The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Current State of U.S. Disability Policy

Abstract

The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) reflects a new stage in American disability policy. However, important policy issues that pre-date the passage of ADA remain unresolved. The most important concern policy assumptions that have guided various disability income and medical assistance programs since their inception in the 1950s and 1960s. The most detrimental assumption is that, to be eligible for income or medical assistance, the impairment must be so hopeless that future prospects for work are impossible. This assumption is self-fulfilling and out of step with the policy assumptions that motivated the passage of the ADA. The article recommends six policy changes that will allow other portions of the nation's disability policy to function in harmony with the policy goals of the ADA.