MDA’s Guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

More than three decades after it became law in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) remains one of the most important civil rights protections for people with disabilities in the United States.

Designed to prohibit discrimination and expand access in everyday life, from workplaces and schools to transportation systems and public spaces, the ADA has catalyzed independence, according to Shannon Wood, Director of Disability Policy at MDA. “Many of the law’s provisions blend together to enable independence and community integration for people with disabilities,” she says.

What is the ADA?

The ADA is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, government services, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. The law applies to public and private entities and is divided into several sections that cover different areas of life.

For the neuromuscular disease community, the ADA provides protections that can help people work, attend school, travel, access healthcare, vote, and participate fully in their communities.

Before the ADA, features that are common today, such as accessible parking spaces, curb cuts (sidewalk slopes to street level), wheelchair ramps on public buses, and elevators in public and private buildings, were far less common. Many of the physical accessibility improvements championed under the ADA have also made everyday life easier for everyone, including parents with strollers, older adults, and travelers with luggage.

Who is protected?

The ADA protects people with physical or impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities. The law also protects people who have a history of disability, even if they do not currently have a disability, or who are perceived as having a disability.

The definition of who qualifies is intentionally broad and includes many people living with neuromuscular diseases, chronic illnesses, mobility limitations, progressive conditions, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and more.

For individuals with neuromuscular conditions, the ADA can help protect access to employment, education, transportation, and public services and increase physical accessibility in public places.

Many of the ADA’s protections are especially important for people who use mobility devices, assistive technology, or adaptive communication tools.

Key parts of the ADA

The ADA is divided into five sections, referred to as titles.

Title I: Employment protections

Title I of the ADA prohibits employment discrimination and requires employers to provide for qualified employees with disabilities. The US Department of Labor defines a reasonable accommodation as a “modification or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done.”

The legal standard uses a three-factor test for qualifying accommodations:

1. Ensuring equal opportunity in the application process
2. Enabling a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of a job
3. Making it possible for an employee with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment

Reasonable accommodations can include schedule changes, remote work arrangements, assistive technology, accessible workstations, or modified equipment. Audrey Busch, Director of Government Affairs at the Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs, notes that accommodations are often simpler than people assume, such as a height-adjustable desk. She adds that assistive technology, such as speech-recognition software or ergonomic keyboards, is “a right for folks to have to access employment.”

Title I has had a major impact on workforce participation. “This title removed discriminatory barriers to employment for people with disabilities and helped many individuals with disabilities retain jobs through accommodations,” Audrey says.

Employment protections remain one of the most visible ways that the ADA affects daily life. “There are so many real-world impacts of people being able to get reasonable accommodations that allow them equal opportunity to succeed on the job,” says Joel Cartner, Director of Access Policy at MDA.

Title II: Public services and government access

Title II requires all state and local governments to make . This applies to schools, courts, voting systems, transportation systems, and government websites.

This portion applies to many aspects of civic life, including accessible polling locations and voting machines that read ballots aloud to voters with vision impairments. It also includes accessible public transportation, government websites that work with screen readers, accessible sidewalks and curb cuts, and public meetings held in spaces that people with disabilities can navigate safely and independently.

Audrey points out that accessible public spaces enable people with disabilities to fully participate in their communities. “If a person who’s in a wheelchair wants to attend a city council meeting, they can because they have an elevator, accessible seating, wide doorways, and an accessible restroom,” she says. “Without the ADA, there wouldn’t be that type of consistency.”

Title III: Public accommodations

Title III applies to private businesses and organizations that are open to the public, including restaurants, hotels, theaters, retail stores, and medical offices. These entities must remove barriers when possible — meaning that it’s easy to do without much expense — and provide accessible services. Examples include a hotel offering rooms with roll-in showers, grab bars, and visual smoke alarms, or a theater with a ramp to the entrance and a wide doorway. These accommodations underpin equitable access.

Joel adds that Titles II and III are significant because they directly affect many of our everyday environments. Among other areas, “It’s why we see accessible seating in large stadiums. It’s why we see city buses with lifts for wheelchairs,” Joel says.

Title IV: Telecommunications and communication access

Title IV focuses on telecommunications access for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, have speech impairments, or require specialized communication equipment.  This includes requiring telephone and television communication systems to offer accessibility features.

