WEBVTT

00:00:00.297 --> 00:00:06.449
I'm Art Blaser in Orange, California

00:00:06.449 --> 00:00:08.872
South of Los Angeles.

00:00:08.872 --> 00:00:12.403
And the first question had to do with

00:00:12.510 --> 00:00:16.227
my background and how I became aware

00:00:16.227 --> 00:00:21.127
of the ADA, a disability association

00:00:21.880 --> 00:00:26.820
In my case, 
although I had some knowledge before,

00:00:27.195 --> 00:00:30.941
not a lot less than most people,

00:00:31.010 --> 00:00:33.557
til I became disabled,

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:33.718 --> 00:00:39.058
Which was in 1983, 
I had a brain stem stroke

00:00:39.507 --> 00:00:42.510
and became disabled and a full time

00:00:42.510 --> 00:00:45.906
wheelchair user today.

00:00:45.909 --> 00:00:48.229
and I would say that

00:00:48.229 --> 00:00:53.034
the issues of disability

00:00:53.049 --> 00:00:56.699
I confronted

00:00:56.699 --> 00:01:00.889
a big one was access to my home

00:01:00.938 --> 00:01:03.853
and a simple one was access to my job.

00:01:03.853 --> 00:01:08.812
That although curb cuts were in theory

00:01:08.812 --> 00:01:11.124
supposed to be in place

00:01:11.124 --> 00:01:15.354
by 1995, in practice, they weren't.

00:01:15.503 --> 00:01:18.279
They are today, which I think is

00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:21.917
emblematic of the impact of the ADA.

00:01:21.967 --> 00:01:25.077
As of now we've got things

00:01:25.107 --> 00:01:27.328
to the time but,

00:01:27.999 --> 00:01:31.359
the spirit of the ADA

00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:34.628
was the confrontation of

00:01:34.628 --> 00:01:37.977
people being public about their needs

00:01:37.977 --> 00:01:41.529
and eventually, Orange, where I lived,

00:01:41.529 --> 00:01:45.978
had curb cuts at the corners, which meant

00:01:45.978 --> 00:01:50.489
it was possible for me to live

00:01:50.518 --> 00:01:53.790
about five blocks from campus.

00:01:53.790 --> 00:01:59.633
I had improvements and accommodations

00:01:59.955 --> 00:02:05.471
which included a computerized voice

00:02:05.529 --> 00:02:08.488
that makes it possible to teach.

00:02:08.588 --> 00:02:10.825
The kinds of things that

00:02:10.825 --> 00:02:14.118
wouldn't have existed decades ago.

00:02:14.303 --> 00:02:19.033
Fortunately, in California as a professor

00:02:19.033 --> 00:02:21.684
I was able to take advantage of

00:02:21.684 --> 00:02:23.626
good state laws.

00:02:23.626 --> 00:02:26.876
But I think they're being forced by

00:02:26.876 --> 00:02:30.166
the spirit of the ADA.

00:02:31.509 --> 00:02:38.599
We see the ADA affect for good point of the spirit

00:02:38.619 --> 00:02:40.708
and some things that don't work

00:02:40.708 --> 00:02:44.803
just about every day that they

00:02:44.861 --> 00:02:49.571
try to get access to different buildings.

00:02:49.574 --> 00:02:53.584
and quite often the experiences

00:02:53.625 --> 00:02:55.225
of other people say

00:02:55.267 --> 00:02:58.101
this shouldn't be happening,

00:02:58.101 --> 00:02:59.938
but in fact it is.

00:03:00.284 --> 00:03:02.940
But the big difference is

00:03:02.940 --> 00:03:06.790
is that were people motivated,

00:03:06.790 --> 00:03:10.836
eventually things change and adapt.

00:03:10.836 --> 00:03:12.919
I've noticed it most

00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:14.993
in education.

00:03:15.047 --> 00:03:17.274
that I teach

00:03:17.274 --> 00:03:22.084
at Chapman University, since 1981,

00:03:22.084 --> 00:03:24.744
so before the ADA.

00:03:24.745 --> 00:03:31.115
When I was not disabled I taught it there

00:03:31.115 --> 00:03:34.550
I noticed a lot of the affects through

00:03:34.550 --> 00:03:38.139
teaching disabilities, at least.

00:03:38.139 --> 00:03:40.829
and I've had students

00:03:40.829 --> 00:03:43.059
who actually grew up knowing

00:03:43.059 --> 00:03:46.019
that the ADA existed

00:03:46.019 --> 00:03:50.876
and they're the so-called "ADA generation"

00:03:51.013 --> 00:03:54.243
Which makes a big difference

00:03:54.243 --> 00:03:59.452
People are claiming disability and trying

00:03:59.452 --> 00:04:03.079
to make the world a better place.

00:04:03.098 --> 00:04:07.478
And, in many cases, they're successful

00:04:07.478 --> 00:04:09.818
and in some cases, not.

00:04:09.818 --> 00:04:12.248
But there are reasons for it

00:04:12.248 --> 00:04:15.327
and I think there's a desire

00:04:15.327 --> 00:04:19.327
to understand the reasons.

00:04:19.327 --> 00:04:21.927
I think they want us to

00:04:21.927 --> 00:04:30.505


00:04:30.505 --> 00:04:32.489
where and how people live

00:04:32.489 --> 00:04:36.835
and the contrast between nursing homes

00:04:36.835 --> 00:04:39.736
and lacks of the community

00:04:39.736 --> 00:04:42.222


00:04:42.222 --> 00:04:48.642
and we're experiencing through Covid-19 the current crisis

00:04:48.642 --> 00:04:53.870
a lot of death in nursing homes worldwide.

00:04:53.870 --> 00:05:20.118
and we also

00:05:20.118 --> 00:05:21.599
I think one of the

00:05:21.599 --> 00:05:25.343
unfortunate things we are seeing

00:05:25.343 --> 00:05:29.415
is the lack of forward movement

00:05:29.415 --> 00:05:32.294
toward nursing home reforms

00:05:32.294 --> 00:05:34.753
or estates

00:05:34.753 --> 00:05:39.193
we can't continue to live in congregate settings

00:05:39.193 --> 00:05:43.300
and a number of people are

00:05:43.300 --> 00:05:47.508


00:05:47.508 --> 00:05:50.208
the independent living centers

00:05:50.208 --> 00:05:52.677
and independent living movement

00:05:52.677 --> 00:05:57.687
some things that I feel privileged

00:05:57.687 --> 00:06:01.106
in a lot of ways to be involved in

00:06:01.106 --> 00:06:04.717
with a center for independent living

00:06:04.717 --> 00:06:07.035
for Orange county and LA

00:06:07.035 --> 00:06:09.962
and a major issue has been

00:06:09.962 --> 00:06:14.463
transition from nursing homes

00:06:15.353 --> 00:06:20.337
and that will continue to be a major

00:06:20.337 --> 00:06:24.739
issue including interpretations of cores.

00:06:24.739 --> 00:06:29.283
which I think it's very important that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999