ADA to be 22 years old

To ADA Fans and Foes Everywhere,

 

For the disabled community as a whole, ADA has brought significant improvements.  Anyone can Google ADA and read all about it. 

As far as ADA's impact on the blind...yes, I said "the blind", it's debatable.  Has the percentage of employed blind gone up over the past 22 years?  That old number of 70% is still nipping at our heels.  Has the standard of living gone up?  Last time I checked the figures it appeared that a big bunch of us are at or below the poverty line.  What about those much needed home care services that are used by elderly blind folks in order for them to continue living in their homes?  After an initial surge to a point where home care was almost at a survival level, the dollars began going off to fight for Freedom, and blind elders once again sank into lonely, dangerous lives.  Dangerous because so many of them were forced to cut corners, skipping meals, failing to seek medical attention, and opening their doors to strangers who offered help as a way to gain access into homes and steal their meager belongings. 

As far as education, assuming there might be a job at the end, I see only improvement in the kinds of equipment students now have at their disposal.  And that is not to be lightly dismissed. 

My entrance into college as a blind man was in 1965. 

Services for the Blind equipped me with a Perkins Braille Writer, a 5 inch reel to reel tape recorder, and a portable type writer.  All of which I carried about with me, along with a white travel cane and, because this was Seattle, an umbrella.  I'm a big man and it was a struggle.  I have no idea how some of the slender, inactive blind students did it.  Most of my classes were cleverly situated so I had to run at neck breaking speed in order to get from one to the next. 

But we were given a study room in the library, with some equipment available, and we had the services of a VRC who came once or twice a week to provide guidance and to run interference if we had problems with some of the instructors or professors. 

But mostly he taught us self advocacy, which was a valuable skill to have.  All schooling, books and direct expenses were paid for by the state of Washington. 

We were the envy of other disability groups.  This was long before curb cuts and ramps and reasonable accommodations were put in place. 

No wonder at the White House Conference on Disabilities, the blind attendees were run down by angry chair users. 

 

Carl Jarvis