by Lanae

Created on: September 20, 2009

THE DISABILITY RIGHTS MOVEMENT

The disability rights movement is a group which attempts to improve the quality of life (Disability Rights Movement) for people who have disabilities. The hardships and roadblocks faced by those with disabilities, as well as supporters of the movement can be compared with the 20th century civil rights struggles (The Disability Rights Movement) faced by individuals denied complete equality, independence, autonomy and full access to society. (The Disability Rights Movement) The movement focuses on accessibility for those with disabilities as well as overall safety. The group is constantly tracking and assessing public areas to be sure that they are able to accommodate those with different disabilities. Things such as public buildings, restrooms are reviewed for ramps, elevators, handicap toilets which are wide and have handles to assist those in wheelchairs. They also look at ways to improve the safety and accessibility of public transit in relation to those with various disabilities.

Some issues which are extremely important to activists are whether those with disabilities have equal access to education as well as employment. There have been a great many improvements in adaptive technologies which include things like, talking watches, computers and calculators for the blind, closed captions on televisions for the hearing impaired, and also voice recognition computers for those who have problems with mobility. Adaptive features such as these help those with disabilities help to provide options for employment which were not open years ago. Also the additions to schools to accommodate people with disabilities such as ramps, those who translate lessons into sign language, and many other improvements have helped the disabled complete much higher degrees of education than was previously easy to achieve.

Activists involved in the disability rights movement have an overall dedication to help provide any and all adaptations in the modern world that will allow those with disabilities to lead independent lives. The movement attempts to create a world that is just as easily and fairly navigated by those with a disability as it is for any other person. The greater the awareness is in the public to make these changes and adaptations, the more seamlessly a person with disabilities is able to transition and equally participate in mainstream society.

Bibliography

"Adaptive technology." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 23 Nov 2006, 06:08 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 23 Nov 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adaptive_t echnology&oldid=89603954>

"Disability rights movement." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 19 Nov 2006, 19:19 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 23 Nov 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Disability _rights_movement&oldid=88852160>.

The Disability Rights Movement The Smithsonian Institute. 2000. 23 Nov 2006. http://americanhistory.si.edu/disabilityrights/exhib it.html

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