The Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA)
By: Kristen Baker, Christine Bartelt and Fay Chuang
What is the purpose of the ADA?
• The ADA was established on July 26,
1990.
• The ADA is a set of laws that was put in
place to eliminate discrimination against
individuals with disabilities, including
people who are deaf and hard of
hearing.
• Provides “enforceable standards
addressing discrimination.”
• The ADA helps 43 million Americans
with disabilities.
• About 24 million of these people have a
hearing loss.
What is a Disability?
• A physical or mental impairment that greatly
impacts the “major life activities” and “major
bodily functions” of an individual.
• “Major life activities” include:
Caring for oneself, performing manual tasks,
seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking,
standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing,
learning, reading, communicating and working.
Areas covered under ADA
• Stores, businesses,
and public
accommodations
• Telecommunications
• Employment
• Medical treatment
• State and local
governments, courts
and attorneys
What does this mean for you?
1. Stores, Businesses and Public
Accommodations
• Public places (stores,
businesses, airports, movie
theaters, concert halls,
libraries, restaurants, etc.) all
need to provide auxiliary aids
or services for deaf and hard
of hearing individuals.
• Some examples of auxiliary
aids are a pen and piece of
paper,TDDs/TTYs and ALDs.
Services may include
qualified interpreters and
closed captioning.
2. Telecommunications
• Telecommunications Relay
Services (TRS), Video Relay
Services, or Internet Protocol(IP)Relay Services are government
funded services that make
communication via technological
devices easier.
• Individuals with hearing loss can
contact standard phone/internet
users using a TDD
(telecommunications device for
the deaf), TTY (teletype
typewriter) and other assistive
telephone/computer devices.
3. Employment
• Employers cannot discriminate during the
application process,hiring, firing,employee
training, compensation/position review or deny a
disabled employee benefits due to his/her
disability.
• An individual with a disability should be able to
perform the basic tasks associated with the job
without help.
• Reasonable accommodations must be made by
the employer.
• A job should be adjusted, whenever possible, to
allow a disabled individual the opportunity to
perform their job duties successfully.
4. Medical Treatment
• Any medical treatment center receiving government money must
provide certain services to the deaf and hard of hearing.
• The individual must be able to communicate with doctors and nurses
in their preferred communication mode (i.e. English, Spanish, ASL,
fingerspelling, manually coded English, speech reading etc.)
• The hospital can NOT charge extra fees for providing these
accommodations.
• Special accommodations must be requested in advance.
• Private practice doctors must also provide accommodations at no
additional cost.
• *Family members are not acceptable interpreters.*
5. State and Local Government,
Courts, Attorneys
• Individuals with a hearing impairment must be
able to participate in all government services.
• The agency in question must provide auxiliary
aids and services, but they must be requested in
advance.
• The aids and services must be paid for by this
agency.
• For example, a deaf person is entitled to have
an interpreter (at no cost) if he/she will be in a
court trial.
Other ADA sections
• Fair Housing Act
• Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and
Handicapped Act
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
– IDEA requires public schools to provide a free public
education to all eligible children with disabilities in the
least restrictive environment appropriate to their
individual needs. An Individualized Education
Programs (IEP) is made to reflect each child’s needs.
• Rehabilitation Act
ADA
• The ADA is a “complaint
driven law”
• Be aware of your rights
and report any ADA
breaches
• Advocate for yourself
• Ask for available
assistive devices and
services
• Educate those in your
community about the
ADA and what it requires
SOURCES
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www.ada.gov
http://www.ada.gov/infoline.htm
http://www.ada.gov/q%26aeng02.htm
http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-ada.html
www.azrelay.org
http://synergyemusic.com/ada.yourrights.html