Disability

In 1990, the United States Congress released that "some 43,000,000 Americans have one or more physical or mental disabilities and that this number as a whole is increasing as the population is growing older." The United States Congress also stated in the Findings and Purposes for the Americans with Disabilities Act that society tends to "isolate and segregate individuals with disabilities and that discrimination against people with disabilities is a serious and persistent problem." It was noted that unlike individuals who have been discriminated against because of race, color, sex, nationality, religion, or age, people who experience discrimination of the basis of a disability have often had no legal recourse to redress such discrimination.

The recognition of this problem spurred the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The ADA strives to prevent discrimination against individuals with disabilities in such critical areas as employment, housing, public accommodations, education, transportation, communication, recreation, institutionalization, health services, voting, and access to public service. Its goals are to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. Overall, the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 was a huge milestone for the rights of individuals with disabilities.