Phyllis from Missouri
By Benetech, posted on September 1, 2020How has the ADA impacted your life regarding travel/mobility, education, employment, or any other aspect?
It has allowed me to have reasonable accommodations in order to do my job at work as a medical records transcriptionist. The VA purchased my computer and software and a Braille Note Mpower.
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.
Before the ADA, I had to purchase my own equipment so I could do my job adequately. While I was in high school, I took a Spanish course at another school besides Missouri School for the Blind and I had to cross with the traffic light, and that was scary. I don’t know how things are now. I don’t get around as much as I used to. I’m retired now.
What advances in disability rights would you like to see in the next 30 years?
I would like to see more buzzers at every traffic light so that blind people can press a button and wait for the buzzer to buzz so they can cross the streets safely without getting scared. For people in wheelchairs, everything should be reachable.