Americans With Disabilities Act Research Articles

Clicking in the Dark: Are Student Financial Aid Websites Accessible for Students with Disabilities?

The United States (U.S.) Access Board, a branch of the federal government responsible for advancing the inclusion of people with disabilities into U.S. society, recently amended Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On January 18th, 2018, the final Section 508 amendment required all Title IV institutions of higher education in the United States to conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG) at the Level-A and Level-AA thresholds. As students with disabilities are often minoritized from the U.S. higher education system, this study explored the web accessibility of institutional .edu financial aid websites (n=450) to learn if these websites were accessible for students with disabilities after the January 2018 mandate. Results suggest the average financial aid website included nearly 40 web accessibility errors, with only 16% websites being accessible enough for students with disabilities to navigate from the landing page to the federal student aid application instructions webpage. Implications for research and practice are addressed.

Designing Beyond the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA): Creating an Autism-Friendly Vocational Center.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been effective in establishing building standards that create accessible spaces for people with physical impairments. These guidelines have not addressed the needs of people with mental, emotional, and/or developmental disabilities. With the increase in autism diagnosis, designers/architects need to expand their planning to include more universal solutions. The purpose is to demonstrate ways of designing beyond ADA to address needs of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To design effectively, designers/architects must identify sensory issues that influence these children in establishing a regulatory state enabling effective interaction with neurotypical peers. Design is also important for teachers, therapists, and parents of children with ASD to enable more successful interactions. If the environment is overstimulating for a child with ASD, then a parent/caregiver/therapist will struggle to achieve their goals. Mostafa recommended seven design criteria known as ASPECTSS™: Acoustics, Spatial sequencing, Escape spaces, Compartmentalization, Transition spaces, Sensory zoning, and Safety, when designing for people with ASD. These classifications lay the groundwork for the established guidelines. As designers/architects, we have a responsibility to create inclusive environments. To help, the authors highlighted a vocational center showing one plan that meets ADA guidelines and another that illustrates additional environmental features addressing the needs of people with ASD. These criteria originated from evidence-based solutions derived from a literature review and personal interview. These recommendations demonstrate that sensitivity to the needs of people with autism creates a solution that is better for all people.

The Americans With Disabilities Act, Reasonable Accommodations, and Medical Education.

The number of students with a disability matriculating into institutions of medical education, including physician assistant programs, is increasing. Educational institutions must develop procedures with regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) including the provision of reasonable accommodations to provide equal opportunities for all. These procedures must be compliant with federal and state laws while protecting academic integrity, maintaining technical standards, and successfully navigating the institutional and individual faculty barriers. Knowledge of the ADA and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 as well as some familiarity with the legal precedent regarding these laws will facilitate planning and decision-making for students with disabilities. This is imperative for educating not just those with specific disabilities but also the evolving learners of today. Such knowledge, coupled with the continued prioritization of technical standards and student outcomes, will assist in the curricular development of the future.

Employment outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A literature review

This review examined various studies regarding the employment outcomes for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) within the United States. This review provides a snapshot of the individuals' employment rate, setting, income, quality of life, and well-being. A thorough literature review was conducted to retrieve studies and gather information. The studies were retrieved from Proquest, Ebscohost, Emerald, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. Other databases included Eric and PsycINFO. The inclusion criteria were the studies published after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, as well as the studies published in English and limited to the population of the United States. A total of 27 studies were included in the review. The results indicated that the employment settings for individuals with IDD, such as sheltered, supported, or competitive employment, have different impacts on working hours and weekly wages. This paper also established that the employment of individuals with IDD has a positive influence on their self-esteem, self-confidence, career progression, and independence levels, especially in integrated employment. Furthermore, this review demonstrated that the work of such individuals provides a source of income and enables them to contribute to the national economy through taxes. However, the review suggests that there is still a need to improve the employment of such individuals in order to increase the employment outcomes to significant levels. There is a need to mainly focus on enhancing sheltered employment whose results are relatively lower when compared to the other forms of work. Practices and research implications were also discussed.

Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Web Accessibility: Digital Equity for Hispanic Students With Disabilities in the 21st Century

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates that all Title IV-participating institutions of higher education publish web accessible websites for students with disabilities. This study sought to evaluate the web accessibility of Hispanic-Serving Institutional (HSI) websites ( n = 217). Results suggest that the average HSI website landing page included 447 errors, violating ADA. Most errors were related to font size, color contrast, and hyperlinks and pictures. Implications for research, practice, and support for Hispanic students with disabilities are addressed.

Barriers to Public Transportation and Employment: A National Survey of Individuals With Disabilities

The current study investigated the relationship between public transportation barriers and employment status among a national sample of 3,218 individuals with disabilities. A web-based survey was developed out of a participatory action research program and disseminated to potential participants using the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) National Network. Approximately 89.7% of respondents reported experiencing at least one barrier to using public transportation, with an average of 3.39 (SD = 2.73) barriers per person. Individuals with disabilities who were not employed experienced significantly more barriers than those who were employed, and this difference was most prominent among those who were deaf or hard of hearing. The findings corroborate previous reports of the association between transportation and employment, but further specify that individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may be disproportionately affected by public transportation barriers.

Constructing Effective Responses: Considerations for Integrating a Service Animal Into a Public School

A respected principal finds himself caught in the middle of a complex legal conundrum when a student requests to bring a service animal to his public school where another student may be dangerously allergic to the animal. This case explores how accommodations per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) intersect in a public school setting where classroom space and personnel resources are limited. Educational leaders will be able to construct effective responses by understanding how the three laws apply to students with disabilities who request that their service animals accompany them to public school and when their requests may come into conflict with the needs of others.

Regatta Revisited: The Race for Equity in Virtual Sports

In today’s internet driven world, virtual sports tournaments where competitors from across the globe use exercise machines connected via cyber technology are becoming increasingly popular. These competitions, in which athletes can participate from afar, have the potential to increase inclusion for athletes with disabilities. However, many virtual athletic competitions currently fall short of the mandate that organizers accommodate and reward disabled athletes in ways comparable to nondisabled athletes. Specifically, disabled athletes are far too often not equitably categorized into competitive classifications according to their impairments and disabilities. This discriminatory practice affects notions of fairness for disabled athletes. This note is the first to shed light on the regulatory and legal aspects of virtual sport tournaments and aims to recommend policy to ensure equity in those competitions for disabled athletes. Almost thirty years have passed since Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which recognizes that “physical and mental disabilities in no way diminish a person’s right to fully participate in all aspects of society.” The Paralympic Movement is also very clear about the importance of comparable opportunities for disabled and nondisabled athletes as essential for the inclusion of the former and for reducing disability stigma. We argue that when competition and award categories are delineated across nondisabled sports, it is imperative that opportunities are mirrored for disabled athletes.

Personality testing and the Americans With Disabilities Act: Cause for concern as normal and abnormal personality models are integrated

AbstractApplied psychologists commonly use personality tests in employee selection systems because of their advantages regarding incremental criterion-related validity and less adverse impact relative to cognitive ability tests. Although personality tests have seen limited legal challenges in the past, we posit that the use of personality tests might see increased challenges under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) due to emerging evidence that normative personality and personality disorders belong to common continua. This article aims to begin a discussion and offer initial insight regarding the possible implications of this research for personality testing under the ADA. We review past case law, scholarship in employment law, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance regarding “medical examinations,” and recent literature from various psychology disciplines—including clinical, neuropsychology, and applied personality psychology—regarding the relationship between normative personality and personality disorders. More importantly, we review suggestions proposing the five-factor model (FFM) be used to diagnose personality disorders (PDs) and recent changes in theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM). Our review suggests that as scientific understanding of personality progresses, practitioners will need to exercise evermore caution when choosing personality measures for use in selection systems. We conclude with six recommendations for applied psychologists when developing or choosing personality measures.

