Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990. Its purposes are:

to provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities;

to provide clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing discrimination against individuals with disabilities;

to ensure the Federal government's plays a central role in enforcing the ADA standards on behalf of people with disabilities.                         

ADA and Health Promotion

The ADA has increased access to public buildings and places you need to go to get health care. Still, preventive health care services are not used enough by people with physical disabilities. There are 27 million women in the United States who have a disability and many of these women do not get preventive health care.

Since the ADA, there have been changes in buildings and equipment needed to provide health care that make it easier for you to get the care you need. But the attitudes and beliefs of some health care providers may still create barriers to getting care. Many women have reported that they have had bad experiences because of their disability. Click here for ways to deal with these barriers.

As a woman with a disability, you need to know your rights in order to use them. The ADA is available to help you reach your goal of a life free of barriers related to your disability.

The ADA web page is a rich source of information on this topic: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm

ADA Information Line: 1-800-514-0301 (Voice)   1-800-514-0383 (TDD)

[Top]
 

12/08/2006 01:12 PM