I was born in 1982 in Bogotá, Colombia with a condition called Spina Bifida.  Spina Bifida is when the spine doesn’t close correctly when the fetus is being formed in the mother.  It causes neurological damage from the opening of the spine on down.  When I was born, my parents were told that I would be mentally retarded, that I would never walk, and that I would not live past age two.  The doctors also said, “we normally let these children die because they are so expensive to keep alive.”  So my mother made the difficult decision to leave her family, her friends, and her career in Colombia behind and come to the States.

I lived in Utah until I was four, when I moved to the DC area.  In Colombia, you either go to private school or you don’t go to school at all.  This is the environment in which my mother grew up so when we came here, she enrolled me in the local Catholic school.  I was there for Kindergarten and part of first grade.  During the academic year, it happened that I would need a surgery on my leg.  My parents were called into the school’s administration office and told that I was no longer allowed to go to school because I was going to be using a wheelchair to get around and the school was not wheelchair accessible.  It was 1988, two years before the Americans With Disabilities Act would be passed.

My mom was devastated but very quickly learned that public schools here in the States are very different than schools in Colombia.  Still, for the first two years, I was not allowed to play on the playground with the other kids because of “liability issues.”

And then the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed by Congress.  I was immediately allowed to play outside on the playground with the other kids.  That was the beginning of what the ADA would mean for me.

As an adult, it has made a big difference.  Most of the time, I use leg braces and a cane for mobility.  Sometimes, I have to use a chair.  While it’s still possible for me to find places that are not accessible for my chair, they are far and few between.  I am one of the lucky people with disabilities. I graduated college in 2003 and I have been gainfully employeed ever since.  The ADA has given me access to phsyical spaces and it has given me access to jobs.  It’s illegal to discriminate against me in employment because of the disability.  So it’s helping  me stay off of government assistance and it provides me with a sense of dignity and pride that I am a contributing member of society.  That helps to break down stigma and barriers for people with disabilities.  It has given me the freedom to choose where I live.

While I recognize the extraordinary achievements of the ADA, there is still more more to be done.  Sixty percent of people with disabilities are unemployed.  There are still places that are not required to be ADA compliant and sometimes, even though a  place is ADA compliant, it can still be tough to navigate if I’m using my wheelchair.  There is still stigma attached to being a person with a disability and too many of us are living in institutions and nursing homes.  Many, like Ed Roberts, have come before me.  I hope to make it better for those who come after me.