‘Safe Haven’ Integral to Physician Wellness

‘Safe Haven’ Integral to Physician Wellness

An Americans with Disabilities Act for Everyone, and for the Ages As Well

A perennial problem in understanding and implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is whether it is aimed at protecting only people with disabilities. Interpreting the statute in this way focuses attention on the problem of determining who is disabled. It also invites thinking that the statute conveys special benefits for disabled people, thereby suggesting that its effect is to privilege them-even if the privilege might stem from their disadvantage or need. Thus, this familiar but mistaken understanding of the ADA as conferring a right on one type of person can only be cast in a way that incites resentment. In this Article, we take on this categorical view of the ADA. We argue that the statute from the beginning was meant to protect against an identified form of discrimination rather than to protect an identified group of people and, moreover, that in any case the concept of disability will not bear the weight the categorical view would ascribe to it. We contend as well that the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAA or Amendments Act) reaffirms this universal interpretation of the statute.

HBCUs Online: Can Students With Disabilities Access Historically Black College and University Websites?

On January 18, 2018, U.S. Congress amended Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to hold all Title IV U.S. institutions of higher education to Level AA compliance with web access...

Be an ally for accessibility: Tips for all librarians

Accessibility is a concern for librarians in digital as well as physical spaces, and we have a responsibility to uphold the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, regardless of legal requirements, librarians endeavour to make content available to everyone. People with disabilities are no exception. While some of the more complex accessibility issues should be left to instructional technologists and web developers, there are plenty of things that anyone posting content online can do to increase content accessibility. Here are five tips that we have found useful for creating guides, posting handouts in our Learning Management System (LMS), building online tutorials, or similar activities.

Workplace Discrimination Involving Charging Parties With Substance Use Disorders Under Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act

The goal of this research was to describe allegations of discrimination, both actual and perceived, that were filed by individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) in comparison to a group of individuals with other physical disabilities (GENDIS) through analysis of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Integrated Mission System (IMS) database. An ex post facto, causal comparative quantitative design was used to examine Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title I allegations received by the EEOC from charging parties with SUD from 1992 through 2011 (n= 8,432) in comparison to the GENDIS group over the same timeframe (n= 82,618). Results revealed statistically significant differences in the patterns of issues alleged by the two groups. In addition, compared to the GENDIS comparison group, the SUD group was significantly younger, had a significantly higher proportion of males, had proportionally more individuals who identified as Caucasian and as Other, and had proportionally fewer individuals who identified as Hispanic/Mexican and Asian. Charging parties with SUD were significantly less likely than the GENDIS group to have their allegations result in a merit-based case resolution. Implications for rehabilitation practice and further research are discussed.

Ten Years After the ADA Amendment Act (2008): The Relationship Between ADA Employment Discrimination and Substance Use Disorders.

Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides protection against discrimination on the basis of disability. This article explores how the courts have dealt with provisions limiting these protections for persons with substance use disorders. Specifically, the ADA allows employees with substance use disorders to be held to the same standards as other employees, suggesting that employers may not be required to provide reasonable accommodations. Moreover, employees "currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs" are excluded from ADA coverage. This article reviewed all published federal appellate court opinions involving cases in which a substance use disorder was the basis for a claim of employment-related discrimination in violation of the ADA. In 26 cases identified, the lower courts ruled in favor of the employer 25 times, and the appellate courts reversed four of these rulings. The cases highlight three important limitations of ADA protections for persons with substance use disorders: the dilemma of needing to prove that one's substance use disorder limits major life activities while simultaneously arguing that one is qualified for the job; expansive interpretations of "current" drug use and the period of sobriety needed to qualify for ADA protections; and restrictions on the extent to which a qualifying disability can serve as a legal excuse for substance use-related misconduct. The protections afforded by the ADA for individuals with substance use disorders are restricted by what appears to be the statute's moralizing on drug and alcohol use and those who use these substances.

