Introduction: In the year 2000, there were over 49 million people in the United States living with disabilities 1. “Disability” is an extraordinarily broad term, encompassing numerous distinct conditions. Some are physical, like blindness, deafness, and mobility impairments (such as those resulting from cerebral palsy, spinal injury, stroke, or other injuries and diseases). Other disabilities are developmental, as is the case with autism, Down syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and mental retardation.2 There are also hidden disabilities, which are invisible to the outside world but create challenges in the person’s life just the same. Hidden disabilities can be anything from kidney disease to cancer, epilepsy, or diabetes. 3
History: Societal attitudes regarding people with disabilities have evolved in recent decades. In the past, society did not generally treat people with disabilities as the equals of other people. They were marginalized and often institutionalized, instead of being integrated and valued. Advocacy movements have made great strides in changing societal norms, access to public areas, employment opportunities, and even the vocabulary we use to discuss issues of disability. People with disabilities are more visible and active in society now than ever before; therefore, it is important for everyone to educate themselves about issues facing this segment of the population.
Advocacy: Advocacy groups have been instrumental in changing laws and attitudes regarding disabilities, and the experiences of people living with disabilities in the United States have been immensely improved as a result. One major development in the history of disability in this country was the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the ADA). This law protects people with disabilities against discrimination in the same way that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects people against discrimination based upon race, ethnicity, national origin, and sex.4, 5 Groups worked for decades to get this type of protection legislated, so the 1990 acceptance of the ADA was a huge achievement. 6
Disability in Arizona: The 2000 U.S. Census showed that nearly a million people with disabilities (over the age of 5) live in Arizona. 7 The prevalence is 19.3%, the same as the rate in the whole U.S. population.8 Among individuals in Arizona between ages 16 and 64, 12.2 percent have a disability that makes it difficult or impossible to hold a job (a rate higher than the national average). 9
