What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
The Americans with Disabilities Act provides protection from discrimination for individuals on the basis of disability. The ADA extends civil rights protection for people with disabilities to employment in the public and private sectors, transportation, public accommodations, services provided by state and local government, and telecommunications services. Besides physical access, the ADA mandates program access, which includes electronic media and web pages.
Who is considered a “Person with a Disability”?
- Concentrating
- Speaking
- Performing manual tasks
- Breathing
- Hearing
- Walking
- Learning
- Seeing
- Working
- Caring for oneself
- Sleeping
- Standing
- Lifting
- Bending
- Reading
- Thinking
- Communicating
The definition also includes “invisible” disabilities, such as:
- Psychological disabilities
- Learning disabilities
- Chronic health impairments, such as attention deficit disorder, epilepsy, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, cardiac problems, and HIV/AIDS.
*Definition updated to include revisions from the ADA Amendments Act, January 1, 2009.
U.S. Department of Justice Americans with Disabilities Act
University ADA Services
460 Turner Street
Collegiate Square, Suite 301
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Office (540) 231-4638
TTY (540) 231-7227
Fax (540) 231-1818
Email: adainfo@vt.edu
Please alert us if you see any access problems.