Alicia , Co-chair of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities Employment and Training Task Force, explains how these protections affect her daily life: “With accessibility in telecommunications, deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals like me, when using relay services, can make phone calls with the same functionality as hearing people,” she says.

Relay services, accessible in all US states by dialing 711, may be used by people with hearing impairments or speech disorders.

Title V: Miscellaneous provisions

This title includes several broader legal protections that help strengthen the ADA overall. Among other provisions, it protects people with disabilities from retaliation for asserting their rights and clarifies how the ADA interacts with other laws.

Title V is especially important because it helps preserve individual choice and privacy. “You don’t have to disclose specific things about your disability,” Joel says. “You don’t have to accept accommodations if you don’t want to.”

He also notes that the antiretaliation provisions are critical because they help protect people who speak up about discrimination or accessibility barriers.

Asserting your rights

In some cases, accessibility barriers can be resolved informally by communicating directly with a business or organization. Some establishments may be unaware that a barrier exists and are willing to make modifications or improvements once they know about the issue.

When concerns cannot be resolved directly, people may choose to pursue formal complaints or legal action under the ADA, including filing complaints with federal agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the US Department of Justice (DOJ), depending on the situation. Individuals may also seek legal representation or assistance from advocacy organizations.

Enforcement remains one of the ADA’s biggest challenges. “The onus still lies on people with disabilities to file complaints,” Joel says. “You have to have the time and energy to file those complaints.”

Unfortunately, this process can be cumbersome and discouraging, he adds. For example, if someone believes an employer has violated Title I employment protections, they must file a complaint with the EEOC, and the agency will conduct an investigation. If the EEOC doesn’t find definitive evidence of employer wrongdoing, it will send the person who filed the complaint a Right to Sue letter, which allows them to initiate a private lawsuit, if they choose to do so. If the agency does find evidence of wrongdoing, it will attempt to reach a settlement with the employer, file a lawsuit, or refer the case to the DOJ. However, the EEOC or DOJ can decide not to file suit at that point and instead send a Right to Sue letter.

Ultimately, most people don’t know that they. “That’s a massive equity issue,” Shannon says.

Even when a claim is successful, it generally applies only to the specific business, location, or circumstance in the complaint. This can make widespread systemic change difficult.

When pursuing a claim, documentation is critical. “Take pictures of everything,” Joel says. “Forward yourself emails. BCC people. Do anything and everything you can to document the experience that you’re having.”

He also recommends seeking support from legal aid organizations, disability advocacy groups, and protection and advocacy systems in each state.

ADA’s limitations

Although the ADA has dramatically improved accessibility, experts say the law has not fully kept pace with modern technology and evolving services, including apps and digital platforms. “It predates a lot of the services that we use every day, like Uber and Airbnb,” Shannon says. “There’s still a lot of work needed to bring ADA into the present day.”

Audrey adds that digital accessibility is one of the most urgent issues facing the disability community. “That is the world that we use to access everything now,” she says.

In 2024, the federal government issued updated digital accessibility rules under Title II that would require state and local government websites and mobile apps to meet accessibility standards; however, implementation was delayed.

Physical accessibility requirements can also vary depending on when a building was constructed or renovated:

• Buildings constructed after the ADA’s passage are generally expected to meet ADA accessibility standards.
• Older buildings are subject to different requirements, particularly around what is considered “readily achievable.”
• Renovations and alterations often trigger additional accessibility obligations, especially in the areas being updated.

Advocates point to older buildings that remain inaccessible because of legal exemptions for historic buildings or delayed renovations. Additionally, Shannon says, accessibility is too often treated as an afterthought during renovations rather than incorporated into planning from the beginning.

Disability advocates agree that the ADA remains a foundational civil rights law, but they also emphasize that it should be viewed as a minimum standard rather than the final goal. “The ADA is a floor,” Joel says. “It’s not the ceiling for accessibility.”

ADA resources

People seeking more information about the ADA or assistance with accessibility issues can explore the following resources:

• ADA.gov: Federal guidance about ADA rights, responsibilities, and complaint processes
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): Information about employment discrimination complaints
• State Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems: Advocacy organizations that provide legal assistance and support for people with disabilities
• The MDA Advocacy team can help connect individuals and families with disability rights resources and support organizations. Contact them through the MDA Resource Center at 833-ASK-MDA1 or ResourceCenter@mdausa.org.