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Living with disability is a natural part of life. That's one of the many ideas the Southwest Center for Independent Living in Springfield will be celebrating tomorrow during the first-ever A.D.A Freedom Fest, an event to commemorate the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. In the second story of an on-going series spotlighting the A.D.A, KSMU reporter Megan Keathley spoke with staff members of the Southwest Center about life with a disability.
The Statue of Liberty is sitting in a wheelchair. At least, that's what she's doing in a poster that hangs in Gary Maddox's office. Maddox is the executive director of the Southwest Center for Independent Living. The poster proclaims "Freedom Now!" in bold letters, referencing the freedoms entitled to all Americans, and to those living with disabilities, especially under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Maddox lives with diabetes. He says the condition is considered a disability, although not a significant one, such as being deaf or visually impaired. Maddox says the key to living with a disability is all in the attitude.
Another staff member at the Southwest Center for Independent Living is Jamie Uder, an assistive technology specialist. She helps people with disabilities obtain things like walkers, bath benches, and modified telephones. Uder herself relies on a cochlear implant to communicate.
Uder's co-worker is a woman named Jen Reese, who also works in assistive technology at the Southwest Center. Reese says the hardest part about living with muscular dystrophy is the uncertainty she faces about her future.
Reese, Uder and Maddox all agree that many things have changed for the better since the signing of the Americans with Disabilites Act. However, they and the rest of the staff at the Southwest Center work to provide resources to others with disabilities because they believe, in the words of Gary Maddox . .
"like the Virginia Slims commercial—'we've come a long way, baby' ... but we ain't there yet.'
Springfield's first A.D.A Freedom Fest will be held tomorrow at the Southwest Center for Independent Living from 4:30 to 9 PM.
