Tag Archive for ADA

Trouble with the ADA

June 6, 2017 Comments Off on Trouble with the ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a bunch of hooey.  Disabled people are being too pampered.  They should learn to adjust.

This attitude does exist.  Many people believe that the ADA makes everything accessible by law.  However, restaurants are a good example of how the ADA is either being ignored, is minimally (therefore uselessly) adhered to, or simply doesn’t cover problems people with disabilities have in trying to live regular lives.

Consider reaching up to get food from a high counter, the attitudes of restaurant employees, space at tables to “park” a wheelchair or scooter, tight space to negotiate between tables, being ignored and disrespected. And don’t get me started on the supposed “accessible” bathrooms!

Eater has issued a report called “Restaurants Haven’t Lived Up to the Promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act.”  You might find it interesting, especially if you or a family member or friend has a disability.

 

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Police and Mental Illness

March 24, 2015 Comments Off on Police and Mental Illness

The Supreme Court should not have to deal with the Frances Sheehan case.  Recall that she’s the woman with schizophrenia shot by police in her room at her group home because she was threatening her social worker with a knife.   The suit before the court is based on the Americans with Disabilities act, saying that police must give “special accommodations” to people with disabilities.

I wasn’t there, so I won’t pass judgment on how the police handled the situation, or on the merits of the case.

What I will pass judgment on, though, is police training.  Apart from the medical profession, what group of people is most likely to have to deal with people with mental disabilities?  Obviously, the police.  In most police departments, officers are instructed to call in for a specially trained officer to diffuse such situations, which, of course, adds time to, therefore, potential escalation of, a dangerous situation.

My question is, if a small number of officers can be trained to work with the mentally ill, why isn’t such training required of all officers?  Wouldn’t that be safer for all concerned, decrease the number of deaths and injuries on both sides, and lessen the need for court cases?

Or am I being too logical?

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I Celebrate the ADA

July 22, 2013 Comments Off on I Celebrate the ADA

For those of us with disabilities, this is a week to celebrate.  It’s the 23rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  During those years we’ve seen businesses and offices look at us as customers who are important enough to them to make access into their buildings a reality for people needing mobility devices.  We’ve seen potential employers listen to our qualifications instead of dismissing us offhand because of what they assume we can’t do or because we don’t have a “look” that they’re comfortable with.  Those of us with hearing loss can enjoy a concert or stage play, and we can participate in civic meetings, all because we can ask to borrow one of the available hearing devices, and those who are blind can expect to find braille signs and dots on walkways to warn us that we’re close to a curb cut.  If we have a child with a learning disability or other special need, we can expect our education system not to just shuffle him off to an isolated program but help him become part of the school’s culture now so he can become a productive member of a society that values what he has to offer.

Yes, the ADA is truly something to celebrate!

 

 

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