Does the Americans with Disabilities Act Actually Help People with Disabilities

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The Answer is Students' answers will vary.Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has helped people with disabilities in some areas, questions must be raised about its effectiveness in others.The courts continue to address complaints filed concerning the ADA to clarify terms with various degrees of ambiguity.For example, employers and public agencies must make only "reasonable accommodation" for people with disabilities.The unemployment rate of people with disabilities significantly exceeds that of able-bodied people (ProQuest, 2014; U..Census Bureau, 2011).Of people with a disability, 20.% are employed; this contrasts with a 69.% employment rate for people without a disability (ProQuest, 2014).More people with a disability, about one-third, were employed in 1990 before the ADA was passed (Smolowe, 1995).Therefore, the battle for equal access and opportunity for people with disabilities has not been won.Much of the public attention to the act has focused on people with physical disabilities, many of whom require wheelchairs for transportation.Kopels (1995) states that the ADA will be successful only to the extent that these individuals with disabilities and those who advocate on their behalf learn about the ADA and use it as a means to ensure employment opportunities.

Does the Americans with Disabilities Act Actually Help People with Disabilities

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