The American Disabilities Act ( Ada ) - 2583 Words

The American Disabilities Act (ADA) defines disabled workers as individuals who have â€Å"physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, have a record of such an impairment, or are regarded as having such an impairment†. Such impairments substantially limit major life activities such as seeing, hearing, speaking, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, learning, caring for oneself, and working (ada.gov). In contrast, the definition of disability used by income support programs such as Social Security Disability Insurance and SSI is much narrower and is restricted to individuals who, because of a physical or mental impairment expected to last at least one year or to result in death, are unable†¦show more content†¦Of these people, five million needed the assistance of others to perform such an activity. Over fifteen million adults have difficulties with one or more instrumental activities of daily living, including doin g housework, using the phone and preparing meals. Of these, nearly twelve million required assistance. About eight million people have difficulty seeing, including 2.0 million who are blind or unable to see. Almost eight million people experienced difficulty hearing, including one million whose difficulty was severe. Roughly thirty million had difficulty walking or climbing stairs, or used a wheelchair, cane, crutches or walker, and about twenty million people had difficulty lifting and grasping. Seven million adults also reported being frequently depressed or anxious such that it interfered with ordinary activities (census.gov). While some people live with significant disabilities and severe health conditions that render them unable to work, millions of individuals can and do work despite their disabilities. The Department of Labor reported in June 2014 that only about nineteen percent of disabled Americans were employed, compared to almost seventy percent of non-disabled workers. Though disabled Americans comprise twenty percent of the overall population, they are twice as likely to be unemployed as their nondisabled counterparts. For those who are employed, research provides evidence