Miss-Delectable
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- Apr 18, 2004
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The Press Republican - Area deaf want better adherence to law
The Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, requires that the deaf be treated as equals.
Deaf people in the area, however, have found that some employers and hospitals aren’t aware of what the law requires or ignore it.
PROMISE, PROBLEMS
The Americans with Disabilities Act bans discrimination of people with disabilities in employment, government, public access and telecommunications.
The law caused many entities to build wheelchair ramps, for example, to allow those who are unable to walk to still have equal access to public buildings.
But some local deaf say they are still struggling to be treated as equals, often waiting hours in hospitals or courtrooms for interpreters that may never come.
‘FELT INVISIBLE’
Dora Bradley, who helped put on a recent potluck for the deaf at Sacred Heart Church in Chazy, said one of her worst experiences was being called in for jury duty, an obligation everyone has as an American citizen.
When an interpreter was not available and she insisted on staying, they laughed a bit, and Bradley said she was asked to go home.
“I felt kind of invisible, as if I had no rights.”
EXCLUDED
People without hearing sometimes find employers to be less than willing to take a chance on hiring them. Those with jobs say they are sometimes excluded from meetings or they attend but are unable to understand what is being said.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, requires that the deaf be treated as equals.
Deaf people in the area, however, have found that some employers and hospitals aren’t aware of what the law requires or ignore it.
PROMISE, PROBLEMS
The Americans with Disabilities Act bans discrimination of people with disabilities in employment, government, public access and telecommunications.
The law caused many entities to build wheelchair ramps, for example, to allow those who are unable to walk to still have equal access to public buildings.
But some local deaf say they are still struggling to be treated as equals, often waiting hours in hospitals or courtrooms for interpreters that may never come.
‘FELT INVISIBLE’
Dora Bradley, who helped put on a recent potluck for the deaf at Sacred Heart Church in Chazy, said one of her worst experiences was being called in for jury duty, an obligation everyone has as an American citizen.
When an interpreter was not available and she insisted on staying, they laughed a bit, and Bradley said she was asked to go home.
“I felt kind of invisible, as if I had no rights.”
EXCLUDED
People without hearing sometimes find employers to be less than willing to take a chance on hiring them. Those with jobs say they are sometimes excluded from meetings or they attend but are unable to understand what is being said.