休曼现在是美国国务院国际残疾人权利特别顾问。她因患小儿麻痹症从小就不能走路。她对年轻时代在日常生活中遭遇的种种不便，至今记忆犹新。休曼是争取残障人权利的早期活动人士之一，积极呼吁国家立法保障残疾人在进出公共建筑以及在受教育和就业方面享有平等机会。

1990年，《美国残疾人法》（Americans with Disabilities Act，缩写ADA）的通过开始给数百万美国人的生活带来改变。

不能遗弃任何人

由于《美国残疾人法》的诞生，越来越多的残疾公民如今能够追求自己的事业，在全美各地与没有残疾的同事们一起在办公室和商务场所上班。

7月20日，在白宫举行的纪念《美国残疾人法》生效25周年仪式上，奥巴马总统赞扬这项法律使美国残疾人能够充分参与社区和国家生活。（总统讲话全文[英文]）

奥巴马总统说：“由于有了《美国残疾人法》，构成我们美国生活的场所——学校、工作机构、电影院、法院、公车、棒球场、国家公园等——名副其实地属于所有人。他说：“数百万有残障的美国人有了发展自己的才能和为世界作出特殊贡献的机会。由于他们，美国更加强大，更加生气勃勃；《美国残疾人法》让国家变得更美好。这是这项法律的成就。

美国现任国务卿约翰·克里（John Kerry）是最热心支持通过《美国残疾人法》为残疾人设立便利通道的人士之一。他说， 《美国残疾人法》不仅使有残疾的专业人才受益，同时也使他们所在的社区受益。

克里说，通过让美国更加方便于所有公民，《美国残疾人法》“提高了残疾人对在事业和生活中取得成就的期望。”这项法律还激励了全世界“从平等和机会的角度看待残疾人问题”。

克里还说，一个包容的社会也是一个更强大的社会，因为它让每一个人都能贡献才华。

另外他说：“我们对待不同背景的人的方式也体现了我们的价值观，并界定了我们是什么样的人。” 《美国残疾人法》表明，“我们决意不遗弃任何人——无论是在何处。”

积极的变化

在《美国残疾人法》立法后的25年中，美国改变了公共建筑物的设计标准，使之必须让所有人都可以方便地进出，早期建筑也为此加装了坡道和其他功能。

《美国残疾人法》还使美国工作场所在从招聘到为残疾员工提供方便等多方面发生了改变。很多企业和公司正在为聘用更多残疾人而努力。

为残疾人找工作提供服务的人才招聘机构MVLE副总裁凯南·阿登（Kenan Aden）指出，《美国残疾人法》为美国许多项目奠定了基础。

视频：
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTI5NTI3NDAxMg==.html 

33岁的克里斯汀·弗莱舍纳（Kristin Fleschner）和她这一代人在成长过程中享受到了《美国残疾人法》带来的机会。她从2008年起逐渐丧失视力，而后成为残疾人权利的倡导者。

在了申请了数个法学院后，弗莱舍纳选择上哈佛大学（Harvard University），因为哈佛大学积极地录取她，并为她的需要提供方便——从专门的现代科技手段到随时陪在身边的导盲犬佐伊。在哈佛期间，她制作了视频“盲人的志向”（Blind Ambition），让人们了解有视觉障碍的人的生活。

立法和执法是保障残疾人充分参与社会、经济和政治生活的关键。而现代科技也日益发挥重要功能。

方便的现代科技

多年来，《美国残疾人法》的内容在不断改进、发展和充实。其中一项改进是2010年的立法，要求基于互联网的通信技术必须方便残疾人使用。奥巴马总统赞扬这一新法律并宣告“美国残疾人……不仅有权充分参与社会，也有权充分享有机会。”

现代科技协助弗莱舍纳取得了法学学位，并协助她目前在国务院的工作，例如通过软件将书面文字转换成语音。iPhone苹果手机通过读屏（VoiceOver）和声屏功能（Speak Screen），也为视障人士提供了使用便利，像Siri语音控制功能这样的“智能助手”则能发出和回应语音指令。振动提示功能有助于听力受损的人士，多点触控屏幕能够适应具体的肢体动作需要。

应用程序提供了更多的工具。“请当我眼睛”（Be My Eyes Network）是一个融合了技术和志愿服务的应用程序，它让盲人可以通过打电话向志愿者求助，比如读取牛奶包装上的保鲜日期，盲人只需用iPhone手机扫描到文字信息，志愿者即可取读出来。 “盲人广场（BlindSquare）是一个GPS全球定位系统应用程序，它能提供公共场所的行路导航。

而高科技也改变了假肢和其他工具，如机器人手臂和能爬楼梯的轮椅减轻了成千上万人生活中的困难。

朱迪思·休曼强调，残疾人必须被视为正常的人。 “随着我们乘坐火车和公共汽车或在餐馆吃饭，上学以及与他人在同样的工作场所公事，人们开始对残疾人有了更多的接触。”这样的“一起共餐”经历帮助在残疾人和非残疾人形成正常的互动。休曼说，“情况已经发生了巨大的改变。但是要做事情还很多。”

欲了解《美国残疾人法》给残疾人生活带来的方便，请看视频“坦维尔：一位国际残疾学生的一天”。

视频：
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTI5NTI4NjI0NA==.html



The Americans with Disabilities Act at 25: Millions empowered [video]

  “When I was growing up, I never expected to be able to go to a movie theater and have a place where I could sit in my wheelchair, or where a bathroom would be accessible,” saysJudith Heumann.

