By Marianne Middlebrook
I was born in 1995, five years after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law on July 26, 1990. This I share to give you a sense of where I fall in the ADA’s history.
It is startling to imagine what my life might have looked like had I been born earlier. It is also difficult to comprehend how many barriers people with disabilities had to navigate before the ADA established essential civil rights protections. This history is not distant. I have met and learned from people who remember life before the law was passed.
I feel fortunate to have grown up in a world shaped by the ADA, even though I know the work of creating a truly accessible society is far from complete.
Employment
One of the ADA’s major protections is its requirement that employers provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities. These accommodations help ensure that people can perform their jobs and participate fully in the workplace.
In my own career, I am grateful to have found work that I can do largely independently. I am also grateful for colleagues who respect my needs and ask what will help me succeed in my practice. Because the office where I work is on the second floor, for example, a functioning elevator is not simply a convenience—it is a necessity.
I have also worked in environments that were less accommodating. Rather than dwell on those experiences, I will say this: I am able to be the best therapist I can be when I work in an accessible and supportive environment. Accessibility does not lower expectations. It gives people the opportunity to meet them.
Public Spaces
The ADA also addresses access to public spaces. If you have ever used a curb cut to move from a sidewalk to the street, you have benefited from a feature advanced by disability advocacy and accessibility requirements. Accessible entrances, bathrooms, elevators, and pathways allow people with disabilities to enter public spaces and participate more fully in their communities.
The world is still not fully accessible, and there is much more work to do. Buildings may technically meet requirements while remaining difficult to navigate. Elevators break. Entrances are blocked. Accommodations are sometimes treated as favors rather than rights.
Still, I am deeply grateful for the opportunities the ADA has helped make possible. It has allowed me to enter spaces, pursue a meaningful career, and engage with the world in ways that might otherwise have been denied to me.
On the anniversary of the ADA, I celebrate the advocates whose work helped transform the law and the lives of millions of people. I also recognize our responsibility to continue that work.
How has the ADA affected your daily life—and what barriers do you believe we still need to address?
