The ADA Turns 34: We Have Reason to Celebrate But the Work Must Continue

The ADA turns 34 this year and while I was only four when it was passed, I can remember that day like it was yesterday.

For the younger generations that think today's world is inaccessible, which to a large extent it is, it was even more so before the ADA. For example, the plethora of handicapped parking spaces we see now were not required prior to 1990. Many disabled people were not just treated as second-class citizens back then-- they were treated even worse, like something you hide away or find on the bottom of your shoe after stepping in sludge.

Luckily, I was blessed enough to have advocates surrounding me and witness the passage of the ADA so that I was not subjected to being sludge for very long. Instead, I have worked my entire life to elevate the status of people with disabilities, not only in American society, but in the world in general.

A great deal has changed in thirty-four years since the passage of the ADA, but we have much more to do. I am committing myself to carry on the work of the advocates who came before me in hopes that by the time we celebrate the 35th or 40th anniversary of the ADA, there will be a significant movement in the direction of disabled people no longer feeling like second-class citizens.

I plan do my part towards this endeavor by writing more in "The Voiceless Minority," a blog I started several years ago. I also intend to take advantage of as many training opportunities as possible to increase my self-advocacy skills, as well as share my knowledge as a trainer for FL SAND's Breaking Barriers Training Academy. However, my main focus will be completing a book that shares my life story and details other ways that people with disabilities can find a place in society and feel equal to their peers.

It is my hope that my work, along with those who join in the fight with me, will allow future generations to not only celebrate being disabled, but will also allow us to feel no different than our able-bodied counterparts.