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I'm Art Blaser in Orange, California

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South of Los Angeles.

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And the first question had to do with

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my background and how I became aware

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of the ADA, a disability association.

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In my case, [br]although I had some knowledge before,

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not a lot less than most people,

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til I became disabled,

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which was in 1983, [br]I had a brain stem stroke

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and became disabled and a full time

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wheelchair user today.

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And I would say that

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the issues of disability accommodations

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I confronted.

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A big one was access to my home

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and a simple one was access to my job.

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That although curb cuts were in theory

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supposed to be in place

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by 1995, in practice, they weren't.

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They are today, which I think is

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emblematic of the impact of the ADA.

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As of now we've got things

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to the time, but,

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the spirit of the ADA

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was the confrontation of

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people being public about their needs.

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And eventually, Orange, where I live,

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had curb cuts at the corners, which meant

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it was possible for me to live

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about five blocks from campus.

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I had improvements also and accommodations

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which included a computerized voice

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that makes it possible to teach.

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The kinds of things that

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wouldn't have existed decades ago.

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Fortunately, in California as a professor,

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I was able to take advantage of

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good state laws.

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But I think they're being forced by

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the spirit of the ADA.

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We see the ADA's effect for good

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point of the spirit

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and some things that don't work

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just about every day that they

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try to get access to different buildings.

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And quite often, the experience

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of other people say

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this shouldn't be happening,

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but in fact it is.

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But the big difference is

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is that were people motivated,

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eventually things change and adapt.

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I've noticed it most

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in education

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that I teach

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at Chapman University, since 1981,

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so before the ADA.

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And, when I was not disabled,

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I teach today

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I noticed a lot of the effects through

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teaching disabilities at least.

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And, I've had students

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who actually grew up knowing

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that the ADA existed

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and they're the so-called "ADA generation"

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which makes a big difference.

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People are claiming disability and trying

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to make the world a better place.

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And, in many cases, they're successful,

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and in some cases, not.

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But there are reasons for it

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and I think there's a desire

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to understand the reasons.

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I think they want us to

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prioritize and recognize separated people,

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the association of where

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and how people live,

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and the contrast between nursing homes

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and lacks of the community

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or congregate settings.

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And we're experiencing through COVID-19,

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the current crisis,

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a lot of death in nursing homes worldwide.

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And, we also have the coordinance of the

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Unites States fills decades, which Friday

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the interpretations of it, but

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it will threat of the right of people

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to live in the community

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guaranteed by the

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Americans with Disabilities Act.

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I think one of the

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unfortunate things we are seeing

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is the lack of forward movement

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toward nursing home reforms

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or eStatements.

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We can't continue to live in congregate

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settings and a number of people are

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active big of what that thing is,

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the independent living centers

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and independent living movement,

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some things that I feel privileged

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in a lot of ways to be involved in

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with a center for independent living

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for Orange county and LA.

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And a major issue has been

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transitions from nursing homes.

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And, that will continue to be a major

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issue including interpretations of cores,

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which I think is very important

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not only in the United States,

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but also elsewhere as well.

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England has noticed roughly

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the same thing happening

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that about half of the deaths

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are people in nursing homes.

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They can tell that a bit of the issue

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is that now we're seeing a lot

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of people who've had COVID-19

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tested positive and recovered,

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but a lot of indications that they

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haven't recovered perfectly.

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That many of them like me have stroke,

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some things that are similar to

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multiple sclerosis,

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and a lot of people haven't thought

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of themselves as disabled, but in fact

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have many of the conditions of disability.

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And an important factor

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in the coming years

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I think will be that people

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claim disability

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and discover that it's actually a part

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of the way a lot of us live.

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And that's something that's

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going to go away because

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to people like me

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is we can make the world a lot better

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by acknowledging the rights

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that should come along with disability.

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The most important step that

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we as community members can take

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is education while they can see that

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all of us are involved

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in through their lifespan

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because they can see inside there.

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And considering people to both

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dimensions of disability

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some with pride and positive atitudes

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towards human differences continue

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through their lifespans and

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know religious organizations

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at first, might find it difficult to

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deal with disabilities through politics

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like the Americans with Disability Act

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and Vocabularies Right,

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but that's very necessary.

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And at the colleges and universities

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I know we have to graduate disabilities

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to this program.

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But as a community,

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I think everything affects the media.

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Sometimes we see things differently,

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but an increase in disability

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of disability is important.

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Fortunately, we have projects like

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the disability and visibility project,

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a number of instances

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of involvement of the media,

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foundations like the Rotherham Foundation.

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But a number of indications that

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in the future disability will be something

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that people are likely to talk about

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and deal with in a positive way.