Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) came into law only 28 years ago which changed the rights and possibilities for individuals with disabilities to have a right to access public places and to have jobs in the community (“What is the Americans…”, n.d.). The goal for this act was to assist individuals with disabilities to have the same opportunities to be a contributing member of their society and not face no access to these opportunities due to their disability. Since this law has been enforced there has been a significant increase in the number of individuals employed in the community, attending college and universities, and having the ability to go into public places (“What is the Americans…”, n.d.).

            Research has been completed around the perceptions that this act has had on employees with disabilities in the workforce. In 1997, West and Cardy, came to the conclusion that employers/ managers were likely to deceive someone with a disability based on silent judgements and motive based on the requirement that they have to make accommodations for these individuals. Initially, while this civil law was a significant change to the treatment of individuals with disabilities, there are several ways in which working with these individuals continues to improve, 28 years later.

            Psychology addresses the ADA and incorporates an understanding of the limitations of disability and works to improve the lives of these individuals by providing supports. With such a range in individuals functioning based on a disability, a psychologist will need to have an understanding of disabilities and developmental levels in order to provide support. I think the field of psychology has done a lot of work with the development of a working understanding of developmental disabilities, however I think preparation for psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors, and physician’s needs to be better to ensure the proper supports are given to individuals with disabilities.

                                                                      References

West, M. S., & Cardy, R. L. (1997). Accommodating claims of disability: The potential impact

 of abuses. Human Resource Management Review, 7(2), 233-246. doi:10.1016/S1053-

4822(97)90024-3

“What is the Americans with Disabilities Act?” (n.d.). Retrieved from https://adata.org/learn-

            about-ada on September 27, 2017.