Due to the immense hard work, sacrifice, and determination of several disability rights activists like Judy and many others, disabled people finally feel seen and heard, and can thrive in this world. But more work is needed - some potential considerations:

Disability accommodations as part of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives

The entire world is seeing a DEI drive which has helped make things better socially, economically and physically for underrepresented minorities and marginalized groups. However, the DEI spotlight is not on disabled people - rather race, gender, socio-economic backgrounds, etc. In my interview, Ms. Jamilah Anderson, Assistant Director of Disability Services at George Mason University, claimed that the highest need for continued upliftment of disabled people was addition of disability to the DEI drive.

Uniform Provision of Disability Accommodation in Infrastructure

Through ADA, governments have created laws for all future and retrofit infrastructure projects to compulsorily have ADA-compliant elements. However, there are many older infrastructure elements not yet ADA-compliant creating a mobility barrier. We need focused legislation to eliminate any gaps in ADA-compliance.

Accessible Digital Technology

We live in a digital world. The W3C drafted the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for making web content accessible. Legislation is needed to ensure that all web content, new and existing, is WCAG-compliant.

Better Entrepreneurial Opportunities

As an extension of IL movement work, every government should encourage disabled people to become entrepreneurs providing them with finance, training, discounts, infrastructure, tax incentives, etc. Each disabled entrepreneur, given appropriate resources, can customize solutions that best work for their personal and company needs, inspiring traditional employers to be more inclusive.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI advancements can further improve assistive technologies such as voice recognition, text-to-speech conversion, real-time captioning, sign language interpretation, prosthetics, etc. providing better quality of life. Generative AI can provide tailored assistance and information.