The American Dream: It's Hard Being Disabled

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) “prohibits discriminating against an individual in the selection process” (Moran, 2014, p. 32) due to a potential disability. A disability can be defined as a mental or physical condition that can result in some sort of handicap. As a result, the employer may be required to accommodate the people who are considered as disabled, to help them perform his or her job duties.

Up until the mid 1970's it was actually illegal to be disabled in a sort. It was the 'Ugly Law' which many with Cerebral Palsy suffered greatly from. If anyone was reported ugly due to a deformity of any kind, they would be arrested and taken back home. While not many things like that still happen today, there are situations that happen that are still Ableistic in their own ways. Many crimes that happen against disabled people won't get televised or any awareness raised at all. Parents with disabilities are more likely lose custody of their child, a lot of times for no reason besides being disabled. For intellectually challenged parents there's up to an 80% chance of them losing their child. There are businesses that will refuse to let a handicapped worker to any jobs where they might be visible, some refuse designated parking spaces. The disabled are often paid less, in many places they are paid below minimum wage. Which might be overlooked, if the disability benefits had any help to offer. Unfortunately, disability only offers anywhere from $5k-$7k a year, and the recipient and family they are living with cannot earn more than around $20k a year. The average middle class person is expected to make around $30k a year. Not only must the disabled live off such mediocre wages, but the necessities are ridiculously priced. Manual

People with special needs are not always included as a normal citizen as they should be in other countries, more so the middle East. Many of these special needs people are confined to their homes with little or no contact with the outisde world. However, in America equal opportunites such as education and jobs are provided for these people despite their disabilities. Also, in the USA help is provided for those people with disabilities all over the place, wheel chair ramps for the handicap and brail writting for the blind these are all things that help make everyone in America feel equal despite a disability or a handicap.

“Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Title I does not allow any private employers, local, and state governments, labor unions and employment agencies from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, firing, hiring, job training, advancement and other terms, privileges, and conditions of employment” (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity

According to Gary Dessler, “employers with 15 or more workers are prohibited from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities with regard to applications, hiring, discharge, compensation, advancement, training, or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. It also says that employers must make ‘reasonable accommodations’ for physical or mental limitations unless doing so imposes an ‘undue hardship’ on the business.” It not only prohibits discrimination in employment but also outlaws most physical barriers in public accommodations, transportation, telecommunications, and government services.

Disabled persons are as able for employment as any other normal person. They usually face a discrimination for being a disabled person. The main thing is that the perspective of the person towards them. Some people have a negative attitude towards disabled persons that they are physically and mentally not strong as a normal person. Whereas the people who have positive attitude believes that intelligence, work ethics, and dedication has no relation with a disability. Those attitude difference create ethical questions. The common question is

Because of The act businesses cannot discriminate workers based on their disability, and must accommodate the worker if they are able to. Public transportation must also be able to accommodate disabled passengers by having wheelchair access.

More than fifty-six million Americans have one or more physical disabilities. Many of these individuals are physically able to partake in everyday activities, yet they are excluded from these opportunities (Crockett). People with disabilities are intentionally isolated by society due to a stereotypical assumption of their lack of abilities to participate and contribute (Harris 368). They are viewed as objects of pity, who are unable to work, go to school, or live on their own”(Crockett). Ed Roberts, an individual with a disability, clearly states, [we] “are considered the weakest, the most helpless people in our society, [but] are the strongest, and will not tolerate segregation, [and] will not tolerate a society which sees us as less than whole people” (Laney 21). He wants to “reshape the image that society” has on them and prove that people with disabilities are just as capable as everyone else. George H.W. Bush signed the American with Disabilities Act into law on July 26, 1990. (The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Brief overview). Bush knew that the act was “powerful in its simplicity” and that it would “ensure that people with disabilities [were] given the basic guarantees for which they have worked so long and hard” (Americans with Disabilities Act, Medicine 3). The goal was to help people with disabilities live the “American Dream” and be identified by their potential and not their inadequacies (Rodgers 2). Since the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into

