Blog, Guest Blog
According to a 2011 report by the Pew Research Center, one in four Americans live with a disability that interferes with activities of daily living. The American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is a civil rights law that guarantees opportunities for individuals with disabilities in areas of employment, State and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation, and that prohibits discrimination.
Whether we realize it or not, we ALL benefit from the ADA: It gives parents with small children in strollers access to airplanes, buses and trains. It gives grandparents and our aging parents access to football stadiums, restaurants, parks, theatres and museums. It also gives students with and without disabilities the opportunity to be educated alongside each other. And, through the use of technology, all students are getting better access to the general education curriculum, college entrance exams, post-secondary education and future employment.
As the law celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2015, its full potential has still not been met. More places need to become ADA compliant as more and more people are demanding access.
In recognition of this progressive piece of legislation, the Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival and its organizer, Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled (Ladd), a Cincinnati nonprofit, have invited Arlene Mayerson and Richard Bernstein, both leading national disability rights attorneys and ADA experts, and the Mayor of the City of Erlanger Kentucky and President of the Kentucky Bar Association, Thomas L. Rouse, to speak at a seminar on the ADA titled “ADA Compliance for your Business and Community.”
The speakers will discuss how the ADA came about, what it means and why it is so important to our community. They will also examine how complying with the ADA benefits businesses and improves communities throughout the nation as well as here locally.
This two hour event will be on Friday, February 28, 2014, from 3 to 5 pm at the Champions Club at the Great American Ball Park (Reds Stadium). It will be followed by a tour of the Reds Hall of Fame, which was recently retrofitted to be fully accessible, and a happy hour reception. This event is free and qualifies for CLE credits in Ohio and Kentucky. To learn more about this event and to register, visit www.laddinc.org/cle.
Sara Bitter is an attorney, a disability rights advocate and the Co-Chair as well as the Education Outreach Chair of the Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival.
Sara Bitter is an attorney, a disability rights advocate and the Co-Chair as well as the Education Outreach Chair of the Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival.