ELLIE'S BLOG on Living Well with Disability

This September very quietly a momentous event occurred in Washington . This event was both an anti-poverty and a civil rights protection for the disabled in our country. It insured that disabled people will be able to go out and work in an environment where they can contribute and succeed. What a wonderful thing that our returning wounded and disabled veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan will be coming home to a country that will be supportive of them!!

This Amendment to the American Disability Act of 1990 will enable our returning  wounded veterans with disabilities to be able to earn their living fairly and to participate in their community in the country that they fought for.

And what I think was so wonderful was that it was a unanimous vote in both houses of congress that passed the ADAA. On Sept 24,2008 President Bush was joined by his father Pres.Bush 41 and other's who had fought for this ADAA and the original ADA Bill. President Bush 41 was the President who signed the original ADA Bill in 1990.

 Unfortunately since the original ADA Law of 1990 the supreme court has exempted from the laws of anti-discrimination protections those with partial physical disabilities or those that can be treated with medication or devices such as hearing aids. This adversely effected people with epilepsy,diabetes,cancer,cerebral palsy,multiple sclerosis and other conditions. The supreme court argued in their rulings that they are not disabilities because they could be temporarily or improved with medication. These new amendments in the ADAA that are added to the original ADA will provide broad protections to more people with disabilities, overturning several Supreme Court decisions that narrowed the definition of disabled. Advocates of the legislation said the bill would confirm Congress's more sweeping intentions for the ADA.  

The original ADA act is widely regarded as one of the major features of civil rights legislation in the the 20th century. It ensured that people with disabilities had access to public buildings and accommodations thus giving them better access to the workforce. It also required hotels,offices,schools,parks and other public facilities to become accessible to people with disabilities. It seems hard to believe that not that long ago (pre 1990) people with disabilities were architecturally so disadvantaged and that we took so long to change it!!

These mandated 1990 changes by now are very familiar to all of us and largely go unnoticed: wider doorways, ramps next to stairs, handrails in showers and bathroom stalls to name a few. As as physical therapist and as a person with disabilities due to MS I can attest to the difficulty people with disabilities had pre ADA to be able to go out to work. Even to just go out into their community to have lunch or dinner out. Indeed this was a very basic Civic Rights issue!

The 1990 law recognized that in older buildings accessibility could not always be easily accommodated. Living here in Saratoga Springs with many older buildings I recognize firsthand the difficulty. But what's also interesting is that changes and modifications are still continuing to occur. I was talking to our Mayor the other day in Congress Park about curb cuts. I stated that I understood that legally except for Broadway and in front of public buildings it was not a legal case. And he remarked that as we are a walking city we should have curb cuts everywhere where it's appropriate. Thanks to curb cuts I can go with my family or friend downtown,to the library,to the farmer's market, to church in my electric wheelchair. We can walk we do not have to take the van with the lift.

  I do feel that the "able-bodied" awareness has been increased as they see more people out using canes,walkers scooters and wheelchairs now due to the ADA. And noticing the difficulties we can still experience feel that should be changed too.

If we were not "visible" before ADA how could people understand ??

If you visit or live in an older city with older buildings which are difficult for them to modify you can still be shut out of basic services or places you want to visit. Even many parts of the Capital itself still remain difficult for people with disabilities. And this is largely because the buildings historic designation makes it exempt from the laws strictest provisions. The architect of the capital, like the managers of other historic buildings has a great deal of flexibility in deciding which accommodations can reasonably be made for people with disabilities.

I remember listening to a speech at the ADA Convention on TV by Senator Dole (who was wounded in WWII). He talked about how proud he was of the consistency and the effort of so many to pass the A.D.A.in 1990 . He remarked that when he was elected to the Senate he started a fund to help the disabled make accommodations to give them more accessibility in their life . He was actually shocked at how poor the response was. In his speech he stated that the Senators and Representatives in Congress would give long speeches on the fate of the disabled but it never occurred to them that maybe they should make changes in the architecture of the buildings themselves so people with disabilities could visit the Capital like everyone else. Well changes are slowly being made.

An excellent example is Jim Langevin (D.R.I.) who is the only current member of the house who relies on a wheelchair all the time . He is a quadriplegic since a gun accident when he was sixteen.

He first went to Capitol Hill in 1984 (pre-ADA) as a young Senate Intern. At that time he found he could not get his chair through the doors of many of the meeting rooms or the capitol hill offices and it was a major challenge to find a restroom he could enter much less to take a shower in. But that did not deter him from returning to Congress in 2000 as a Representative from Rhode island. And he found that there has been change's after eighteen years!

  Since he took office he has watched the Capital's complex barriers come down one by one,sometimes at his urging.  He's found a sympathetic ear in Rep.Steny Hoyer (majority leader) who was an original sponsor of the ADA. And his colleagues have arranged to put ramps in his committee rooms, reconstruct the house so that he can more easily make a speech in the chamber and remove seats to make room for his wheelchair.

And now another long unattainable spot : The Speaker's Rostrum in the front of the house chamber. The house leadership announced they will reconstruct the built-in wooden chair on the podium and build a lift to provide accessibility for wheelchairs. Eighteen years after Congress passed the A.D.A. the move will allow for Rep.Langevin, the only permanently disabled member of the house, to preside over sessions for the first time. With the announcement the speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi said "our commitment to a barrier-free workplace sends an invaluable message to all Americans that the house will lead by example. "   For more information on the ADA and the amendment go to  www.ada.gov

For more information on Representative Langevin (And a little inspiration) go to http://www.jimlangevin.com/