All throughout the 20th Century Americans have fought with endless vigor to gain equal rights. In many ways we've created new opportunities for minorities in America, but with each passing year new problems arise. For example, the American female community has made leaping bounds in the field of equality; this past election was the first time in history that a woman has made it to the position of presidential nominee. However, they still have struggles, as do many of the cultural groups living in America. A community that's currently facing equality struggles is the American disabled community. Many people with disabilities—mental and physical—have a harder time finding employment because of their health issues. Many activists of the disabled community such as Helen Keller (who is deaf and blind) and Judith Heumann (who has polio) have pushed to pass many disabled-rights laws (B4 Civil Rights). One such law is the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), which was passed in 1990 and made workplace discrimination against disabled people illegal (B4 Civil Rights). Americans have also tried to create a new amendment to the Constitution to end discrimination against the disabled, but it was never ratified (B4 Civil Rights). Although the disabled community faces struggles, they fight endlessly for their rights even today.

Just like any other minority, the disabled have been discriminated throughout history. Disabilities can be composed of physical or mental handicaps and discrimination has always occurred for both. It has historically been difficult for the disabled to not only find employment, but also to keep acceptable employment. These individuals also have had trouble being treated properly on the job. Transportation has also been an issue because many of the disabled cannot move or get around as easily as others. There is a history of isolating or separating the handicap from society by not having proper access available or by not allowing them to participate in all government programs. People with hearing problems also have not been able to

In fact, people with disabilities possess certain qualities that allow them to experience and perform at a different level than non-disabled people bringing their experience and focus to key aspects of a task. For example, a person with a disability senses things differently then we normally would, allowing them to respond differently. The person with a disability will be compensated for his/her lack of greater abilities and strength in other areas, abilities that are sometimes beyond the ordinary. Individuals with disabilities are able to bring work ethic skills to complete an assignment allowing them to make a contribution

If they have all the qualifications needed to do the job, there is no reason they shouldn’t be hired or given the same opportunity as another candidate without a disability. One of the most popular myths is that employers are required to hire people with a disability. This is false. An employer is free to pick the most qualified candidate of the job based on reasons that are not related to their disability.

The misconceptions about people who have disabilities and the sexuality of these people are what is sometimes the most disturbing in society. In the mainstream of society the disabled person is not viewed as a sexually capable person. Society has produced pictures and perceptions that are not conclusive with the actual state of sexuality within the disabled world of dating. It is easily noticed in the media and movies, as romantic roles are rarely given to the disabled, further making the perceptions of dating a disabled person out of minds reach for society as a whole. Many people are not open minded enough about dating a disabled person to actually attempt to do so. In America, the average person is unaware of how disabled people live, love, and work and they simply do not want to know about. Sex, love, and relationships are not completely dependent on the physical aspects of the disabled; there is a mental guise of love that is prevalent that most people dismiss altogether.- Communicating points to make the reality of the world of the disabled as it applies to dating and intimacies, more widely known through being articulate and mature about disabled sexual and dating relationships. Many times while seeking personal relationships as a disabled person it is difficult to move from the perception of being considered as just a friend. Many able bodied individuals either is not interested in becoming involved on a personal level or are socially programmed to believe that an

There are a few reasons that a company might look past an individual’s disabilities and still hire him or her for employment. If one were to look past the fact that it is lawful to ensure individuals with disabilities are able to work for companies which meet certain criteria, it is also good for public opinion and it may serve as a tax break advantage too. In fact, the SDA (2015), stated “the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires any employer with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities, unless doing so would cause undue hardship” (para.3). A reasonable accommodation could be bathrooms that will allow individuals in wheelchairs reasonable access to them or sidewalks to

This is not just a disadvantage to disabled people in the United States, it is a problem world wide. In the United Kingdom, only 6 percent of young disabled people are employed (O'mahony). All this leaving the United Kingdom with just “less than one in 20 people with a mental or physical disability are in paid employment”(O’mahony). Disabled people around the world in different nations are taken away the feeling of usefulness and the feeling of accomplishment. Affecting the disabled both financially but also emotionally.