ADA Law

What has since become a familiar term and a widely understood concept among persons with disabilities, this simple phrase seems to have escaped the conscience of the general public. This concept, simply stated, asks that whenever we consider people at all, we should think to include people with disabilities!

The enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 18 years ago signaled a transformation in our Nation's public policies toward people with disabilities. America is now a dramatically different -- and better -- country because of the ADA, although our efforts are far from complete.

Over the years, many have worked hard to eliminate harmful stereotypes and have grown to understand disability as a natural part of life itself. American's are taking steps, such as renovating and constructing public accommodations to make them fully accessible, to ensure that people with disabilities are fully integrated into our communities and workplaces. And we have come to appreciate that people with disabilities are a key element -- and an untapped resource -- in sustaining our Nation's economic growth.

We still have much to accomplish. Because the many barriers confronting people with disabilities took generations to develop, breaking them down requires a consistent, coordinated, and farsighted effort. The spirit behind the ADA can only be realized over time by people working together; joining forces to make our community's resources, information services, community events, and job opportunities as accessible to individuals with disabilities, and older Americans, as they are to everyone else.

Today, nearly one in five Americans has a disability. This means that disability touches all of our lives in some fashion. The ADA was intended to change our society so that having a disability would no longer limit individuals from achieving their full potential as individuals, community members, and citizens.