by Kim Gatewood
Lots of laws affect people with disabilities and their families, and that is why we say, “all policy is disability policy.” However, there are a handful of laws that have made really big changes in daily life…laws that have helped me, and people with disabilities like me, live better lives and be healthier by staying active in our communities. The Americans with Disabilities Act is one of those. The Americans with Disabilities Act is also known as the ADA.
I want to say #ThanksToTheADA for making our communities more accessible – that means places you, I and our families go to are easy to go into, even if you have trouble with walking up or down stairs, if you use a walker or a wheelchair, or if you have other access needs. Why does this affect me? I have a serious kind of arthritis. Using ramps instead of stairs is a relief and means I can go further. Using handrails when they are available helps me keep my balance and avoid falls. Push button or automatic doors keep me from having to grasp handles that I may not be able to because my hands and grip are different due to my condition. All these things matter in my life, each day, and I think they may matter to you (or someone you love), too. Going from home to an office building, a library, a shopping center, or a school, you will need to go on sidewalks, go through doors, go down aisles or hallways, use restrooms, and all the usual things people do. Thanks to the ADA, for the past 35 years, our physical spaces have been more accessible to all. Happy 35th anniversary ADA!
My name is Kimberly Gatewood. I am a woman with disabilities and an advocate. That means I look for information and learn about things that are important in my community. That also means I speak up for myself and others when something is wrong or needs to be changed. I want to share with you what I have read and learned about the Americans with Disabilities Act, and also give you some links so you can learn more for yourself. Maybe you will want to join me in being an advocate. You can learn more about being an advocate here https://gcdd.arkansas.gov/resources/advocacy/
Why be an advocate? It is about being involved, or you may also hear the word “engaged”. Both these just mean working together to improve things like safety, access to services, and overall community well-being. And that brings me back to the ADA.
Did you know that a group of advocates talked about the problems people with disabilities were having, just trying to live in their communities, and then they wrote a report about it? Well, they did. That report went to Congress and the President. They were members of the National Council on Disability. I also call the National Council on Disability the NCD. The NCD members were (and are still) mostly people with disabilities or family members of people with disabilities. In 1986, they worked with an attorney and professional researcher to draft the report and then a bill to improve things for everyone. That bill eventually became the ADA. The final version of the bill was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush. That’s right, advocates with disabilities, along with community and government partners, created the ADA. This is an example of why it is important to be involved or engaged.
Following the signing of the ADA, celebrations were held in many communities across the country. Now, each year, July is a month-long celebration of the passing of the ADA and is also called Disability Pride Month. In the dictionary, ‘Pride’ is defined as “a reasonable or justifiable self-respect”. Disability pride will have different meanings for each of us. For many, it is a time to share the message that disability is a natural part of life, for some since birth, but for most, it is part of aging.
I have written a couple of blogs about Disability Pride already, and you can read them here:
What Are You Proud Of? (July 2023)
You can find more information about the Americans with Disabilities Act here: https://adata.org
You can find out more about the National Council on Disability here: https://www.ncd.gov
See the 1986 Report “Toward Independence” by the NCD https://www.ncd.gov/report/national-disability-policy-a-progress-report-february-1986/
