Commentary
A word of thanks for the Americans with Disabilities Act
by Haddayr Copley-Woods
As the physically disabled parent of a developmentally disabled child, I am deeply grateful today.
Things used to be different for people like us: such as for Barb, a girl I knew growing up. She was bright, ambitious and she also had a form of autism. Her parents had to fight to keep her in regular education classes -- sometimes unsuccessfully. After the senior class elected her president, the faculty advisor resigned. The advisor said she wouldn't work with a girl she called a "retard." For Barb, the emotional and educational impact was devastating.
And in the '70s and '80s, all of this was perfectly legal.
Today, my autistic son has enthusiastic, educated teachers. He has mandated supports in his regular-ed classroom. He feels valued at school. No one has ever called him a "retard."
All this because of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA outlawed discrimination against disabled people in employment, transportation, and education. It mandated reasonable accommodations.
And in 20 years, it has made a tremendous difference. We now have ramps, elevators, education plans, and wheel-chair-accessible crosswalks. Restaurants can't ban our assistance dogs.
While the impact of the ADA has been profound, there is still a lot to do. Employers are still reluctant to hire disabled people. Studies have found disabled adults are two to three times more likely to live in poverty than adults without disabilities. And we're still fighting for the Community Choice Act, which would help keep disabled people from being institutionalized.
But I have faith we'll win those battles. Here's why: the ADA didn't give disabled people equal rights under the law. Disabled people took those rights. And gimps are hardcore.
I get choked up every time I roll my wheelchair onto a bus lift. I think about the protests in the '80s. People blocking the road: Glorious, bold, furious people with palsy, paralysis, atrophied muscles, missing limbs. I think about them throwing themselves out of their wheelchairs onto hard, filthy city streets to block traffic. Shouting. Chanting. And yes, by golly, drooling, shrieking, and groaning as they were arrested.
It is thanks to those protestors in Denver and Cleveland, to sit-ins in Washington and San Francisco -- thanks to decades of tireless activism in L.A., Chicago, and Boston -- that we now have the ADA.
So, while we still have work to do, today I just want to say thanks to you wonderful, loud, fierce cripples. Thank you for your anger. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for what you've done for me and for my son. For all of us.
And if anyone sees me blinking hard on the bus lift some morning, don't mistake my tears for pain: I cry because I'm so grateful and proud to be in such brilliant company.
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Haddayr Copley-Woods, Minneapolis, Minneapolis, is a copywriter, blogger and mother.
Comments (7)
BRAVO! This is one of the most brilliantly written articles/editorials on disability I have ever read. As a disabled person working in corporate America, I have come across many tribulations in my 33 years. It's good to know that there are people out there still willing to fight for the rights that others take for granted. I am also so glad to see that someone else out there is not afraid to use the words "gimp" and "cripple" in the ways that you have here. Remember all: THEY'RE JUST WORDS!!! Power to the Cripples!!
I remember those rallies -- well, some of them -- that got Section 504 passed, in 1973 (the precursor to ADA, for all Federally-funded institutions). They were fun.
And yes, I get a bit teary-eyed, remembering. Great work! All of us!
A really lovely reminder of how far we've come, and of how far we still have to go. Thank you.
You are in brilliant company! A cheer for your excellent editorial, from the granddaughter of a paraplegic, from polio. We didn't have curb cuts, ramps, or accessible restaurants or public spaces or transportation. While his "disability" didn't slow him much, my grandfather's life would have been much easier today! We all need to keep fighting for the gimps, not just because any one of us could lose physical mobility tomorrow.
I am grateful for those with the spunk and passion of Haddayr, and to all who fought for the ADA!
Although I feel the same gratitude towards those who went before in fighting for the ADA, I believe that our children with special needs do not benefit greatly from that law.
My husband has an advanced case of m.s. and I couldn't agree more about what the ADA has done to improve access in his life, on so many levels.
We also have an adult son with ASD, who benefited from special programs in our schools before the economy took a dive, but not because of the ADA. He flourished because the spirit and intent of IDEA was put into action. And we must never forget that the human beings working in the public school systems make the difference for our kids, as well.
As a professional working with parents of children w/ special needs, I see too many students with developmental disabilities who are not afforded rights in the public school setting. I do not believe that the ADA provides protection of their rights. As budgets get tighter, special ed allocations are the first to go. There seems to be a greater trend towards creating segregated classrooms to "save money". Children are being bussed miles away from their own neighborhoods in cost saving efforts. There are fewer instructional assistants available to provide support. The way policies are put into action seem to ignore the potential contributions that our children in special ed can provide as future citizens. I remain disheartened by the trends that I witness. www.disabilityinthefamily.com
Outstanding, the listening was required for a Psychology class, Hearing the authors words made all the difference in the article. I totally understand an acknowledge the heroes that paid with their time to better others circumstances. I hate that when on various times I have applied to work at the "Good Will", in Decorah Iowa facility it always afterward causes me to smile when I limp out of the store I spend many a dollar at and the fact that I have never seen another lame person in there at the time, where I stand filling out an application. Thanks it was tearfully delightful.
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