Disability the Americans With Disabilities

Disability

The Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law on July 26, 1990, is a wide-ranging legislation that is intended to make American Society more accessible to people with disabilities.(ADA pp). The Act is divided into five titles: Title I is Employment, Title II is Public Services, Title III is Public Accommodations, Title IV is Telecommunications, and Title V is Miscellaneous (ADA pp).

Title I states that a business must provide reasonable accommodations to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in all aspects of employment, and may include restructuring jobs, changing the layout of workstations, or modifying equipment (ADA pp). Other aspects may include the application process, hiring, wages, benefits, and all other aspects of employment, as well as highly regulated medical examinations (ADA pp). Employers cannot ask job applicants about the existence, nature or severity of a disability, however applicants may be asked about their ability to perform specific job functions (Facts pp). A job offer may be conditioned on the results of a medical examination, yet only if the examination is required for all entering employees in similar jobs (Facts pp). Medical examinations of employees must be related to the job and consistent with the employer's business needs (Facts pp). Under Title II, public services, including state and local government instrumentalities, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, and other commuter authorities, cannot deny services to individuals with disabilities participation in programs or activities that are available to those without disabilities, and public transportation systems, such as public transit buses, must by accessible to individuals with disabilities (ADA pp). Title III states that all new construction and modifications must be accessible to individuals with disabilities, and barriers to services must be removed if readily achievable for existing facilities (ADA pp). Public accommodations include facilities such as restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, retail stores, as well as privately owned transportation systems (ADA pp). Under Title IV, telecommunications companies offering telephone service to the general public must have telephone relay service to individuals use devices for the deaf, TTYs, or similar devices (ADA pp). Title V includes a provision that prohibits either coercing or threatening, or retaliating against the disabled or those attempting to aid a disabled person in asserting their rights under the ADA (ADA pp).

The ADA applies primarily, yet not exclusively, to disabled individuals, who meet at least any one of the following tests:

He or she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his/her major life activities;

2. He or she has a record of such an impairment; or 3. He or she is regarded as having such an impairment

ADA pp).

Others who are protected in certain circumstances include, "1) those, such as parents, who have an association with an individual known to have a disability, and 2) those who are coerced or subjected to retaliation for assisting people with disabilities in asserting their rights under the ADA' (ADA pp). The employment provisions set out in the ADA apply to employers of fifteen employees or more, however its public accommodations provisions apply to all sizes of business, regardless of number of employees, and state and local governments are covered regardless of size (ADA pp).

The disability rights movement actually began during the early 1800's, with the founding of the first school for disabled children in the Western Hemisphere, the American School for the Deaf in 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut, followed by the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston in 1982 (Chronology pp). Throughout the last two centuries there have been numerous schools and foundations established for the disabled, as well as numerous Acts enacted, such as the Smith-Sear Veterans Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1918, which established a federal vocational rehabilitation for disabled soldiers (Chronology pp).

Encouraged by the African-American civil rights and women's rights movements that began in the late 1960's, the modern disability rights movement began in the 1970's, with aims to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities (Disability pp). The primary issues that this movement works towards reforming are accessibility and safety concerns (Disability pp). These issues include access to public areas such as city streets and public buildings and restrooms, wheelchair ramps, curb cuts, transit lifts, and the installation of elevators (Disability pp). Other issues of improvement include access to education and employment, such as adaptive technologies that enable those with disabilities to work jobs that they could not have previously, creating access to jobs and economic independence, as well as access to classrooms which has helped to improve education opportunities and independence to people with disabilities (Disability pp). A major goal of this movement is to help individuals with disabilities to lead an independent life and become active participants in mainstream society (Disability pp).

The statue of President Delano Roosevelt at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial has been a source of controversy since its opening, because, although seated in a chair, he is draped with a cape, which many believe purposely hides the historical truth that Roosevelt was physically disabled (Franklin pp). He had contracted polio in on August 09, 1921 while swimming on Campobello Island, off New Brunswick, Canada, where the family had a summer home (Franklin pp). By August 12, the pain in his legs was extreme, and he further experience partial paralysis in his back, arms, and hands (Franklin pp). In spite of this disability and the time devoted to recuperation, Roosevelt did not retreat from public life, and through the years, he always remained hopeful that the paralysis would be cured, however, he never walked unaided again, and spent his waking and working hours confined to a wheelchair or utilizing extremely heavy leg braces (Franklin pp). It was through his efforts that Jonas Salk became instrumental in developing a vaccine that would eliminate poliomyelitis (Franklin pp).

The Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon is a weekend telethon devoted to raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Jerry pp). The first broadcast occurred over Labor Day weekend in 1966 by one television station in New York City and raised more than $1 million in pledges (Jerry pp). Thirty-nine years later, the program was broadcast by some two hundred MDA "Love Network" stations, and assisted by roughly a million volunteers across the country (Jerry pp). In 1998, the Telethon became the first telethon to be seen around the world via Internet simulcast, hosted by RealNetworks on MDA's Web site (Jerry pp). The telethon raised more than $60.5 million in 2004 (Jerry pp).