Final Project
The paper entails an extensive interview of someone who has a disability, their experiences in life, and the impact of the implementation of disability rights and legislation to make their lives easier in workplaces and schools, among others. Mr. Paul Williams, the interviewee, works at Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC). He has witnessed the changes in the regulations to improve the welfare of people with various forms of disability. He has been crippled from a young age due to a car accident he had while from school as a child. He has used a wheelchair since the time to aid his movement as a student from elementary school to the University right to his current place of work at MNCPPC). He is in his mid-sixties and has seen the change in the regulatory regime from the time when there were virtually no laws to the current time where vital pieces of legislation such as American Disability Act (ADA), ADAA, Universal Design and Inclusive Education among others.
Paul Williams concurs that pro-disability legislations have significantly made life easier for him and other persons suffering from various forms of disabilities. He opines that there are considerably fewer cases of discrimination in jobs, transportation, schools, and the general public(Shapiro, 1994). According to him, ADAA, which came in as an amendment to ADA, even helped to ensure that more people who identify themselves as disabled are protected.
According to Mr. Paul, ‘if you presented yourself for an interview as a disabled person competing against people without disabilities, it would be a real miracle if you got the job. Even if you performed better, the disability was a serious disqualifying factor.’ He believes that the employer would consider the cost of accommodating a disabled employee, such as redesigning the workplace and decide against it. He remembers trying to get work with various agencies unsuccessfully and believes that his disability played a role in him being denied. However, ADAA demands that the employers must make the necessary adjustments to accommodate the disabled; these adjustments include changes to the physical environment to assist them and even on the job itself to enable them to handle the tasks. The recommendations are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other organizations (Linton, 2006).Final Project
Additionally, the disabled who feel wrongly handled can make reports to the organization, which then investigates and take the necessary actions. Further, those with disabilities feel safer and more protected because the law requires that their employers handle direct threats to their welfare. Unlike in the past, those that get employed are better accommodated. He gives an example where his former employer had to establish walkways to accommodate him in the organization. Previously, it was considered a privilege to hire a disabled person and to demand a better environment would be regarded as ungrateful by many employers who could quickly terminate such a worker.
The changes in disability rights have ensured that discrimination in the provision of state and local government services is not perpetuated(Linton, 2006). According to this law, they are to create a situation where people with disabilities can benefit from their services such as education, recreation, social services, and healthcare, among others. These include altering the architectural design of buildings and even relocating their facilities to access places. Modifications are required unless they can demonstrate that these fundamentally change the nature of their services or that they would incur substantial financial and administrative burden(Swift, Way, & Wayland, 1994). Where the disabled person encounters discrimination in the state and local services, they are encouraged to make reports to the US Department of Justice, which can act to correct it or prefer a lawsuit. The affected person can also prefer a private lawsuit against the responsible organization. Mr. Paul Williams remembers the many times he went to the local government offices and had to rely on friends and relatives to carry him to higher floors because the building lacked elevators or spaces in which he could use the wheelchair.
The change in disability regulations has also recommended favoring the disabled in public transportation. They have required increased accessibility for transportation services such as city busesand subways, among others(Shapiro, 1994). Those with a disability that feel discriminated against can report these incidents to the Federal Transit Administration to carry out investigations and the necessary steps. Before these regulations, Paul Williams says that the means of movement was every person’s problem. ‘If your family could not afford a private car for you, then you had to rely on the mercy of the public. We needed people to be patient and wait for us to get into the buses, alight, and I was severally mistreated.’ He says that having learned the hard way, he always tried to have a close friend who could push his manual wheelchair and help him to get into buses, among others. ‘He was just a good friend, and I did not have to pay him because I could not afford it,’ he says. He says that innovations that enable the disabled to move without requiring the assistance and mercy of others are progressive and liberating.
The use of telecommunication platforms has also been significantly improved with the emphasis on non-discrimination of the disabled. The telecommunication companies are required by law to put in place systems whereby those with hearing and speech disabilities can communicate without difficulties—those that experience these problems can make formal complaints to the Department of Justice. According to Mr. Paul Williams, those that had these kinds of disabilities had to rely on friends and relative to enable their communication. Telecommunication companies were more concerned with their profit-making goals and not the advancement of human rights. He avers that these companies previously considered these unnecessary costs; however, these days, they believe these as socially responsible actions and use them for marketing their services.
Mr. Paul William argues that one of the most critical areas in which disability rights have been most impactful has been in the field of education, especially through the Universal Design Learning (UDL). It has ensured that those with different learning abilities still get the maximum benefit according to their learning ability. The fundamental focus of UDL is the right of all students to access quality education regardless of disability or any discrimination(Katz, 2013). The system has ensured that the students with various forms of disability are considered by making the information available to the students in multiple forms. These include visual, audio, and hands-on learning, depending on the various strengths of the learner. The necessary financial resources are in place by the government to ensure that learners with various forms of disabilities are considered. For example, those with visual impairment are not forced to use the ordinary textbooks which they cannot effectively use. According to Paul, many brilliant students in his days could not perform well in schools because the educational materials did not consider their strengths. He believes that currently, many disabled students are getting the opportunity to study with ease and realize their full potential.
UDL also gives the learners different means to act and express the things they have learned in school. For example, they may choose to use the pen or even oral presentation and in groups depending on the learning preferences of the learner(Katz, 2013). Obviously, this helped all manner of learners to feel part and parcel of the class. Those with learning, hearing, and other forms of disabilities can learn and optimize their innate abilities. According to Paul, education is a great equalizer of people regardless of racial, social, or ethnic backgrounds.
According to him, these changes significantly made his life easier both as a student and an employee. He credits these initiatives as enabling him to get the far he has managed in life despite being crippled and the numerous challenges he faced as a student and employee of various institutions. For example, ADA, which was enacted in 1990, shielded him from various forms of discrimination from employers who preferred to have people without mobility problems. Progressively, the design of buildings in the workplace and washrooms were customized in line with the regulations to make his life and that of others bearable while at work. He appreciates the significant changes that had happened to make the life of younger people with disabilities easier compared to his own when he was young. As a person with a disability and who suffered immensely before the environment became friendly to learners with a disability, he has been particularly active in encouraging learners with a disability to take advantage of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) which improves access to education and reduces barriers to instruction to his kind of people. As a learner, he went through depression from being able to walk regularly to suddenly being incapacitated. He also faced ridicule from young people back in the days. These problems are currently addressed by ADAA, which makes the life of current learners and employees more bearable.
References
Katz, J. (2013). The Three Block Model of Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Engaging students in inclusive education. Canadian Journal of Education, 36(1).
Linton, S. (2006). My Body Politic. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Shapiro, J. (1994). No Pity. New York, New York: Random House.
Swift, C. O., Way, J. P., & Wayland, R. (1994). The Americans with Disabilities Act 1990. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing.