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Americans with Disabilities Act

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Narcy Rojas Americans with Disabilities Act Suffolk County Community College

Americans with Disabilities Act

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Abstract 

The Americans with Disabilities Act, also known as ADA was made a civil rights law in 1990. It was signed by George H.W. Bush and it stated that individuals with disabilities can have the same equal rights as everyone else. That includes when applying for a job, attending school, transportation and any other public or private place that is available to the general public. It’s purpose serves to give people with disabilities the same opportunities as everyone else, and it stops discrimination towards them in many ways that wasn’t established before. In this research paper, I will inform you of many facts and regulations stated in this act that are enforced and continued to expand, as well as improve. In this paper I will give a brief description of the statutes set by the Americans With Disabilities Act, pertaining to disabilities in the workplace. I will discuss what employers are required to do according to the ADA, and some of the regulations they must follow as well as what it was like for people with disabilities to obtain an education. During the period of research and writing the paper I obtained a better grasp on the ADA. I learned new information, that I wasn’t aware of, had it not been for the research I did on this topic.

Americans with Disabilities Act

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In the United States, there are over 43 million people living with some type of disability. Many people we walk past every day can have a disability, and we might not even notice. There’s so many people that are dealing with certain disabilities in which they are incapable of doing many things that everyone else is able to do but there is still many people out there with a disability that do have that capacity to achieve the same things as any other person that doesn’t have a disability, if not more. The Americans with Disabilities act was passed in 1990. It’s purpose is to ensure that anyone with disabilities can have the same rights and equal opportunities as everyone else in society. “Congress created the Americans with Disabilities Act to eliminate discrimination against citizens with disabilities. The act covered employment, housing, accommodation, voting, and more. The U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions that weakened employment provisions in the Act. Congress amended the Act to negate those decisions.” (Mitchell, 2017). In order for the Act to continue to work properly, the congress added some changes so that the act could function more efficiently for those that depended on it. The added changes to the prior Act became known as the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act or also known as ADAA. It was divided into five sections which are, Title I - Employment, Title II - Public Services, Title III - Public accommodation, Title IV - Telecommunications, and Title V - Miscellaneous Provisions. One of the main reasons that congress passed ADA in 1990 was because “Government data showed that people with disabilities were relegated to an inferior status in society, and as a result, suffered disadvantages socially, vocationally, economically, and educationally.” (Mitchell, 2017). People with disabilities were seen as useless, dependent, and excluded from society. Therefore, congress felt that that by passing this legislation, it would “ensure that persons with disabilities were given

Americans with Disabilities Act

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equality of opportunity, and allowed to participate fully in the American society as independent, economically self-sufficient individuals.” (Mitchell, 2017). It’s sad because people with disabilities were looked to as a minority group. Even so, not all individuals with disabilities are protected by the ADA. To be protected, individuals with disabilities must show that they are otherwise qualified. They have to prove that they can perform the essential functions with or without reasonable modifications. “The ADA defines “disability’ as follows: A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such impairment. (Mitchell, 2017). So in other words, to be protected under this law, an individual must have a physical or mental disadvantage that can affect one or more major life activities. In the amended act, the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) there was “significant changes to the definition of “disability.” The changes in the definition in the ADAAA apply to all titles of the ADA.” (What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?, 2017). Changes were made because there was many problems caused because of the misinterpretation of what a disability really was. Many people with disabilities are seen different to other people because they might use a wheelchair, may have uncontrollable seizures or have trouble communicating or understanding. There are many different disabilities that can alters someone's perception of another human being. These differences can cause a range of emotions from others, like misunderstanding and judgement. Many people don't fully understand what it’s like to have a disability or know someone dealing with one. Knowing someone or having someone in your family, really changes your image of others with disabilities and gives you a better sense of understanding them in any way possible. I know, from personal experiences in my life. Likewise,

Americans with Disabilities Act

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I have an aunt with Down syndrome and I’ve learned much of how I act with others because of her. She taught me to love, understand and to never judge. It’s hard to believe that many aren't even protected by ADA. For example, individuals in other countries that aren't given the same services that the United States has established for the equality of all. It's needless to say that certain regulations and restrictions should be put in place everywhere in the world to protect those with disabilities. Each title in the act in this law stands for different sections involved in society. “Title I (Employment) stands for Equal Employment Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities, Title II (State and Local Government) stands for Nondiscrimination of the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services, Title III (Public Accommodations) stands for Nondiscrimination of the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities, Title IV (Telecommunications) provides a nationwide system of interstate and intrastate telecommunications relay services that allows individuals with hearing and speech disabilities to communicate over the telephone. Title V (Miscellaneous Provisions) contains a variety of provisions relating to ADA as a whole. It also provides a list of certain conditions that are not to be considered as disabilities.” (What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?, 2017). Each title provides different benefits for each individual that has a disability, it gives them a chance to succeed as they attain and reach for the same goals as we do in society, when they are given the same opportunities as the rest of population. This law states, “No covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual on the basis of disability in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.” (Victor, Thacker, Gary, Pawluk & Copolillo, 2017). That points out that all people, regardless of their

