The directors of the acclaimed film “Crip Camp” say they used “crip,” short for “cripple,” a term often considered offensive, to create more positive associations with the word. They intended it to signify political awareness and an embrace of one’s identity as a person with a disability – traits shared by the subjects of the documentary, who were instrumental in the civil rights movement that led to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, will launch the Team Biden Disability Coalition on the 30-year anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The group of self-advocates will advise Biden on disability policy and help with his campaign. Biden has recently increased his outreach to the disability community, appearing at a national disability voting event and hiring a disability engagement director.
Tom Harkin, the lead Senate sponsor of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, said the act’s biggest legacy is the social shift toward treating people with disabilities with dignity, not pity. He also pointed to public school inclusion and architectural accessibility as areas of major progress. However, he said there has been little improvement in equal employment, the focus of his advocacy since he retired from the Senate.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden will soon announce his plan to support caregivers, boost home- and community-based care and improve early childhood education. The proposal would create free prekindergarten for three- and four-year-old children and send money to state and local governments to bolster underfunded social services. It would cost an estimated $775 billion over ten years.
Thirty years after the Americans with Disabilities Act created a set of architectural requirements to make public buildings more accessible to people with disabilities, many architects and designers find that building accommodations into products can improve functionality and aesthetics. This concept, often called “universal design” or, more recently, “inclusive design,” has improved safety and usability for those with and without disabilities.
