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ADA Awareness Day: 23 Ways the Americans with Disabilities Act Empowers People Who Have Disabilities

Friday, July 26, 2013 is the 23rd anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. As such, July 26 now marks ADA Awareness Day each year.

What is the ADA?

The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, is a federal law that extends to individuals who have disabilities the right to equal access and opportunity in the areas of employment, transportation, public services, and telecommunications. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa initially sponsored the ADA in Congress, and President George H. W. Bush signed it into law on July 26, 1990. Implementation began in 1992, and in 2009 Congress passed some important updates and clarifications to the original law.

The Signing of the ADA
President George H. W. Bush signs the ADA into law.

Everyday ADA

So what does the ADA mean to people who have disabilities in their everyday lives? Ah, let us count the ways—23 of them to honor this year’s anniversary!

  1. Qualified people who have disabilities now get the same consideration as everyone else when applying for jobs.
  2. Workers who have disabilities can ask for reasonable accommodations to help them meet their essential job functions.
  3. Workers who have disabilities enjoy more privacy now because their employers can’t ask them personal or non-job-related questions about their disabilities.
  4. People who have disabilities can choose to have someone advocate for them when asserting their rights under the ADA.
  5. Employers who have technical questions about ADA compliance and how to best help their employees who have disabilities can get guidance and answers from www.ada.gov.
  6. New public buildings now have accessible features such as ramps and elevators, and many older ones have been made accessible.

    Photo of concrete ramp
    Exterior Concrete Wheelchair Ramp
  7. Sidewalks now have “curb cuts” so that people who use wheelchairs can access them and cross streets more safely.

    Photo of a curb cut
    Curb Cut
  8. Public restrooms now have at least one stall fitted with grab bars that can accommodate a wheelchair.

    Photo of an accessible public restroom
    Accessible Public Restroom
  9. People who have low vision or no vision can request printed material from businesses and public entities in alternative formats such as large print and Braille.
  10. People who have disabilities no longer have to fear and deal with being turned away from public places.
  11. Nowadays, entities that provide transportation to the public also provide accessible service to people who have disabilities.

    Photo of paratransit bus
    An Accessible Paratransit Bus
  12. People who have hearing impairments can now communicate more easily thanks to enhanced devices and networks that handle text.

    Photo of a TTY machine
    A Teletypewriter Machine (TTY)
  13. Students who have disabilities can also now get reasonable accommodations to help with campus access, optimal classroom seating, and test taking.
  14. Persons with disabilities who use service dogs can now take their dogs that are specially trained to assist them any place the public is allowed.service dogs
  15. People who have developmental disabilities can navigate the public environment more easily and safely thanks to signs that have pictures as well as words, such as those found outside public restrooms.

    Photo f accessible restroom sign, including Braille
    Accessible Restroom Sign
  16. People who have low vision, or no vision at all, can now navigate their environments more independently because of Braille markings on doors and elevators.
  17. Even web sites are becoming easier to use thanks to provisions in the ADA.
  18. People with disabilities who have experienced discrimination in violation of the ADA can now go to court to have the discrimination or lack of access corrected.
  19. In public places, store shelves, water fountains, towel dispensers, displays, and even buffets are now better labeled, designed and positioned to allow people who have disabilities to access them.

    Drawing of accessible store aisle and display
    Accessible Store Aisle and Display
  20. Store aisles are now much wider to allow two wheelchair users to pass each other comfortably.
  21. People with disabilities who use adaptive devices can now take their technology that is specifically designed to assist with their disabilities anywhere the public is allowed, such as taking a white cane through airport security.
  22. The ADA has given rise to a concept called “universal design,” which entails designing buildings, environments, and even objects so that everyone can use them, regardless of their functional or access needs.
  23. The ADA has raised much awareness about disabilities and how people who have them live, work, travel, transact, and communicate.definition of advocacy

Of course the ADA has far more than 23 benefits. With that in mind, we look ahead to the upcoming Silver Anniversary in 2015—the ADA Legacy Project! For more information and to participate, please visit: http://www.facebook.com/ADALegacy.

504s and IEPs: The “Alphabet Soup” of Advocacy for Students with Disabilities

Your Special Education Rights is an online advocacy resource for parents of children who have disabilities and need customized support at school. The site is hosted by special education advocate Julie Swanson and attorney Jennifer Laviano, who explain complex legal and educational issues in plain English from a parent-to-parent point of view. The site features forums, videos, and a blog.

In one recent informative video, Jen and Julie, as they refer to themselves on-site, explain the differences between an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and a 504 Plan. Depending on needs, a student may have one, the other, or both.

According to Julie and Jen, 504 plans are for children who need only supporting accommodations at school, such as sitting up front or having use of an elevator, but do not need any modifications to the way instruction is delivered. Children who need adaptive instruction methods get IEPs.

Click here to watch this video, and be sure to explore the site for more information.

 

 

June is Child Vision Awareness Month

Each June,  the Pharmacy Council on Child Vision Care reminds youngsters and their parents about the importance of caring for their eyes. The mission of Child Vision Awareness Month has three parts:

  1. To better educate and counsel the public on children’s vision problems and detection of eye diseases in children and infants,
  2. To increase the number of school-aged children who have an eye exam by an eye doctor, and
  3. To increase the number of children with learning disabilities who have a developmental vision exam to rule out vision problems.

boy getting vision exam

The Hadley School for the Blind is acknowledging this month by highlighting four of its family education classes, including:

  1. Low Vision and School-Age Children
  2. Braille Teaching Methods for Children
  3. How to Be Your Child’s Advocate
  4. Parenting Children with Multiple Disabilities

BVCIL is acknowledging this month with media posts and an interactive display about how children, youth, and their parents can succeed in education and life with a vision impairment.

For additional information about this initiative, please contact Pharmacists Planning Service, Inc. (PPSI), c/o Pharmacy Council on Child Vision Care, 101 Lucas Valley Road, Suite 382, San Rafael, CA 94903.

Disasters and Disability: Be Prepared

Emergencies like natural disasters are bad for everyone who is affected, but for people who have disabilities, they can be even harder to navigate, survive, and recover. But, people who have disabilities can take special steps to help themselves be prepared.

Prepare for Emergencies Now: Information for People with Disabilities is a special new publication by The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It discussed important preparedness topics including building an emergency kit, making arrangements with others ahead of time, and developing a plan for communicating with first responders and disaster relief workers.

To access this guide, just click the titled link above or visit FEMA’s web site directly at http://www.ready.gov/individuals-access-functional-needs. People who need the guide in an alternative format can call FEMA at 1-800-480-2520 or email them at fema-publications-warehouse@fema.gov.

New Advocacy Video Addresses Restraint and Seclusion of Students with Disabilities in Public Schools

Check out this new advocacy video by Dan Habib. “Restraint and Seclusion” is about the effects of those practices on students who have disabilities and attend public schools. Visit Stop Hurting Kids to view the video and read more about this controversial issue.