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disability should be given the same chance when it comes to employment and other activities they would like to take part in. “Treatment and hiring decisions by an employer should be based on an individual’s merit instead of the existence or consequence of a visual disability or impairment.” (Victor, Thacker, Gary, Pawluk & Copolillo, 2017). Instead of judging a potential employee based on their disability, an employer should make their decision by seeing the other qualities they possess instead of what their disability may be. Some of the most common impairments are visual impairment, hearing impairment, learning disability, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis. “Visual impairment is defined as blindness is visual acuity of not better than 20/200 in the best eye with correction. Visual impairment is a condition covering varying degrees of visual loss. May include blindness in one or both eyes. Hearing impairment is defined as deafness or hearing impairment. Deafness is the inability to hear and understand normal conversational speech through the unaided ear alone (usually a loss of 90 decibels or greater). Hard of hearing is characterized by a hearing loss of 27 to 70 or so decibels and the ability to communicate by ear, with or without a hearing aid. Learning disabilities covers a wide variety of neurological problems that have an impact on how a person organized the visual, auditory, or other sensory information she/he from the environment. Includes dyslexia and aphasia. Epilepsy is a neurological condition characterized by recurring seizures caused by brief, temporary changes in the brain’s electrical system. Seizures can range from temporary, brief blank staring and jerky movements to convulsions and unconsciousness, and lastly, multiple sclerosis is described as a disease of the central nervous system that can be progressive and can cause symptoms such as loss of motor coordination, and speech and vision impairments.” (McMahon & McMahon, 2016). Those are some of the most common disabilities that people are dealing

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with in their everyday lives but there is thousands of known disabilities that affect individuals all over the world, not just in the United States. Throughout the educational system it was very difficult for those with disabilities to advance, because back in time, they weren’t as important enough. They were more considered more of a distraction and they were a minoritized group for decades. Education has been a great hardship for many dealing with a disability. According to my textbook, many people are thought to be exceptional learners, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “Typically, learners with exceptionalities are categorized as students with learning disabilities, developmental disabilities/intellectual disabilities, emotional disturbances or behavioral disorders, hearing impairments, visual impairments, speech and communication disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, traumatic brain injury, orthopedic impairments, other health impairments, and lastly, severe and multiple disabilities.” (Sadker & Zittleman, 2016). As a teacher, you will experiencing at least one of the disorders listed above amongst your students, and it won’t always be easy, it’ll be very difficult to say the least but it’s a part of teaching, and learning how to teach every child in the best way that they learn. The textbook also states that, “In the early 1800’s, attempts were made to educate the “idiotic” and the “insane” children who today would be identified as having developmental disabilities or an emotional disturbance.” (Sadker & Zittleman, 2016). It’s so devastating that back in history, an educational system wasn’t available to those that had disabilities. Another statement that drew my attention was that, “For many years, the legal system mirrored society’s judgement that the best policy toward those with disabilities was “out of sight, out of mind.” The courts typically saw education as a privilege rather than a right, and they ruled that children with disabilities should be excluded from schools. The notion was that the majority of children needed

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to be protected from those with disabilities: from disruptions they might precipitate, from excessive demands they might make, and from the discomfort their presence in classrooms might cause.” (Sadker & Zittleman, 2017). How can people be so cruel? It’s horrible to think all of these things to be true, and that it was once implemented throughout schools. This is how our society was back in history. I feel that this misjudgement went on way too long. It was most definitely waited out for awhile, until a stop was finally put in place to all this mistreatment of individuals with disabilities. It’s sickening to me that the court never listened to the cries of those parents, and people with loved ones that made efforts to try to change the hardships many faced during that time, and also trying make a change to better the lives of those with any type of disabilities. “Today, more than 6 million students (13 percent of the total school population) are special needs. Learning disabilities constitutes the largest group of special needs students. Students with learning disabilities have difficulties with listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical skills.” (Sadker & Zittleman, 2016). That statistic is prevalent for those that teach and will soon become teachers in the future. Those are children you will being teaching, and as the teacher, accommodations to those that have a disability should be organized to ensure that those students will learn in the classroom, be a part of the class. There are other statistical insight regarding the types of disabilities one will come to cope with as a teacher. In a school, there is about “Thirty-seven percent of students with specific learning disabilities, twenty-two percent with speech or language impairments, seven percent with an intellectual disability, six percent with an emotional disturbance, six percent experiencing a developmental delay, six percent with autism, two percent with multiple disabilities, one percent with hearing impairments, one percent having orthopedic impairments, and eleven percent experiencing other

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health impairments. (Sadker & Zittleman, 2016). Regardless of what they may have or be dealing with, they, too, should be able to obtain an education, just like everyone else. Within my research I was actually astonished with many of the findings that I read on. It’s good to be a part of a society and generation that no longer discriminates nor isolates and neglects those with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act stated that individuals with disabilities should have the same equal rights as everyone else. As for myself, I was born into a family that raised me to accept and I’m so thankful for that. I wouldn’t be half the person I am, if it wasn’t for that. To me, the  Americans With Disabilities Act not only opened the door for millions of Americans to get back into the workplace, it is paving the road for new facilities, new training programs and creating jobs designed for those that do have a disability. I believe the ADA is the most important model set in the struggle against all discrimination for people with a disability. Although there will always be some discrimination and prejudice against all groups in society, at least now, they have the opportunity to prove themselves in our society. In my future as a Special education teacher, it’s my job strive to be the best teacher that I can be in order to help those that have a disability so I can help them advance, achieve, and succeed throughout their lives.

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Reference Page

Victor, C. M., Thacker, L. R., Gary, K. W., Pawluk, D. V., & Copolillo, A. (2017). Workplace Discrimination and Visual Impairment: A Comparison of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Charges and Resolutions Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act. Journal Of Visual Impairment & Blindness , 111( 5), 475-482.

Mitchell, C. E. (2017). Assessing the Impact of the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008: An Analysis of Litigation Efforts under Title I of the Act. Employee Relations Law Journal, 43( 3), 36-55.

McMahon, M. C., & McMahon, B. T. (2016). The National EEOC ADA research project: History, available data, and basic findings. Journal Of Vocational Rehabilitation , 44( 3), 333-342. doi:10.3233/JVR-160803

Sadker, D. M., & Zittleman, K. R. (2016). Teachers, schools, and society: a brief introduction to education. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? (2017, December 06). Retrieved December 03, 2017, from https://adata.org/learn-about-ada ...