It’s the 34th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Sam Kelly is an outpatient therapist and a psychiatric case manager at LVH–Muhlenberg. Kelly is grateful for and loves the opportunity to be involved in the diversity, equity, inclusion and advocacy conversation at LVHN.

On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law, both affirming and providing civil rights for those with disabilities. The signing of this act was a culmination of decades of advocacy and collaboration across many groups. Until that point, disability had been viewed as something of an accident of genetics or fate, and the exclusion of these populations wasn’t seen as discrimination or injustice. It was simply one’s lot in life. A child ambulating with crutches was welcome to attend school, but getting on and off the bus or into the actual building was a feat of its own. A person using a wheelchair might theoretically be welcome in the store to do their own shopping, but they were at the mercy of others to get the doors open.

Following the Independent Living Movement of the 1970s, the U.S. quickly realized that while we were theoretically open to welcoming those with disabilities to truly be part of our communities, our world was not actually very accessible to them. Those who ambulated with the assistance of a wheelchair often couldn’t enter a building, let alone a room, use a public bathroom or attend the theater. Individuals who were deaf or hard of hearing could watch the pretty pictures, but they couldn’t enjoy the dialogue of TV or movies. And even if persons with disabilities were able and willing to take public transportation, the buses and trains didn’t offer a way for them to physically get on board. How do you vote or serve for the great honor of jury duty if you can’t even get inside the building? Adopting many tactics from the Civil Rights Movement of the decades prior, disability advocates began challenging laws and engaging in demonstrations, such as the Capitol Crawl, to show how inaccessible our world was to them – and it worked.

Since July 26, 1990, we have wider doorways and bathroom stalls, Braille signage at colleges, notetakers, elevators, readily available closed captioning, ramps to enter buildings, curb cuts on street corners and U-shaped door handles. Things we now see as almost mundane were once such a luxury, a pleasant surprise, and to some they still are. Like going to a social event and finding they have something vegetarian on the menu! Theatergoers with wheelchairs or crutches are no longer blocking an aisle. There is a space for them to be and for others to walk past. You can wear cochlear implants and still practice as a doctor. You can have a seizure disorder and still be a priest. You can be visually impaired and still have a job.

The ADA opened doors both literal and figuratively, and we have been walking, wheeling, crawling and feeling our way through them ever since. We still have a lot to learn and a long way to go but I think we can all agree this was a big step forward for everyone.

 Inclusivity is inviting someone to a party. Accessibility is making sure they can enter the building.