Jim from Maine

How has the ADA impacted your life regarding travel/mobility, education, employment, or any other aspect?

The most positive impact the ADA has had for me is physical access to the built environment; buildings, transportation, etc.

Can you share a “before and after” experience; e.g., before the ADA I couldn’t do X or was denied access to Y, and thanks to the ADA I can do Z.

It is now easier to operate an eleator than priorto the ADA.

What advances in disability rights would you like to see in the next 30 years?

The ADA requires that people with disabilities also be the front-line enforcement for the ADA. the single most significant effect of this is that businesses don’t always welcome people with disabilities the same way they would otherwise. This must change. There is a wild west environment around service animals because the ADA has no meaningful criteria for service animals or who has the right to use one. This has had a very negative impact on legitimate service animals and their handlers. this must change. The ADA, along with a less than effective rehabilitation system, has made hiring a person with a disability onerous. It is especially a burden for small business. This must change. ‘Overall, the ADA has had some modestly positive impact for people with disabilities and, at the same time, it falls far short of creating the equality most don-disabled people assume is now common. I am not sure that thirty years should mark a celebration as much as it should inspire an examination.