Equality of Opportunity: The Making of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Americans with Abilities

The road to enactment of this legislation was not easy. But in the process of reaching this goal, we have all learned something about the evils of discrimination in any form, and the importance of judging individuals by their abilities—not patronizing misconceptions, demeaning stereotypes, and irrational fears about their disabilities.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy⁵

5. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, quoted in “ADA: A Special Issue,” Worklife 3:3 (Fall, 1990), p. 19.