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| Please click here to view the image on Flickr. Designed by author. |
Are you familiar with the concept of disability rights? Please read more.
Prologue
Think back to your social studies classes at school. More than likely, the instructor did not lecture from the perspective of disability. However, this blog post will. You will learn about the fundamentals of disability rights. Not only that, but also a brief overview of disability affairs in the United States and overseas. Furthermore, there is an American federal law that concerns people with disabilities.
Before going any further, this post is not intended to replace the service of an accredited legal professional (see "Disclaimer" section). GAM Productions, a fictional organization, is NOT a law firm. Similarly, the owner of the aforementioned company is NOT a licensed legal professional.
Disability Rights 101
For starters, the World Health Organization (WHO) writes that "[d]isability is part of being human." The WHO adds that roughly one-sixth of the world's "population" lives with a major degree of "disability." Furthermore, the WHO writes that the aforementioned statistics will surge as people get older and "noncommunicable diseases" become commonplace. According to the 🇺🇳 United Nations (UN) health agency,
"Disability results from the interaction between individuals with a health condition, such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and depression, with personal and environmental factors including negative attitudes, inaccessible transportation and public buildings, and limited social support.
A person’s environment has a huge effect on the experience and extent of disability. Inaccessible environments create barriers that often hinder the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in society on an equal basis with others. Progress on improving social participation can be made by addressing these barriers and facilitating persons with disabilities in their day to day lives."
It does not get any more plain than that.
Next, let's talk about the concept of disability rights. According to the United States Department of State, "[d]isability rights are basic human rights, not special rights." The U.S. Department of State also enumerates what the five fundamental philosophies of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) are. (The section entitled "The 🇺🇸 U.S. Disability Law" contains further information regarding the ADA.) The UN Convention, which was ratified in 2006, includes an introductory section and 47 articles. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has an entire webpage devoted solely to "Disability Rights." It outlines what a person with a disability's rights are at various situations. The ACLU webpage also tells a person with a disability what to do if he/she suspects that his/her "rights" are infringed.
Now that you're familiar with the basics of disability rights, the next section briefly looks at disability affairs in the 🇺🇸 United States and abroad.
Disability Affairs: 🇺🇸 U.S.A. versus The World
As mentioned above, this section pertains to disability affairs. While I was doing research for this post, I discovered that the 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 🇳🇿 New Zealand have government offices focused exclusively on people with disabilities. The National Council on Disability (NCD) serves a similar function in the 🇺🇸 United States. The NCD's "Mission and History" page mentions that the organization functions as "an independent federal agency" with a multitude of "advisory" tasks. Of course, the NCD's duties involve "collaboration with people with disabilities." Across the Atlantic Ocean from the 🇺🇸 U.S., the 🇪🇺 European Union and all of its affiliated countries agree "to the [UNCRPD]."
The next section will cover the subject of an American federal law that ensures equality among people with and without disabilities.
The 🇺🇸 U.S. Disability Law
In the 🇺🇸 United States, a three-letter law deals with people with disabilities: ADA. The acronym stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The U.S. Department of Labor writes that the federal law "prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas." The ADA website's "Guide to Disability Rights" page writes that the ban on such prejudice is extended to Congress. I explain what "ableism" is in a post from October 2023. The ADA website also includes the five-word sentence featured in the image below (see Figure 1). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Title II of the ADA is one of the multiple laws that the the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) must "[enforce]." The next paragraph will explore ADA-related rights in daily living.
Figure 1
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| Summary of what the concept of "[d]isability rights" is. Please click here to view the image on Flickr. Quote source: Americans with Disabilities Act Image designed by author. |
Next, this paragraph provides an example of disability rights as used in everyday life. The ADA website's "Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act" page writes that the law ensures "people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to" do anything their counterparts without disabilities can. USAGov enumerates four areas in which the law "guarantees equal opportunity." In a previous post about transitioning to college with a disability, it mentions two U.S. federal laws by which colleges and universities must abide. Before a person with a disability finishes school, he or she will generally receive specialized services. A separate post to this blog reports that a student receiving special education services is required to be enrolled alongside their general education counterparts. The aforementioned special education-related post also enumerates a U.S. law that governs special education. Furthermore, the post explains why special education is anything but a one-size-fits-all approach. The next paragraph will .
According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), it is not the only government agency that has "a role in enforcing, or investigating claims involving, the ADA." The Department of Labor's ADA page enumerates seven "[U.S.] federal agencies" that also participate in disability-related governance. The DOL also outlines what those agencies' respective disability-related responsibilities are.
Epilogue
Over the course of this post, you learned a lot about disability rights. You also found out what the Americans with Disabilities Act is. You got a perspective of high school civics class that is not likely to be taught. In my opinion, disability affairs in the 🇺🇸 U.S. would be better if Uncle Sam introduced a dedicated agency like his British and Kiwi counterparts. Speaking of which, you learned about them from American and global perspectives.
Thank you for reading this blog post.
Resources
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Disability Rights Pennsylvania
- "Disability services" page on USAGov (🇺🇸 United States)
- Equality and Human Rights Commission (🇬🇧 United Kingdom)
- National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD)
- National Council on Disability (🇺🇸 United States)
- National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)
- Page: "Disability Laws and Acts by Country/Area" (🇺🇳 United Nations)
- Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
- Rights On Flights (🇬🇧 United Kingdom)
- UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (🇺🇳 United Nations)
- U.S. Department of Justice - Civil Rights Division
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - Office of Civil Rights (OCR)
- Page: "Disability Laws, Regulations, and Guidance"
- Page: "Discrimination on the Basis of Disability"
- Page: "Laws and Regulations Enforced by OCR"
- U.S. Department of Labor
- World Health Organization (🇺🇳 United Nations)
Disclaimer
The author and GAM Productions are presenting the information herein solely for informational purposes. This blog post does not serve as a substitute for consultation, advice, and/or treatment that involve a healthcare professional. The parties mentioned above shall not be held responsible for any injury or injuries that may affect the reader of this post. Neither GAM Productions or the owner thereof is considered a healthcare professional or provider.
Furthermore, GAM Productions is not an educational institution or law firm. The organization's owner does not work in the legal or educational professions. This blog post is not legal advice, so you need a licensed practitioner of law for this purpose.
GAM Productions is a fictional organization.
Bibliography
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www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/disability-rights. Accessed 13 Mar. 2024.
Morton, Greg. "Disability Awareness & Inclusion 101."
The Common Misconceptions of Disability, Blogger, 17 June 2022,
disabilitymorton.blogspot.com/2023/10/disability-awareness-inclusion-101.html.
Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.
---. "How to Thrive in College with Disability."
The Common Misconceptions of Disability, Blogger, 17 June 2022,
disabilitymorton.blogspot.com/2022/06/how-to-thrive-in-college-with-disability.html.
Accessed 04 Mar. 2024.
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The Common Misconceptions of Disability, Blogger, 14 Mar. 2023,
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Accessed 11 Mar. 2024.
"NCD's Mission and History." National Council on Disability, no date,
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