Americans with Disabilities Act Anniversary Recognized by Reading’s Abilities in Motion
July 26, 2010 marked the 20th Anniversary of The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was created to protect the rights of individuals with special needs as well as provide them with more opportunity. The ADA bans discrimination in employment, public accommodations, State and local government, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. The United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is responsible for managing the ADA to ensure that proper regulations are in place, enforced, and revised accordingly.
WFMZ reports that Reading’s resource center for people with disabilities, Abilities in Motion, recently recognized the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. As an organization in Reading, Pennsylvania that helps those who are disabled learn ways to be more independent and maintain their well-being, Abilities in Motion members consider an advancement in technology, community efforts, and home based services as key factors in giving people with disabilities more freedom and capability. One woman at the gathering in Reading mentioned that she has developed ways to cope with Cerebral Palsy throughout her entire life. She attributes her ability to access places she never would have been able to go before, such as office buildings, homes, and restaurants, due to her wheelchair, to the signing of the ADA.
Abilities in Motion’s message is that the equality and the prospects for individuals with or without disabilities should not be different or separate. The Department of Justice is proposing technology-based alterations to the ADA to make the Internet and movie theatres available for use by those who are hearing and/or visually impaired.
Acknowledging the anniversary of the ADA not only serves as a reminder that more needs to be done in order to provide those with disabilities the opportunity, protection, and services they need, but also sends a message to the public not to take anything in life for granted. Those with disabilities often have significant difficulty with simple everyday tasks that a person without a disability may disregard or even consider as a burden.
Monheit is the managing lawyer at Monheit Law, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has practiced law since 1989. Michael Monheit was the managing attorney of the law offices of Herbert Monheit — now Silverman and Fodera — a firm founded by... Michael Monheit→
