment.
  • People with disabilities often live in group settings; close living quarters and providers who travel between facilities spread the virus devastating populations.

  Over 60,000 people with disabilities have died from COVID-19.

Share Your Story of the ADA and People with Disabilities

• When you applied for your job, did the employer ask for your driver’s license? Often the person with disabilities does not drive or have a license, discriminating them from the hiring process. You are thinking it doesn't happen, but it does.
• Did you get a loan for your last big expenditure? A person on social security insurance is not allowed to have more than $2,000 in assets so they have no credit to get a loan.
• Even in leisure: Have you ever gone to a bar/restaurant and been told happy hour is only at the bar? For the person in a wheelchair, it means no access. You are thinking it doesn't happen, but it does.
• As new technologies emerge, designers must become knowledgeable of the limitations they may place on who can access their devices if they disregard 51 million Americans with disabilities. Not everyone hears everything, not everyone sees everything, not everyone differentiates color, not everyone drives a car, not everyone has a computer or a smart phone, and so on.

"As people with disabilities and their parents, families and caregivers push back to fight discrimination and unfair practices education and empathy are a strong combination, and have the power to create justice, and help to see through the misinformation that has permeated our world. If we try and see the world through the eyes of others and not just our own. positive change can happen."

Read more at Weighing in on the 30th Anniversary of the ADA

To learn more about the ADA, find out what you can do and personal perspectives from people with disabilities, go to the NY Times Series on The A.D.A. at 30: Beyond the Law’s Promise This series explores how the Americans With Disabilities Act has shaped modern life for people with disabilities in the 30 years since it was passed.