Heumann, now special adviser for international disability rights at the U.S. State Department, vividly recalls a youth filled with barriers that restricted her daily activities. Left unable to walk by childhood polio, Heumann was among the early activists who advocated for national legislation to ensure people with disabilities have equal access to public buildings and to education and employment.

To appreciate the challenges she faced, imagine if you couldn’t easily cross a street, board a bus, or enter a classroom or store. Just a few decades ago, that was a reality for disabled individuals in the United States.

In 1990, passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) began to change that reality for millions of Americans.

Leaving no one behind

Because of the ADA, more and more citizens with disabilities are pursuing careers, working alongside able-bodied peers in offices and businesses across the country.

At a July 20 White House ceremony marking the ADA’s 25th anniversary, President Obamapaid tribute to the law that ensures that Americans with disabilities can be full participants in the life of their communities and their nation.

“Thanks to the ADA, the places that comprise our shared American life — schools, workplaces, movie theaters, courthouses, buses, baseball stadiums, national parks — they truly belong to everyone,” Obama said. “Millions of Americans with disabilities have had the chance to develop their talents and make their unique contributions to the world. And thanks to them, America is stronger and more vibrant; it is a better country because of the ADA. That’s what this law has achieved.”

Among the most passionate supporters of ADA-mandated access is Secretary of State John Kerry, who cites the ADA’s benefits not only for disabled professionals, but also for the communities they live in.

By making the United States more accessible to all citizens, the ADA has “raised the expectations of people with disabilities about what they can hope to achieve at work and in life,” says Kerry. The law inspires the world “to view disability issues through the lens of equality and opportunity.”

An inclusive society, he adds, is a stronger society, because it draws on the talents and contributions of everyone.

Also, “the way we treat people of all backgrounds demonstrates our values and defines who we are,” Kerry says. The ADA signals “our determination to make sure that we leave no one behind — anywhere.”

Positive change

In the 25 years since the ADA became law, U.S. construction standards have changed to require new public buildings to be accessible to everyone, and older buildings have been retrofitted with ramps and other design features to ensure access.

From hiring to providing physical accommodations for employees with disabilities, American workplaces have changed, thanks to the ADA. And many businesses and corporations are making efforts to hire more disabled people.

“The ADA laid the track for a lot of the programs that we have in the United States,” says Kenan Aden, vice president of the placement agency MVLE, which specializes in finding jobs for persons with disabilities.

Video: 
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTI5NTI3NDAxMg==.html  

Kristin Fleschner, 33, belongs to the generation that has grown up enjoying the access made possible by the ADA. She began to lose her sight in 2008 and became an advocate for disability rights.

After applying to several law schools, Fleschner chose Harvard University because the school actively recruited her and accommodated her needs — from special technology to her constant companion, guide dog Zoe. While at Harvard, she made the video “Blind Ambition,” which documents what it is to be blind.

Legislation and compliance enforcement are essential to ensuring disabled people’s full participation in social, economic and political life.

Increasingly, so is technology.

Accessible tech

The ADA has been refined, expanded and augmented over the years, and one such refinement is a 2010 law requiring that Internet-based communication technology be accessible to people with disabilities. President Obama praised the new law, declaring that “Americans with disabilities are … entitled to not only full participation in our society, but also full opportunity.”

Technology, such as software that turns text into speech, helped Fleschner earn her law degree and assists in her current job at the State Department.IPhones are made to be accessible: VoiceOver and Speak Screen features help the visually impaired, as does Siri, the “intelligent assistant” that gives directions out loud and responds to verbal commands. Vibrating alerts help those with impaired hearing. The multitouch screen is adaptable to specific physical needs.

Apps provide still more tools. The Be My Eyes Network combines technology with volunteerism. It enables a blind person to phone a volunteer for help, say, to read the expiration date on a milk carton. The blind person simply scans the text with an iPhone and a sighted volunteer reads it. BlindSquare is a GPS app that gives audio walking instructions in public spaces.

And high tech is also transforming prosthetics and other tools. Robotic arms and stair-climbing wheelchairs can make life easier for thousands.

Judith Heumann emphasizes that disabled persons must be seen as normal people. “As we take the trains and buses and eat in restaurants, and go to school and are working in the same work sites, people are beginning to have more exposure” to people with disabilities. This “breaking bread together” helps normalize interactions between the disabled and nondisabled. “Things have so dramatically changed,” Heumann says, “but there is so much more to do.”

See how the ADA makes life easier for disabled people in “Tanveer: A day in the life of an international disabled student.” 

Video: 
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTI5NTI4NjI0NA==.html