I was 10 during the summer of 1990.
My interests were varied – they included sports, oddball comedies, and, yes, a fascination with politics and the broader world. I remember July 26, 1990, and hearing about the Americans with Disabilities Act, seeing the images of President George H.W. Bush signing it into law, but not thinking much of the moment.
To me, in my young, naive mind, it felt like something that should have been in place long before that moment. Providing people with disabilities access to schools, office spaces, and various areas of society should be as natural as including anyone else in society. Why wouldn’t we want to make sure people had access to the things everyone else could enter?
Thirty-five years later, with my own disability and raising children with their own disabilities, I am amazed at how far the disability community has come. What was for that 10-year-old a passing reference in the morning newspaper has become for me the most important piece of legislation that impacts my family to this day. It is not a distant law, but part of what gives me, my sons, and my entire family access to the world.
Without the provisions and protections found within the ADA, my family would not be able to live as we do today. My oldest son would not have access to technology that allows him to express his wants and desires with the press of a button. He would not have access to doctors and therapies to care for his multiple needs, nor would he have rights of recourse when his basic rights and dignity have been violated. My youngest son would not have access to speech therapies to help improve his language skills. I would not have access to accommodations in my office to care for my needs.
The ADA is vital for families like mine and the disability community.
Yet, as we prepare to celebrate 35 years of the ADA’s role in creating a more open society with the disability community in mind, we celebrate with caution this year. The disability community is experiencing more attacks on its very existence than at any other time since the passage of the ADA.
In recent months, the disability community has seen a rise in the use of language that is discriminatory and offensive in describing people of the community.
It has seen a rise in attacks on the provisions of the ADA. There has been an increase in efforts to remove oversight and regulations that enforce access and inclusion.
Programs that ensure equal participation of the disability community in conversations are, at times, viewed as a threat to society.
There have been attempts to reduce funding for home and community-based services, school therapies, and other programs that are vital for the disability community.
We celebrate with tension rising and doubts prevalent about the future of ADA protections. The disability community celebrates with concern this year.
As a pastor, I pray the church takes notice of the concern the disability community is experiencing.
I am fortunate that among the churches I serve, there is access and accommodations for people with disabilities. This is a rare occurrence in the church. There are too many churches that refuse to create accessible spaces and an atmosphere of inclusion within the church, using money as a scapegoat to deny access to some of God’s very own children. Pastor are too often unaware of how to lead their churches when it comes to including the disability community, nor are they aware of the need for access, relationships, leadership, and discipleship within the church.
There are too many in the church who are silent when it comes to the challenges the community faces, because they believe it will not affect them.
I believe this can be worked through. It requires love and education. A willingness to love people with disabilities as children of God and people with sacred and holy worth. As well, a desire to learn about the community and how best to walk with the disability community as a witness of God’s holy love.
For this to happen, the church must do a better job of answering the why questions. Why is it important for the church to make space for the disability community? Why is it important for the disability community to have a voice at the table? Why is it important for the church to be active in these areas?
I do not believe the church has a good understanding of the why of the disability community, beyond simply offering programs for the community. Until we can fully answer the why question, we will struggle to make room for the disability community.
The same is true for society as a whole.
As the disability community responds to the ever-growing number of threats to its very existence, society must also grapple with the question of why the disability community matters to them. It cannot be about simply following a law to avoid fines and legal consequences.
Including the disability community and answering the question of why must be about seeing the community as vital. The disability community is part of the fullness of human experience. Without our voice and participation, we are not a true reflection of the wholeness of life’s experiences.
This is what we celebrate on July 26 each year. It is what we will strive to seek as the community seeks full inclusion in society and, yes, the church.
Shannon Blosser 