Individuals with disabilities face many social problems – some are very visible, and others are hard to notice for people without disabilities. For example, having a disability can result in reduced chances of employment, poor health, lower education levels, and more (Shandra, 2018). In daily life, people with disabilities may face trouble interacting with facilities and services not equipped for equal access. For example, wheelchair users may not be able to access some buildings. Another lack of social support can be seen for young deaf and hard-of-hearing people who often experience difficulty studying at public schools (Nowak, 2022). Even minor differences in access and service availability significantly change the lives of people with disabilities, lowering the quality of their lives and resulting in worse physical and mental health.
The disability rights movement fights against such injustices and represents the voices of people with disabilities. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law – it became one of the cornerstones of advocacy for the rights and protections of individuals with disabilities (Nowak, 2022). The focus of this act is discrimination in the workplace and other places that could restrict disabled people’s access to services. However, the passage of this act does not mean that people with disabilities stopped experiencing discrimination and inequality. For instance, Nowak (2022) argues that the ADA does not adequately support deaf individuals and fails to ensure information sharing for all people without discrimination.
A variety of organizations currently address this and other problems. However, they require more financial and social support from the general population (UNHCR, n.d.). Reading about the inequalities faced by people with disabilities and their path toward justice has shown me that the goals of equality have not been fully reached. Society as a whole has to be educated about the needs of people with disabilities and start thinking about how to provide full access to services. It is vital to ensure that people with disabilities are taken into account during the planning stage of every venture, from designing buildings to making clothes or planning educational and employment systems.
References
Nowak, M. (2022). How the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 continues to fail the deaf and hard of hearing. Mitchell Hamline Law Review, 48(1), 35-82.
Shandra, C. L. (2018). Disability as inequality: Social disparities, health disparities, and participation in daily activities. Social Forces, 97(1), 157-192.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (n.d.). NGOs & UN agencies: Assisting persons with disabilities.