State Nursing Licensure Questions About Mental Illness and Compliance With the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The current article describes a review of U.S. states and the District of Columbia boards of nursing pre-licensure applications, which were collected, summarized, and evaluated to assess compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Less than one half (n = 21) of RN licensing boards do not ask questions about mental illness on pre-licensure applications. Of the 30 boards that ask questions about mental illness, eight focus on current disability, which is legal under the ADA. The remaining 22 boards ask non-ADA-compliant questions by targeting specific diagnoses, focusing on historical data in the absence of current impairment, and/or requiring a prediction of future impairment. Nursing boards are urged to join colleagues in law, psychology, and medicine in using ADA-acceptable applications by eliminating mental health questions or limiting them to current impairment queries. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 57(8), 17-22.].

Two-Year Institution and Community College Web Accessibility: Updating the Literature after the 2018 Section 508 Amendment

ABSTRACTOn January 18th, 2018, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) required all federal aid-receiving institutions of higher education (Title IV) to publish web accessible websites for people with disabilities. To be compliant with federal law, Title IV institutions must now adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 standards at the Level-A and Level-AA threshold. This study examined the web accessibility of a random sample of 325 two-year Title IV institutions in the United States and found all institutions had at least one Level-A error on their homepage, potentially violating new ADA guidelines. This study also found private, for-profit institutions published the least web accessible websites, while public institutions published the most web accessible websites. Implications for future research and practice are addressed.

Another federal judge backs inmate in an ADA case over lack of MAT

For the second time since last fall, a federal judge has determined that a local jail system's refusal to provide medication‐assisted treatment (MAT) to an incarcerated offender likely violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These court rulings, coupled with growing evidence from successful correctional MAT initiatives at the state and local levels, suggest that corrections systems going forward will have a difficult time trying to justify withholding evidence‐based treatment for opioid use disorders (OUDs).

Hearing on the Deaf Penalty: The Intersection of Deafness and Criminal Justice

The Deaf population in America’s criminal justice system is far under-acknowledged, researched, and accommodated. Each year, gross negligence toward Deaf individuals results in exponentially costly lawsuits regarding violations of their constitutional and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) rights. The purpose of this study is to empirically identify the current deficits experienced by the Deaf within the criminal justice system through 18 qualitative interviews with two sub-populations: Deaf individuals who have directly interacted with the criminal justice system and professionals who witness the interaction of the Deaf within the criminal justice system. Results from the qualitative investigation revealed that the top three problems in the system were: 1) the lack of qualified, reliable interpreters; 2) the lack of communication accommodations available in prisons and jails; and 3) the lack of accommodative resources. The results suggest a disconnect between the professionals who serve the Deaf in the system and the Deaf themselves, which limits the potential benefit of those professionals to aid the population. The research implications of this investigation are presented.

Exploring effects of environment density on heterogeneous populations’ level of service perceptions

It is necessary to design and evaluate the effectiveness of walking facilities to accommodate the needs of all pedestrian groups, including individuals with disabilities. The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) standard requires that each facility or part of a facility constructed by, on behalf of, or for the use of a public entity shall be designed and constructed in such manner that the facility or part of the facility is readily usable by individuals with disabilities. The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) defines walking facility performance using a qualitative measure describing operational conditions, or level of service (LOS). However, how closely pedestrian LOS thresholds correspond to pedestrian groups’ perceptions is questionable. To overcome these limitations, a controlled large-scale walking experiment involving individuals with disabilities was conducted at Utah State University (USU). A temporary circuit with the necessary walking facilities was constructed using eight-foot, self-standing walls. In total, 202 (160 without and 42 with disabilities) individuals were recruited to participate in the experiments, with participants asked to pass through the circuit repeatedly. Individuals were tracked using the camera system, and trajectory data extraction was accomplished using a software platform suite. During each experimental session, some participants were randomly selected and asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their walking experience. Using both trajectory and survey data sources, this study explored how a heterogeneous mix of pedestrians perceive and evaluate the operational performance of walking facilities. Specifically, an ordered statistical approach was applied to investigate the effects of environmental density on pedestrians’ perceptions. The results indicated that individuals with disabilities were less tolerant of extremely congested environments. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrated that the LOS criteria provided in HCM is inadequate in quantifying the service performance of walking facilities based on the actual perceptions of individuals who participated in the controlled experiment. The findings are expected to improve operational guidelines employed to assess walking facility performance.