Looking back at the last 20 years, both idealists and cynics in the disability community can find ways to confirm their views. Since its signing, the ADA has brought about tremendous change in the way American society deals with disability. At the same time, in other ways we have clearly not progressed far enough, and in some areas — such as our high rate of unemployment — our community has even gone backward. So how does the average person with a disability — the “crip on the street,” if you will — evaluate the impact of the ADA?
