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Arlene Mayerson
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1) We know that you are teaching at Berkeley currently, what kind of impact do you think that this independent living center has made during the whole movement leading up to the ADA?
"The Berkeley Independent Living Center was the first center focusing on independent living in this country. The hall marks of "independent living" are that people with disabilities themselves make decisions about their own lives and do not have to be segregated and institutionalized if proper supports are available in the community. For example, a quadriplegic, a person whose paralysis affects the use of both arms and legs, may need help with personal grooming, like bathing or toileting, but can live and work independently so long as they have available an attendant to help with those activities. Historically, the need for these types of services relegated a quadriplegic to a life in an institution or nursing home. This result not only violated the human rights of the person with this disability, but also deprived society of the person's contribution."
2) How do you think that the ADA and disabilities rights movement has impacted today’s world?
"The ADA has revolutionized our country and the world in many ways. People with disabilities are the poorest, most under employed, uneducated segment of our society. The ADA recognizes that this state of affairs is not an inevitable consequence of being disabled, but is a result of prejudice and barriers in society. Prejudice is the case of people with disabilities is usually characterized by commonly held stereotypes that people with disabilities are to be pitied, are helpless and will never have full lives. These stereotypes have been very damaging to the ability of people with disabilities to achieve in education, work and socially. For example, how can a person using a wheelchair compete for a job if the interviews for the job are up a flight of stairs? The ADA calls for the removal of barriers so that people with disabilities have an equal chance to compete in our society. The ADA not only requires the removal of physical barriers, but also the removal of attitudinal and communication barriers. The ADA was a lightning rod across the world, igniting people with disabilities to seek equality in their own countries. Many countries in every continent have passed laws modeled on the ADA."
3) How do you think that things for the disabled changed from before and after the whole movement?
"It may be hard for you to imagine, but in the past, people with disabilities were considered to be less than human, incapable and a burden on society. This resulted in discrimination in every aspect of life, including laws prohibiting people with disabilities to be educated, to marry, to procreate and often resulted in a life of institutional isolation in sub-human conditions. The disability rights movement has changed perceptions of people with disabilities and removed the barriers which prevented their participation in all aspects of society."
4) We know that you are the Directing Attorney of DREDF since 1981, do you think that disabilities organizations such as DREDF made an impact on the signing of this act? If so, how?
"Yes, our organization, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund led a large coalition of disability groups in the efforts to pass the ADA. Without a large coalition and grassroots support, we would not have been successful. Advocacy organizations are essential to frame the issues, work closely with Congressional staff and Members of Congress and to organize a large grassroots constituency which can organize visits to Congressional members when they are in their home states."
5) What challenges do you think that the disabled face today?
"Even though the progress has been great, it takes a long time to reverse hundreds of years of segregation and the stereotypes that accompany that. We still have many cases where disabled people face age hold stereotypes. Unemployment is still perhaps the biggest challenge. Another area which I am very involved in is access to technology. The amazing advent of computers and other technology opens many closed doors for people with disabilities. But unless the internet is accessible, these advances could also threaten to return people with disabilities to second-class status. For example, many educational opportunities are now on the internet. People who are blind or low vision or deaf or hard of hearing will not be able to access these opportunities unless the websites where these activities take place are designed in a way that voice activation software can be used by people who are blind and captions are provided for people who are deaf."
"The Berkeley Independent Living Center was the first center focusing on independent living in this country. The hall marks of "independent living" are that people with disabilities themselves make decisions about their own lives and do not have to be segregated and institutionalized if proper supports are available in the community. For example, a quadriplegic, a person whose paralysis affects the use of both arms and legs, may need help with personal grooming, like bathing or toileting, but can live and work independently so long as they have available an attendant to help with those activities. Historically, the need for these types of services relegated a quadriplegic to a life in an institution or nursing home. This result not only violated the human rights of the person with this disability, but also deprived society of the person's contribution."
2) How do you think that the ADA and disabilities rights movement has impacted today’s world?
"The ADA has revolutionized our country and the world in many ways. People with disabilities are the poorest, most under employed, uneducated segment of our society. The ADA recognizes that this state of affairs is not an inevitable consequence of being disabled, but is a result of prejudice and barriers in society. Prejudice is the case of people with disabilities is usually characterized by commonly held stereotypes that people with disabilities are to be pitied, are helpless and will never have full lives. These stereotypes have been very damaging to the ability of people with disabilities to achieve in education, work and socially. For example, how can a person using a wheelchair compete for a job if the interviews for the job are up a flight of stairs? The ADA calls for the removal of barriers so that people with disabilities have an equal chance to compete in our society. The ADA not only requires the removal of physical barriers, but also the removal of attitudinal and communication barriers. The ADA was a lightning rod across the world, igniting people with disabilities to seek equality in their own countries. Many countries in every continent have passed laws modeled on the ADA."
3) How do you think that things for the disabled changed from before and after the whole movement?
"It may be hard for you to imagine, but in the past, people with disabilities were considered to be less than human, incapable and a burden on society. This resulted in discrimination in every aspect of life, including laws prohibiting people with disabilities to be educated, to marry, to procreate and often resulted in a life of institutional isolation in sub-human conditions. The disability rights movement has changed perceptions of people with disabilities and removed the barriers which prevented their participation in all aspects of society."
4) We know that you are the Directing Attorney of DREDF since 1981, do you think that disabilities organizations such as DREDF made an impact on the signing of this act? If so, how?
"Yes, our organization, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund led a large coalition of disability groups in the efforts to pass the ADA. Without a large coalition and grassroots support, we would not have been successful. Advocacy organizations are essential to frame the issues, work closely with Congressional staff and Members of Congress and to organize a large grassroots constituency which can organize visits to Congressional members when they are in their home states."
5) What challenges do you think that the disabled face today?
"Even though the progress has been great, it takes a long time to reverse hundreds of years of segregation and the stereotypes that accompany that. We still have many cases where disabled people face age hold stereotypes. Unemployment is still perhaps the biggest challenge. Another area which I am very involved in is access to technology. The amazing advent of computers and other technology opens many closed doors for people with disabilities. But unless the internet is accessible, these advances could also threaten to return people with disabilities to second-class status. For example, many educational opportunities are now on the internet. People who are blind or low vision or deaf or hard of hearing will not be able to access these opportunities unless the websites where these activities take place are designed in a way that voice activation software can be used by people who are blind and captions are provided for people who are deaf."
