I.    Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Twenty years ago this past spring, a group of ADAPT activists demonstrated the need for the passage of the ADA by abandoning their wheelchairs at the foot of the United States Capitol and crawling up the steps that, at the time, afforded the only means of access to the legislative branch of the U.S. government. This action, which is now an iconic part of U.S. civil rights history, was just one of a series of protests the group organized that week in D.C.  As with previous civil rights movements, protesters were arrested for acts of civil disobedience; unlike scenes typical to earlier movements, however, the authorities had trouble carrying out their law enforcement obligations. At the time, few court houses, jail cells, or even elevators were accessible to law-breakers with disabilities.

Inside the Capitol, one lawmaker who championed the bill also found a creative--albeit legal--means to illustrate a similar point. During a critical hour, Senator Harkin (D-Iowa) stood up in the well of the Senate to testify on the need for the ADA. He did so eloquently and for more than ten minutes, and he did so entirely using manual signs (Sen. Harkin's brother is deaf). MRC Commissioner Charles Carr was in D.C. that week. Then a vice president of the National Council for Independent Living (NCIL), he oversaw NCIL's legislative committee, "When Tom Harkin testified you could hear a pin drop," Carr reminisced during an interview with MassMATCH News in June.  "And then he stopped and said, 'Now you know what it's like to not understand a single thing that's being discussed like a deaf person does when they don't have access to a sign language interpreter.' It was a stunning moment."

II.    Generation ADA

The ADA was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush on July 26th, 1990. The landmark civil rights act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications.  To some the law evokes little more than curb cuts, empty parking spaces, and cumbersome and costly law suits. To others, particularly those individuals with disabilities whose lives have spanned beyond the last quarter century, the ADA demarcates the start of a shift in consciousness for an entire nation. "Gone are the days of out of sight, out of mind" Carr and others have said.

The ADA brought us the term "reasonable accommodation," providing, for the first time, a standard of fairness for equal access to American society for people with disabilities. The ADA was not the first law of importance for disability rights in the United States, but for Americans with disabilities, it is comprehensive civil rights legislation analogous to what brought down Jim Crow laws, the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"When I was a kid coming up, I had no expectations that I could go to a restaurant and that it would be accessible, not at all," Carr reflects. "Go to see a movie, go anywhere! You never ever expected it. If you were smart you'd call first. And even if you called they'd say, Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, and of course it wasn't.  And there was a network and so you knew... Read the rest of The ADA Turns 20 at MassMATCH.org

According to attorney Tom Murphy of the Disability Law Center (DLC), the ADA has been used by the DLC to help people with disabilities go to work or remain employed using various types of technology and services, including screen reader computer software, phone amplification devices, modified workspaces, and tape recorders for trainings and meetings.

The DLC has also reached an agreement with several major local banks to install "talking ATMs" and has worked closely with large sports and entertainment facilities to ensure that individuals with sensory and physical disabilities have equal access to their programs and services.

Currently the DLC is engaged in a large project to promote full accessibility in hospitals and other health care settings to diagnostic and other medical equipment, exam spaces, and communication methods.

The Disability Law Center advocates on behalf of individuals with disabilities who need assistive technology through a federal grant made possible by the Protection and Advocacy for Assistive Technology (PAAT) Program. PAAT was first created by Congress in 1994.

Happy birthday ADA!  Congratulations for making American companies and the public conscious of the needs of AT users in the US. Thanks to the ADA, we are able to take our son, who uses a power wheelchair, with us on family outings to restaurants, shopping and other public venues with less worry about it being inaccessible to him. It's not perfect, but we are thankful to the ADA for helping to ensure that our world is more considerate of, and accessible to disabled and elderly individuals who rely on assistive technology. 

-The Sargent Family, Sudbury MA

The American Dental Association (ADA) has relinquished its title to the Americans with Disabilities Act...  20 years later we use our voice-activated systems to wish the ADA happy birthday with the additional wishes that this new civil rights act will someday grow the teeth of its predecessor.


-Joe Tringali

The ADA means that I can access my bank account whenever I want. Money may be the root of all evil, but it also makes the world go 'round. So, now when I need cash, I need not worry about getting to a branch of my bank before closing time or about sharing my PIN with some trustworthy looking stranger at the ATM. I can be assured that at least one ATM at any Bank of America branch has speech output: I need simply to plug in my ear-buds and listen to the spoken instructions. Similarly, I know that I can pay my bills online which increases my independence and decreases time and postage costs. So, I am grateful for the ADA each and every day.

-Cindy

Happy Birthday ADA -- 20 years of ever evolving technology -- Relay, CapTel, VP, VRS, captions, CART!   Looking forward to the next 20 years of emerging AT and universal communication access!

-Carol

 

 

GetATStuff--the New England "Craig's List" for AT--currently has hundreds of items available for sale or free throughout the six New England states.


As of this writing, GetATStuff highlights include:

19 Vision-related items

including a long-ring low vision timer for $5 in Acton, MA

4 Hearing-related items

13 Speech Communication-related items

a free Zam Communication Device in Boston, MA

7 Learning, Cognitive, Development related items

327 Mobility, Seating, and Positioning related items

including a free chair lift in Concord, MA

275 Daily Living related items

including a free hospital bed in Methuen, MA

48 Environmental Adaptation related items

52 Transportation and Vehicle Modification related items

5 Computer related items

11 Recreation, Sports, and Leisure related items

Go to www.getatstuff.org to search items by category or geography or to list what you need. Go to the MassMATCH AT Swap and Shop web page to learn about additional AT reuse sites.