TERRE HAUTE —
In his first go around attending college, Danny Wayne Beemer struggled amid limited educational aids for the sight impaired, such as markings on doors to classrooms.
That changed after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This week marked the 20th anniversary of the ADA, signed into federal law on July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. The law was the first comprehensive declaration of equality for people with disabilities, banning discrimination in areas of employment, public accommodation, public services, transportation and telecommunications.
“It’s not perfect, but the ADA is a foundation to set a precedence for business owners, educators and individuals seeking independence,” Beemer said.
On his second attempt at college in 1997, Beemer attended Indiana State University, finding “educators better-educated [about the needs of people with disabilities] and it brought to me a smoother transition to my goal,” he said.
“And today, now there is signage everywhere on [ISU’s] campus, and on bathrooms and classrooms, there is larger print for individuals who are sight-challenged, as well as Braille markings just below that. What a great foundation for individuals seeking independence as they seek their academics. That is one difference it made for me,” said Beemer, 52.
Beemer, who is legally blind, graduated from ISU in 2000 with a degree in radio broadcast/television. He is best known in Terre Haute as disc jockey Danny Wayne for “The Valley 95.9 FM.” He also serves as independent living services coordinator at The Will Center in Terre Haute.
Public transportation, Beemer said, is also more abundant, as is paratransit, or ADA buses, that provide curb-to-curb service. “That is a phenomenal service. On a Saturday, I can do social traveling to have lunch with friends or family, while during the week, I can utilize the service to go home-to-work and work-to-home,” Beemer said.
Peter Ciancone, executive director of The Will Center, said the ADA “is a product of the recognition of a lot of Americans that people with disabilities have the same rights as everybody else.
“The most commonly understood element of the ADA is accessibility,” Ciancone said. “We have a beautiful courthouse and beautiful city hall, but they were built in an era when that recognition wasn’t in place, so it was difficult, if not impossible, for an individual with a disability, with a mobility issue, to access,” Ciancone said.
“What the ADA has done for us is create the very foundation of what we do as an independent living center. We can refer to the ADA and it gives us a legal basis for support of people with disabilities. It opens doors,” Ciancone said.
The biggest benefit to people with disabilities is building accessibility, which in turn allows people access to employment, said Mary Ann Clark, director of Spectrum Services, a rehabilitation services division of Hamilton Center that provides services to adults with physical and social disabilities.
“A lot of our folks who work would not be able to work unless a business was willing to make the accommodations necessary. We would not be as successful as we are at getting jobs for people with disabilities without the ADA,” Clark said.
ADA requires
‘reasonable
accommodations’
Darin Propst, director of ARC of Vigo County, which provides work services and jobs for the developmentally disabled, said that while workers still face challenges because of the economy, the ADA provides disabled workers with “reasonable accommodations” from employers, such as a telephone amplifier for the hearing-impaired or modifications to computers and software for those with sight disabilities.
“Even simple things that are done, such as ramps for access to buildings, or electric-opening doors and parking areas. That wasn’t there before [the ADA] and many could not work because they could not access the workplace,” Propst said.
Propst said there is still a lot of work to be done for the disabled worker.
Indiana has earned a “C” on an ADA report card from ADA-Indiana. The agency conducted a community survey from November through June of people with disabilities, family members and advocates.
The survey had 839 participants, said Ric Edwards, chairman of ADA-Indiana, a state steering committee for the implementation of the ADA. Edwards also serves as the director of safety and ADA compliance for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
A previous survey had a grade of C-minus for Indiana, “so we moved up a bit, but obviously not as much as anyone here wants,” Edwards said. Most Midwest states received a grade of C, with the exception of Minnesota which earned a C-plus, he said.
The state received a C-minus for use of communication supports and alternative formats, lacking easily-available Braille pamphlets and menus as well as information available by sign-language interpreters in areas such as doctors’ offices, Edwards said.
The lowest grades – D-plus – came in employment opportunities for people with disabilities as well as education about filing ADA complaints. “Employment is tough for everybody in these times. It happens to hit people with disabilities a little harder because of the already pre-existing situation where folks are not real in line to hire folks with disabilities because of myths and fears,” Edwards said.
“Unfortunately, it is a tough nut to crack because employers, when they see a person with a disability, don’t see the ability, they see the things that have to be overcome. They don’t recognize, according to the Job Accommodation Network (a consulting service to employers), the vast majority of reasonable accommodations cost less than $500 for things like raising desks, making modifications to policies or widening doors.”
Edwards said people with disabilities also historically are very committed to an employment area. Edwards the ADA is important to every worker.
“Most folks don’t recognize that this is not us versus them. This is a group that anybody can join at any time in a heartbeat. You can wind up, as I did, having an accident when 15 and going from total nondisabled to wheelchair user and a spinal cord injury,” Edwards said.
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@
tribstar.com.
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